WWD Jan 29

DAILY EDITION 29 JANUARY 2016 1
Big Quarter
Under Armour’s stock
leaps on the brand’s first $1
billion quarter. PAGE 3
Fashion. Beauty. Business.
Always Hopeful
Retailers at the men’s
trade shows in New York
said business is slow, but
they’re hoping for a good
fall. PAGES 10 TO 12
Fashion Push
China’s JD.com views
fashion as a key growth
area for the online giant.
PAGE 9
Shoulder
Press
Photograph by Stéphane Feugère
FASHION
Bare shoulders remain a
discreetly modern display of
feminine allure, particularly
for evening. Couture designers
showcased shoulders classically,
as in this Armani Privé strapless
bodice dress, and in more offbeat
ways. For more on the trend, see
pages 4 and 5.
3
29 JANUARY 2016 RETAIL
After Tough Year-End, H&M
Sees No Improvement Ahead
● The Swedish retailer blamed
unseasonably mild weather
and a strong U.S. dollar for an
8 percent dip.
BY MILES SOCHA
The weather outside is frightful for Hennes
& Mauritz AB, with a mild winter and
currency headwinds denting fourth-quarter
profits, which dipped 8 percent.
Markdowns to clear an excess stock of
coats and other winter apparel, plus higher
purchasing costs due to the strong U.S. dollar,
are expected to have “the same negative
impact” in the first quarter, the Swedish
retailer warned on Thursday, sending its
shares down 4.8 percent to close at 282 Swedish kronor, or $33.16 at current exchange.
The double-whammy is expected to shave
100 to 200 basis points from first-quarter
margins, Jyrki Tervonen, chief financial officer, said on a conference call. He noted, however, that the negative impact is expected to
gradually diminish from the second quarter.
H&M’s gross margin narrowed to 57.5
percent versus 60.4 percent in the year-ago
quarter as sales in local currencies advanced
9 percent.
Net income in the three months ended
Nov. 30 came to 5.53 billion Swedish kronor,
or $649 million at average exchange.
The Swedish retailer had also accelerated
its store expansion, adding 249 locations in
the three months ended Nov. 30 out of 413 for
the year.
Sales gains for the full fiscal year varied
across its top 10 markets, rising 2 percent
in local currencies in Germany; 18 percent
in the U.S.; 8 percent in the U.K.; 7 percent
in France; 16 percent in China; 6 percent in
Sweden; 17 percent in Italy, and 11 percent in
Spain. Sales fell 1 percent in the Netherlands
and 2 percent in Switzerland.
H&M said it plans to keep up the pace of
store openings this year and add 425 units,
with the U.S. and China the focus of development. New countries for the fast-fashion
giant are New Zealand, Cyprus and Puerto
Rico. It also plans to add e-commerce in nine
markets: Ireland, Japan, Greece, Croatia,
Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and
Luxembourg.
“We are very happy with our online development,” said Nils Vinge, head of investor
relations, while hastening to add that, “we
definitely see potential to grow the number of
physical stores for many years.”
He noted that H&M units are stretching
ever larger to accommodate additional product categories, with suits in 120 doors, sport
in 2,600 and beauty — launched in mid-2015
— in 900 stores, with 300 more getting the
range this year.
The retailer ended the year with 3,924
BUSINESS
Under Armour Delivers
Billion-Dollar Quarter
● The company had its first
such quarter of sales, proving
the warm winter did not hurt
it at all.
They Are Wearing photograph by Kuba Dabrowski
BY DEBRA BORCHARDT
Under Armour’s stock jumped by more
than 22.5 percent Thursday after the athletic
apparel brand reported its first $1 billion
quarter of sales and shook off the warm winter blues that hurt other apparel companies.
The company’s shares closed $84 on the
New York Stock Exchange.
Third-quarter sales of $1.17 billion topped
the FactSet expectations of $1.11 billion in net
revenues, an increase of 31 percent over last
year’s $895 million for the same period. Earnings per share of 48 cents beat the consensus
of 46 cents. Net income increased 21 percent
to $106 million for the third quarter compared to $88 million last year.
Analysts were convinced the company
would be hurt by the warm weather so far
this winter and Morgan Stanley analysts even
cut their rating on the company to “underweight” on Jan. 11. They were wrong.
Kevin Plank chairman and chief executive
officer of Under Armour Inc., stated, “Our
business is more diversified than it’s ever
been. We do not let weather play a decisive
role in dictating our success.”
However, on the earnings conference call,
Brad Dickerson, the outgoing chief financial
officer, conceded “recent weather trends
have led to some excess inventory creation,
which will continue to work across our normal liquidation channels during the first half
of 2016.” The company insisted any weather
hits were minor.
Apparel net revenues rose 22 percent to
$865 million, while footwear net revenues
increased 95 percent to $167 million, mostly
due to the Stephen Curry signature basketball
line. Plank said, “The sell-through on the
Curry shoe was like nothing we have ever
seen before.”
Under Armour has also made a firm
commitment to women’s business. Dickerson
said, “We believe we have huge opportunities
to get better.” Even without that focused
attention, the company delivered another
quarter of double-digit growth in women’s.
As recently as 18 months ago, the company didn’t have a dedicated women’s team.
Dickerson said, “So, these investments in
our team, they all mean that these trends
are expected to accelerate in 2016 and again,
that’s off a whopping 95 percent in the quarter and 57 percent for the full year.” Under
Armour’s e-commerce business for women
was the number-one and largest-selling and
fastest-growing category at the company.
Andrew Burns, an analyst at D.A. Davidson
who has a “buy” rating on the company’s
stock, believes that Under Armour isn’t necessarily taking share from Nike, but rather from
other apparel categories. “Consumers have
hit a point where they aren’t going back to
uncomfortable clothes anymore,” said Burns.
“For every point of market share that athletic
gets, $10 billion is being taken away from the
rest of the apparel industry.”
Plank said, “Our core business remains
incredibly strong and our 31 percent net
stores in 61 markets, citing a “very strong
year” for its COS banner, while acknowledging some challenges growing its Monki,
Weekday and Cheap Monday chains. “There
are things we need to improve before we
accelerate them,” Vinge said.
January sales are expected to rise 7 percent, he said, reflecting a positive calendar
impact of 2 percent due to an extra Sunday.
H&M recently reported December tallies
were up 10 percent in local currencies versus
4 percent in November, 12 percent in October, and 11 percent in September, reflecting
volatile market conditions and the retailer’s
dependency on weather to shift garments.
Chief executive officer Karl-Johan Persson
issued an optimistic outlook, saying, “We
firmly believe that our customer offering and
our investments will lead to increased market
share and strengthen H&M’s position even
further in 2016.”
In a research note, Barclays said it expects
margin erosion to put pressure on shares in
the near term.
Beyond the first quarter, “it is encouraging that the store growth target has been
maintained, despite some more bearish
expectations for a reduction. At the same
time, the new online launches announced,
the increased store growth at the end of the
year and weather normalization could help
sales growth going forward,” the
bank noted.
revenue growth in the fourth quarter is clear
evidence of the continued expansion in the
breadth and depth of our brand. We delivered our 25th consecutive quarter of more
than 20 percent net revenues growth in our
largest product category of apparel.”
Investments in technology impacted the
balance sheet. Total debt mushroomed
from $284 million at the end of 2014 to $669
million at the end of 2015, reflecting the
borrowing to fund the two Connected Fitness
acquisitions. Cash plunged from $593 million
at the end of 2014 to $130 million at the end
of 2015.
“In Connected Fitness, we ended 2015
with nearly 160 million unique registered
users across our platform that logged nearly
eight billion foods and two billion activities
during the year. Earlier this month at the
Consumer Electronics Show, we unveiled the
new UA Record, the digital dashboard app for
your health and fitness, and a suite of new
products led by Under Armour HealthBox,
the world’s first complete Connected Fitness
system,” Plank said.
“Innovation drives growth,” said Burns. He
also believes that the company has even more
growth ahead. “They’re underpenetrated in
department stores. They have so much more
opportunity.”
Looking ahead, Under Armour expects
2016 net revenues of $4.95 billion, an
increase of 25 percent over 2015. Operating
income is forecast at $503 million, which is a
23 percent jump over 2015.
Under Armour is celebrating its 20th year
as a company in 2016 and has evolved as an
athletic brand. The company realizes that a
whole new generation doesn’t see them as
the underdog to Nike, but as a long-lasting
brand. Apparel has gone from 93 percent of
revenues to 71 percent as the firm has diversified into other products such as footwear.
Compression gear has dropped from 64
percent of the entire business to less than 10
percent. A decade ago, the company sold no
footwear and now the category represents 17
percent of the business and is closing in on
$700 million in revenues.
Under Armour opened five new Brand
Houses in 2015 and will add another five to
eight in 2016.
TOP 5
TRENDING
ON WWD.COM
They Are Wearing:
Paris Couture
Spring 2016
● WWD went off the runways
and onto the streets and
sidewalks for the best looks
from Paris Couture Week.
●Valentino Spring 2016
Couture
● They Are Wearing: Berlin
Fashion Week
●Guo Pei Spring 2016
Couture
● Elie Saab Spring 2016
Couture
Global Stock Tracker
As of close January 28, 2016
ADVANCERS
Under Armour Inc.
+22.59%
Anta Sports Products Ltd.
+5.99%
Ted Baker plc
+4.97%
Coach Inc.
+4.77%
Elizabeth Arden Inc.
+4.69%
DECLINERS
H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB
-4.76%
Safilo Group SpA
-4.07%
Youngor Group Co. Ltd.
-4.00%
Ascena Retail Group Inc.
-3.29%
The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.
-3.13%
4
29 JANUARY 2016
Shoulder
Press
FASHION
Atelier Versace
● Bare shoulders remain a discreet yet modern way to show some
skin. The couture collections supported the chic cold-shoulder
look for day and evening via standard strapless styles and more
creatively with a harnesslike top or under a sheer cape.
Christian Dior
Paris
Couture
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni
2016
5
29 JANUARY 2016 Shoulder Press
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
Chanel
Paris
Couture
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni
2016
Elie Saab
6
29 JANUARY 2016
The Reviews
There was no lack of hype preceding Guo Pei’s Paris
couture debut. The creator of the canary yellow
robe Rihanna famously wore to the Met Gala last
year rose to stardom — literally overnight — thanks to
Badgalriri’s 32 million-plus following on Instagram.
With the bar set high for her show Wednesday
night, Guo, who has a background in costume dressing, didn’t disappoint. (Rihanna didn’t attend, but
photographers put on a fierce fight for a front-row
shot of actress Uma Thurman flashing her legs in a
girly coatdress by the designer). The set was decorated with a gilded roof and the runway planted with
gold-plated trees to evoke a Chinese royal courtyard
for Guo’s bold, imperial offering, making it clear from
the start: Day looks are so not her thing.
The opening look intrigued with its construction,
made entirely of what appeared to be a tight web of
painted guipure lace that built up to a translucent
bustier ballgown.
Other silhouettes ranged from Fifties Sabrina
dresses to sculpted minis with cropped boleros on
top, all festooned with tassels, feathers and crystals
that stretched to the models’ fingertips. Guests
rushed to snap close-ups of the garments’ intricate
floral embroideries — clearly the show’s highlight.
In keeping with the designer’s elevated sense of
theatrics, the show culminated in a splendid finale
of not one, but four bridal looks, the last boasting a
500-carat necklace courtesy of Chopard.
— PAULINA SZMYDKE
ZUHAIR MURAD
Zuhair Murad has been working overtime since
designing Sofia Vergara’s wedding gown, which
prompted dozens of orders for similar models. The
designer has famously dressed everyone from Kristen Stewart to Jennifer Lopez, but his spring couture
collection appeared to be aimed at his noncelebrity
customers.
Edging away from the racy creations that have
earned him a top spot on the red carpet, he opted
for a romantic mood with outfits inspired by the
caged underpinnings of historical gowns. Dresses
incorporated panniers, corset boning and laces, with
geometric grids also appearing as glittering surface
embellishment.
Murad worked lampshade skirts into flirty cocktail
dresses and grand evening gowns, all lavishly
embroidered to evoke garden lattices and flowers.
But with a palette dominated by powdery pastels
in sugared almond shades, the effect was often
cloyingly sentimental.
Occasionally he hit the sweet spot between
whimsical and seductive, as in a flowing greige
chiffon gown with an embroidered top and matching
cape sparkling with silver crystals. — JOELLE DIDERICH
Zuhair Murad
Paris
Couture
2016
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni and Dominique Maitre
GUO PEI
Guo Pei
7
29 JANUARY 2016 RONALD VAN DER KEMP
Ronald van der Kemp considers building a collection around a theme an outdated concept. Instead,
he proposes a seasonless, somewhat messy
wardrobe mixed from such contrasting items as a
rubberized raincoat in bright yellow next and a black
evening robe in the style of a tailcoat. “Pick what you
like,” the line seemed to shout, not pretending to fit
into any mold.
Shapes took a backseat to the magnificent stock
of leftover couture swatches and vintage materials,
mostly from the Seventies and Eighties, which Van
der Kemp repurposes in his signature, off-kilter way.
Among the highlights was a historic broderie
anglaise reworked with 3-D flowers on a balloon-sleeved blouse. The colorful front of a cropped
and cinched, fur-sleeve jacket was stitched together
from scraps of contrasting materials, was somewhat reminiscent of a DYI tweed.
No doubt, the collection was not for every woman,
but Van der Kemp is growing his following. Net-aporter just ordered a selection of the limited-edition
demi-couture pieces for spring. — PAULINA SZMYDKE
LORIS AZZARO
Loris Azzaro’s Arnaud Maillard and Alvaro Castejón
explored a kaleidoscope of floral prints and geometric patterns for spring, essentially telling two stories.
Many looks skewed futuristic, as in “Bararella”
chain-mail minis and column dresses, while head-totoe prints ranging from deconstructed peonies to
hallucinogenic, optical motifs let off a Sixties flavor.
Welcome to a “psychedelic trip to another dimension,” as the designers put it.
Equally off-kilter were the silhouettes, including
a floral bustier jumpsuit with a chiffon veil in front
that was strapped around the model’s neck like a
giant bib.
Dramatic capes or trains, which parted from the
back or sides of dresses, and crystal-embroidered
harnesses framing the dresses hand-pleated
necklines, resembled a sexed-up episode of “Star
Wars.” — P.S.
Loris Azzaro
Paris
Couture
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni
2016
Ronald van der Kemp
8
29 JANUARY 2016
BUSINESS
Companies Vow to
Improve Indian Factories
● Move comes after retailers and
brands named in report that
presented findings of alleged
abuse.
BY KRISTI ELLIS
WASHINGTON — Three leading European
retailers and a major U.S. fashion group
have pledged to take action to end what
the India Committee of the Netherlands
alleged are “appalling living conditions”
for apparel workers in Bangalore, India,
according to the human and labor rights
organization.
The ICN, which released a paper
titled “Unfree and Unfair” on Thursday
detailing the alleged abuse, reached out
to retailers and brands before the paper
was published and said it has received
commitments from C&A, H&M, Inditex
and PVH Corp. to provide garment workers with better working conditions in
Bangalore.
The paper “gives evidence of appalling
living conditions and restricted freedom
of movement of young migrant garment
workers in the Indian city of Bangalore,”
the nongovernmental organization said.
“An increasing number of young migrant
women workers are staying in factory-owned hostels with poor living conditions while their movement is severely
restricted. The wages of the workers do
not add up to a decent living wage.”
Four garment factories in Bangalore,
said to be producing apparel for C&A,
H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Inditex and Gap,
were named in the paper. Allegations
of deplorable working conditions were
outlined at four factories — K. Mohan,
Texport Industries, Arvind and Shahi
Exports — in the paper.
The research was based on a combination of desk research and interviews
with 11 garment workers, discussions
with workers from other factories and
interviews with the Garment Labor
Union in Bangalore. The ICN claimed
in the paper that the conditions in the
factories and hostels where many of the
women live at times amount to “modern-day slavery.”
“Migrant women are often housed
in hostels run by their companies and
guarded by male security personnel at
night,” the paper noted. “Their movement is severely restricted and they are
herded to the factory and back to the
hostel as a daily routine.”
In addition, most workers are only
allowed to leave the hostels for two
hours a week and if they return late,
they often face punishment and are
made to wait outside the gate for hours
until the warden lets them in, the paper
said.
The ICN said the hostels are run by
the garment factories and lack basic
amenities ranging from beds and mattresses to furniture and cupboards. In
addition, money is deducted from their
salaries to pay for accommodation,
according to the organization.
“The migrant workers do not speak
or understand the local language,
which makes them more vulnerable
for exploitation,” the ICN said. “For
example, K. Mohan factory had separate
hostels for migrant workers from North
India, who paid around 27 euro [$29.56
at current exchange] for food and
accommodation, while local workers
paid around 19 euro [$20.80] per month
for the same in their own hostels.”
All of the multinational companies,
with the exception of Gap, responded to
the findings prior to their public release
and said they would take “serious
action,” according to the ICN.
The ICN printed detailed responses it
said it received from C&A, H&M, Inditex
and PVH in the annexes of its paper.
C&A, H&M and Inditex said they
would work together toward a “coordinated and collaborative approach
to improve working conditions of the
migrant garment workers,” according to
ICN.
“Jointly, they want to ensure freedom
of association by liaising with local trade
unions GLU [Garment Labor Union] and
GATWU [Garment and Textile Workers
Union],” the report said. “They also
want to empower migrant workers
with training and a grievance handling
system, with support of the local NGO
Gram Tarang.”
The companies have also pledged to
review curfew regulations at hostels
and to engage with industry experts,
brands and stakeholders to implement a
comprehensive industrywide program to
“institutionalize” international standards for recruiting workers, accommodation, grievance management, training
and development of migrant workers,
ICN said.
Individually, C&A said it will further
investigate conditions at the Shahi
Exports factory, while H&M said it would
reinforce compliance with multi-stakeholder developed dormitory guidelines
for all hostels in its supply chain.
Inditex has pledged separately to
implement a project throughout its supply chain in India, based on a baseline
assessment, targeting “the provision of
better hostel facilities, putting in place
a grievance handling mechanism and
training and counseling sessions for
migrant workers and sensitizing [management] staff.”
PVH told the organization it asked the
named supplier factories to report back
to the company on their individual circumstances and said they would develop
guidelines to address the issues outlined
in the “Unfree and Unfair” paper.
any company looking to retain brand
equity — and less focus on outlets and
clearance channels, he said.
“The core channel to this business is
first and foremost one of our priorities,”
Healy said. “We must succeed in that
channel.”
Much of that will come down to differentiation of product, a point referenced
multiple times by Quiksilver founder Bob
McKnight in an interview with WWD last
year, about a month before the company’s bankruptcy filing. McKnight and
other industry executives stressed at the
time that it was crucial for the industry’s
legacy brands to evolve with the competitive landscape and perhaps pare back
businesses that had become bloated in
more recent years.
“Our world is now not just competition
from Billabong, Hurley, etc. — our own
tribal brands who do what we do in the
surf shops but also with similar product,
similar team riders, similar marketing
— but there’s a whole new crew in town
now that’s also competition: Hollister,
American Eagle, H&M, Abercrombie,
Lululemon, Under Armour and then all
the bigger chains have their own private
label,” McKnight said in the interview.
“So everyone in the game is doing more
and more similar product or similar price
points. It’s not that hard to make a board
short, Hawaiian shirt or tank so…to me
one of the changes is the tribe industry is
not as special as it once was.”
Quiksilver said in its annual report,
filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission this week, that it expects
comparable net revenues and gross margins to continue to be “unfavorable” in
the coming quarters, pegging the forecast
on late deliveries, exchange rates and its
changing distribution strategy.
The company saw net revenue for the
12 months ended Oct. 31 fall 14 percent
from a year earlier to $1.35 billion. It also
recorded its fifth straight year of losses,
which totaled $306.17 million.
Oaktree, according to Healy, is “well
capitalized and well experienced in our
space,” boosting the company’s confidence in its ability to turn.
The Los Angeles-based asset management firm’s involvement is also notable
given the deal it struck in 2013 with Centerbridge Partners to provide long-term
financing to Quiksilver rival Billabong
International Ltd. The Australia-based
surf company had been struggling for
some time prior to the deal but in its
most recent fiscal year ended in July it
notched a profit for the first time since
2011.
Oaktree’s involvement with the two
companies led to some speculation last
year that there was consideration of a
merger of the two brands or at least the
opportunity to share resources. On that
front Healy declined comment Thursday
other than to say, “We’ve got a significant turnaround job to do here within
the Quiksilver business and that will be
taking 100 percent of our focus.”
BUSINESS
Quiksilver Americas
President Details Future
● Tactics to address brand
dilution will be top-of-mind for
management as the company
emerges from bankruptcy next
month.
BY KARI HAMANAKA
LOS ANGELES — Quiksilver Inc. will have
to continue with its soul searching once it
emerges from bankruptcy next month if it
wants to succeed with its turnaround.
A Delaware court judge on Thursday
confirmed the Huntington Beach, Calif.based action sports company’s plan
for reorganization, paving the way for
Quiksilver to get a clean slate as it works
to right the business.
The decision is seen by chief executive
officer Pierre Agnes as “a new beginning
for Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes.”
Quiksilver, which filed for Chapter 11 in
September, and now expects to emerge
from it sometime around the week of Feb.
8, will reduce its debt load by about $507
million and come out with liquidity of
about $90 million. It also has the backing
of Oaktree Capital Management which,
along with Bank of America, provided
$175 million of debtor-in-possession
financing.
But much of the company’s battle will
be in undoing certain decisions from the
past, beginning with its retail footprint,
pointed out Americas president Greg
Healy.
The company, which as of January had
663 stores globally of which 87 were in
the Americas region, has shuttered 29
underperforming stores since its bankruptcy filing. Healy described the review
of its retail properties as an “ongoing
process.”
“Going forward, one of the great
challenges we had in the Americas was
over-distribution,” he said. “We see the
next year or two as a time that we need to
clean up the channel, review the distribution challenges and go back to quality
and sales.”
They’re all things Healy described as
“brand enhancing” efforts.
The company’s newer Boardriders
store format, which has been successful
in the European and Asia-Pacific regions,
could also prove fruitful for the Americas.
It’s too soon to say whether the company
would begin rolling that concept out to
the Americas region, according to Healy.
Quiksilver is also exercising caution
when it comes to the wholesale business,
with Healy saying “we really need to
take a long hard look at those distribution decisions and exit some of those
channels.”
What that means is a greater focus on
the core surf-and-skate shops — the breadand-butter accounts seen as valuable to
9
29 JANUARY 2016 BUSINESS
RETAIL
JD.com Targets
Fashion as Key
In 2016
● Part of the resulting strategic
pivot toward the apparel
sector has led JD.com to
sponsor an off-line event as
part of New York Fashion
Week.
BY CASEY HALL
SHANGHAI — Fashion, budget-conscious
consumers and cross-border commerce
are all high on the agenda for JD.com in
2016.
The NASDAQ-listed company is China’s
second-largest e-commerce provider by
sales after Alibaba, with gross merchandise volume during the three months to
the end of September (the most recent
figures available) surging 71 percent to
115 billion yuan, or $17 billion at current
exchange, compared with 67.3 billion
yuan, or $10.2 billion, a year earlier.
According to Haoyu Shen, chief executive officer of JD Mall, the company’s
business-to-consumer e-commerce department, the rise of the apparel sector on
the Chinese online shopping platform has
taken even the company itself by surprise.
“We are seeing tremendous three-digit
growth over the past few years in this category. Many people don’t know this, but
when I was looking at these numbers I was
surprised to find it’s actually the category
with the highest penetration of our customers,” he said. “All of our nonelectronics categories are growing faster than the
electronics categories. We want to be the
one-stop shop for all shopping needs.”
During China’s major yearly e-commerce shopping event, Singles’ Day,
JD.com sold more than 14 million articles
of clothing and pairs of shoes. In earnings
reports for the first and second quarters
of 2015, the growth of the apparel and
footwear category was 230 percent and
150 percent on the year, respectively.
Growth in the third quarter was simply
described as being “triple-digit” over the
same period in 2014.
According to Patrice Nordey, ceo of
digital inception agency Velvet, JD.com’s
focus on fashion is a natural step for the
company, as he expects the total e-commerce growth in 2016 to slow to “only” 20
percent, while he estimates apparel categories to grow at more than 30 percent
over the next 12 months.
BUSINESS
I.T Sees Weaker
Q3 Sales, Margins
● The Hong Kong-based
multibrand retailer cited the
impact of macroeconomic
woes and discounting
practices.
BY AMANDA KAISER
HONG KONG — Multibrand retailer I.T
Holdings said it experienced declining
sales and gross profit margin in the third
Nike Launches
‘Margot vs
Lily’ Original
YouTube Series
● The eight-episode series, which
A view of JD.com.
“Tmall has something like 70 percent
of all apparel categories and JD.com has
something like 6 to 10 percent, but it’s
a very big, very dynamic category, so it
makes total sense for JD.com to focus on
fashion and apparel,” he said.
Part of the resulting strategic pivot
toward the apparel sector has led JD.com
to sponsor an offline event as part of
New York Fashion Week, with a runway
show featuring independent Chinese
designers such as Alicia Lee, Chi Zhang,
Gioia Pan and a line of sportswear from
Shanghai-based Australian soccer star Tim
Cahill. The event is set for Feb. 17 at Pier
59.
JD.com is looking to generate interest
around the designers’ brands, which
are sold on a section of the e-commerce
player’s platform for Chinese independent
labels. Beijing-based designer Alicia Lee’s
aesthetic is overtly feminine, featuring lots
of lace. Taiwan’s Gioia Pan is known as a
knitwear specialist and Chi Zhang’s industrial chic is a favorite of local celebrities.
“We want to be the place where Chinese
consumers can find the most cutting-edge
fashion and we want to take these Chinese
designers overseas and help them on the
global stage,” Shen said.
Unlike electronics and cell phones,
which have traditionally been JD.com’s
strong suit, consumers are buying clothes
on a more regular basis, and consumers
are seeking out apparel brands they might
not be able to find offline in their local
area.
Also unlike consumer electronics, Nordey points out, apparel categories make
sense from a profitability standpoint.
“The best way for them to make a profit
is to move into categories with higher
margins, at the extreme is luxury and I’m
not sure they would be very convincing at
going into luxury right now. Fashion is a
better match, they can also move into the
premium end once they are more established in the category,” he said.
According to Shen, the average ticket
price for apparel bought from the site is
200 to 250 yuan per piece, or $30 to $38
at current exchange, with a higher average
price per winter and lower price points
proving more popular in summertime.
Up until the last few years, the vast
majority of Chinese consumers were
shopping online for non-name-brand fashion, the kind of Chinese-made, low-price
garments widely available on the popular
consumer-to-consumer site Taobao.com,
according to Shen. Alibaba, JD.com’s biggest rival, owns Taobao.
Recently, however, there has been a
shift in attention toward brands, especially
international high-street brands, prized for
their reputed quality at reasonable, if not
dirt cheap, prices.
“[Chinese consumers] are probably
familiar with these brands offline and they
will find a better selection, more convenience and a better price for these online,
which will make them want to transact
with these brands online,” Shen said.
And despite Nordey’s views, JD.com
does have its sights set on growth in its luxury business, although Shen concedes that
is a “tricky” sector for any e-commerce
platform in China.
In September, JD.com inked an exclusive e-commerce partnership with Tag
Heuer to establish the watch brand’s first
China online flagship store. Shen is quick
to point out that JD.com is already the
country’s largest sports watch retailer,
either on- or offline, and its luxury strategy
going forward is to work with brands on a
case-by-case basis.
“We are in conversations with a lot of
brands, be it watch or fashion. It will take
some time to make online a comfortable
environment for luxury brands,” he said.
Also under consideration will be featuring future celebrity focused fashion and
merchandising lines, given the early success of JD.com’s collaboration with Taylor
Swift in providing a platform for the pop
starlet, including a line of clothing especially designed for the Chinese market.
“A lot of her merchandise was just
released last week but last time I checked
with our people it was doing good volume,” Shen said.
As well as a newfound focus on fashion,
Shen predicts that 2016 will see a continuation of recent trends for JD.com and
China’s e-commerce landscape at large.
Specifically, he foresees e-commerce
players’ increasing penetration into China’s lower-tier cities. Shen also noted an
increase in cross-border commerce, with
relaxing import and customs regulations.
China’s recently opened free trade zones
mean imported products are more accessible than ever for the country’s consumers.
“We launched that [cross-border] business in April of 2015, so it’s been over half
a year now. It will continue to be a focus
for us this year, and it’s an area we are
seeing tremendous growth,” Shen said.
quarter, citing macroeconomic woes and
discounting practices.
The retailer said its sales for the
three months ended Nov. 30 declined 2
percent in Hong Kong and 2.2 percent in
Mainland China. On the upside, I.T said
sales grew 37.4 percent in Japan. It did
not release sales figures.
I.T noted “cautious consumer spending momentum” over the time period.
The company said Hong Kong sales suffered from a stronger Hong Kong dollar
to yuan exchange rate, which provided
less incentive for cross-border shopping.
Sales in Japan, a much smaller market
for I.T, grew thanks to a weak yen and
strong tourist flows, it said.
In terms of gross profit margin for the
quarter, I.T said its margin in Hong Kong
fell 2.9 percent to 59.3 percent while
that in China increased 0.6 percent to
65.8 percent. The Japan margin fell 10.3
percent to 63.2 percent. On a group
level, the margin slid 1.9 percent to 63.2
percent.
“As a result of increased price discounting and the persisting inflationary
pressure from rental and staff costs,
margins and profitability of our Hong
Kong operations were considerably
impacted in a negative manner. These
cost inflations have rendered a very difficult trading environment in Hong Kong
which shall remain unchanged for the
rest of this fiscal year,” I.T said.
I.T bought 90 percent of Nowhere Co.,
the corporate parent of Japanese street
label A Bathing Ape, back in 2011.
made its debut on Thursday
night, is the latest iteration of
the "Better for It" campaign.
BY RACHEL STRUGATZ
Nike’s turning to YouTube to help sharpen
its focus on the women’s business.
The activewear company kicked off the
latest iteration of its “Better For It” campaign at an event in New York Thursday
night. “Margot vs Lily,” an eight-part original
series, will debut on Feb. 1 on YouTube, with
new episodes airing every Monday.
A continuation of its inaugural “Better For
It” campaign that launched in April, “Inner
Thoughts,” this is the latest initiative put
forth by Nike to grow its women’s business.
The company is putting sizable marketing
efforts behind the category, which is projected to nearly double to $11 billion in sales
by 2020. Women’s will comprise more than
20 percent of Nike Inc.’s overall revenue,
projected to reach $50 billion over that time
frame.
The activewear giant tapped Emmy-nominated executive producer Alfonso
Gomez-Rejon, director Tricia Brock and
author and screenwriter Jesse Andrews to
create the series, which follows sisters Margot, 24, and Lily, 22.
Lily, played by Samantha Marie Ware, is a
YouTube sensation who gets challenged by
her older sister Margot, played by Brigette
Lundy-Paine, to make three new friends
this year. Lily’s fitness channel, “LilyNinja,”
has 900,000 subscribers and because she
spends so much time maintaining her online
persona, making friends has taken a backseat. On the flip side, Lily challenges Margot,
who was recently fired from her job, to start
her own fitness YouTube channel and get
1,000 subscribers.
Kerri Hoyt-Pack, vice president of global
brand marketing, women’s training at Nike,
said that not only is the series’ message
applicable for Nike, but it’s a message to the
entire female community.
“’Better For It’ is about the celebration of
athletes,” Hoyt-pack told WWD, adding that
the series encourages women “to be better
and athletes everywhere to push themselves
to be better, and through sport is a great way
to do that.”
She said that the series touches on the
full range of emotions, from vulnerability to
confidence. Margot and Lily are embarking
on a journey and getting “better for it” —
and the hope is that the audience will, too.
“It’s an invitation for transformation. Our
call was to assess every detail and make it
as motivating, easy and fulfilling as it could
be for athletes everywhere,” Hoyt-Pack said.
Every episode is tied to a workout that the
audience is invited to partake in.
The rollout of “Margot vs Lily” signals the
launch of Nike’s “Better For It” hub on the
brand’s digital flagship, containing motivation from master trainers, training tips and
links to e-commerce. As product is a key
element in the series, Hoyt-Pack explained,
looks featured in “Margot vs Lily” will be
available for sale via the hub, powered
through nike.com. In an attempt to make
the e-commerce aspect as seamless as possible, there’s a link to products and key looks
featured throughout the series.
“We have looked at this as definitely our
biggest and most integrative women’s initiative to date. We’re already at $5.7 billion
dollars and the world’s leading athletic
brand, but for us it’s not necessarily about
the revenue. We’re running a business here
and it’s important to continue that leadership position and this chapter is part of it,”
Hoyt-Pack said.
10 29 JANUARY 2016
Anderson's
Scotch & Soda
S.M.N. Studio
BUSINESS
Retailers Proceed With
Caution at Trade Shows
outerwear pieces for fall drew
the attention of specialty store
merchants.
BY JEAN E. PALMIERI, ARIA HUGHES,
ALEX BADIA AND LUIS CAMPUZANO
NEW YORK — A less than stellar fall season put as much of a damper on retailers’
spirits as the blizzard of 2016.
Thanks to the storm, many out-of-town
stores were delayed in their arrival to the
men’s market here this week. But considering how closely they were guarding their
open-to-buy dollars, the delay didn’t have
much of an effect on their outlook.
“The business is challenging,” said Dan
Farrington, general merchandise manager
for Mitchells Family of Stores. “Overall, it’s
below our expectations and the holidays
were difficult.”
That being said, Farrington said he was
“still keeping an optimistic attitude, but
it’s harder to find ways to grow.”
At the shows, Farrington said he and
his team were looking for “new, creative
brands with great value.” He saw the
opportunity to add business in the “middle and lower zones, so we need to keep
building on that.”
As a result, he was shopping for
active-inspired knitwear and well as sport
coats.
Craig DeLongy of John Craig in Florida
was lucky enough to have arrived in New
York before the storm and worked the
showroom circuit over the weekend. “I hit
every appointment on time,” he said.
Although overall business is strong in
his eight stores, “we were not immune to
the lack of cold weather which crippled
sweater and sport coat sales,” he said.
“But our zip codes are where people want
to live and visit, so we’re doing well.”
Even so, he said he was “approaching
fall with caution in capital letters.”
He said color is what drives sales at his
stores and gives people a reason to buy, so
he was looking for pops of color in woven
tops and sport coats — “things to keep us
from a drab winter.”
David Rubenstein of Rubensteins in New
Orleans said, “We made our numbers”
for fall and holiday “and we didn’t give
anything away. But January has been a
bit of a struggle.” Sportswear has been
a strong performer at his stores. Jackets
and sweaters were slow as were suits, but
sport coats were OK and pants were making inroads on jeans.
At the shows, he liked the “new stripes”
in shirts as well as some “items,” such as
bags. But in general, he said he wasn’t
ready to write big orders and would play it
by ear. “It’ll be a phone call fall,” he said.
Here are some highlights from the
shows:
PROJECT
Brand: Anderson’s
Inspiration: The brand was founded in
Italy in 1966 by Carlo Valenti, who learned
the art of belt making at a leather factory
in Parma, Italy, as a youngster. He came
up with the name of the business because
of his fondness for English tailoring,
notably Anderson & Sheppard. The
company is still family-owned and its belts
are still made in Italy. Anderson’s has since
expanded into other categories including
bracelets and bags.
Key Styles: The bag collection mimics
the belts with its woven viscose and
nylon construction and each one takes
60 hours to make, according to Nick
Weinberg of The Finchley Group, the
brand’s U.S. agent. There are backpacks,
briefcases, totes, messengers, duffels and
weekenders in both classic and bright
color combinations.
Prices: Belts are $150 for leather to $865
for crocodile. Bags are $750 to $1,300.
Brand: Scotch & Soda
Designer: Marlou van Engelen, creative
director
Inspiration: The Amsterdam-based brand
is focused on casual sportswear pieces
such as colorful patterned chinos and
washed cotton shirts. It is known for its fit,
detailing and lively prints and patterns.
Key Styles: For fall, the collection is
broken down into four parts: Nordic
Spirit, which reinvents blanket and Fair
Isle prints with blasts of bright colors;
Clubhouse Royals, which is inspired by
the Scottish Highlands with its tartans
and tweeds in reinvented classic shapes;
Nomadic Ramblers, which encompasses
the brand’s technical outerwear offerings,
and Silk Soiree, an assortment of
colorful prints, appliqués on coats and
deconstructed velvet suits.
Prices: Outerwear ranges from $195 to
$495. Blazers are $275 to $395, shirts are
$98 to $200, sweaters are $90 to $250, and
pants are $100 to $200.
Brand: S.M.N.
Designer: Jazmin Kim
Inspiration: Kim, who previously held
design posts at Citizens of Humanity and
AG Jeans, and Jennifer Liss, who spent
seven years on the sales side at Citizens of
Humanity, wanted to explore the beauty
of the five-pocket jean, hence the name
S.M.N., which stands for simple, modern
and nonpareil. The L.A.-based brand is
attempting to enter the contemporary
market with this collection, which will
launch exclusively at Ron Herman this
April.
Key Styles: The collection consists of
three silhouettes (tapered slim, standard
slim and slim straight) that are 98 percent
cotton and 2 percent stretch. The line also
includes a capsule collection made from
Japanese selvage denim and two different
denim jackets. Liss said that, unlike its
competitors, S.M.N. is working with a
heavier 11- and 12-ounce denim.
Prices: Jeans range from $184 to $262,
knits range from $62 to $130, denim
jackets range from $390 to $598 and the
Japanese capsule collection ranges from
$350 to $550.
Brand: Christopher Fischer
Designer: Christopher R. Fischer
Inspiration: After taking a short hiatus
from designing men’s to focus on his
women’s line, Christopher Fischer is
making his way back to the category.
For this collection Fischer drew from
his Scottish background and produced
sweaters with texture modeled after
Donegal tweeds. He also looked to lasercut garments when creating seams and
producing different stitch techniques.
Key Styles: Fischer has introduced
cashmere lounge pants with zip pockets,
sweater jackets, double face, two-tone
cashmere sweaters and a line of limitededition, hand-loomed knits.
Prices: The mainline collection is priced
from $200 to $500 and the limited-edition
line will retail from $1,000 to $2,000.
LIBERTY
Brand: Descente Allterrain
Designer: Mitsuru Tamada
Inspiration: The Descente line got its
start as a skiwear company in 1935 and
the Allterrain fashion-skewed part of
the collection made its debut in 2013 in
Japan. The term Allterrain refers to the
garments’ ability to perform in a variety of
conditions and situations and its mantra
is “form follows function,” which means
it puts design ahead of functionality. This
season marks its official launch in North
America.
Key Styles: The Mizusawa Down Jacket is
completely waterproof and looks similar
to a quilted jacket, but is actually heatwelded, seam-taped and not quilted,
meaning there are no seams that can leak.
But the shape is similar to a traditional
model and there is a minimum of
decoration. In addition to the black and
navy, the jacket is available in one pop
color each season — in this case, bright
yellow.
Prices: The Mizusawa jacket retails for
$1,200.
Brand: Project A
Inspiration: An elevated, limitededition collection offered by the team at
CONTINUED ON PG.11
Photographs by George Chinsee
● Updated sportswear and
11
29 JANUARY 2016 Retailers Proceed With
Caution at Trade Shows
Zanerobe, Project A is a luxury streetwear
line. It produces only two collections
a year of elongated, tapered and clean
garments crafted from Italian, Japanese
and Korean fabrics. Most pieces are
produced in limited runs of 30 or 60
items. The design team starts by choosing
the body and construction and then finds
the right fabric to tell the story. Extended
hems encourage layering.
Key Styles: T-shirts are created from
double 60s untreated cotton for a nearly
raw appearance, some have scalloped
hems designed to peek out of the bottom
of more traditional models and encourage
layering. One seasonal print each season
— for fall, it’s an exploded granite digital
print — inject interest into the otherwise
muted palette. Woven shirts are super
clean, bomber jackets have invisible
zippers and internal quilting, Australian
merino wool is used for lightweight
knitwear and there’s also a suit designed
for traveling that won’t wrinkle and offers
stretch.
Prices: T-shirts are $80, bottoms are
$220, jackets are $350 and a merino wool
overcoat is $800.
Brand: Still by Hand
Designer: Yusuke Yanagi
Inspiration: This 15-year-old line,
which is based in Tokyo, is known for
its craftsmanship. Yanagi likes to perfect
classic pieces and combine traditional
fabrics such as wool and cotton with
synthetic, performance materials. The
line is currently carried in Need Supply,
Voyager and Hammer + Awl.
Key Styles: Highlights from the fall 2016
assortment include quilted trousers and
vests, denim jackets, hooded wool coats
with hand-warming pockets and patterned
knits.
Prices: Shirts retail for $180, jackets are
priced around $300, knits retail around
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
$160, and T-shirts are priced around $80.
Brand: Gamin
Designer: Lauren Richards and Mark
Ignaczak
Inspiration: The duo creates cuffs, rings,
earrings and necklaces for its threeyear-old line, which draws heavily from
Morocco, out of a Brooklyn studio. The
line is sold at retailers including Robert
James and Palmer Trading Company.
Key Styles: Richards and Ignaczak
wanted to produce pieces that feature
subtle interactions with leather and
metals. Cuffs are covered with leather
cords or weaved within the metal and ear
cuffs are embellished with small metal
rings. A sterling silver ring modeled after
a Moroccan piece of jewelry displays
symbols from the Berber language.
Prices: Cuffs range from $180 to $500,
rings range from $225 to $310, earrings
range from $155 to $225 and necklaces are
priced from $230 to $250.
CAPSULE
Brand: Article No.
Designer: Ant de Padovane and Josh
Willis
Inspiration: The team behind this
sneaker brand has deep roots in the
footwear industry. Article No.’s president,
Michael Jonte, formerly served as the
vice president of footwear at Vans, while
Willis was the creative director at Creative
Recreation. The Los Angeles-based line,
which is in its third season, has caught the
attention of Barneys New York, Harvey
Nichols and Kith with its sneakers that
feature distinctive proportions.
Key Styles: The sneakers are made from
luxury materials and animal skins and
some include a Neoprene sock liner. Style
CONTINUED ON PG.12
Gamin
Article No.
Photographs by George Chinsee
Descente Allterrain
N-P Elliott 12 29 JANUARY 2016
Retailers Proceed With
Caution at Trade Shows
MRKET
Brand: Brandblack
Designer: Scott Nelson, apparel designer
Inspiration: The brand started three
years ago with a core of athletic footwear
and provides Jamal Crawford of the L.A.
Clippers and NFL Pro-Bowler Desean
Jackson with shoes. Blackbrand’s apparel
offering blends the latest performance
technology with fashion silhouettes.
Key Styles: A ripstop nylon running
jacket with a mesh lining is completely
waterproof. Running shorts are available
in tri-tone shades with reflective details
and interior compression shorts. Moisture
wicking compression tights have hidden
rear pockets to fit a cell phone. Some
of the more fashion-forward silhouettes
include hooded jackets with a fishtail
bottom and a French terry sweat with a
drop crotch.
Prices: $80 to $280.
Brand: Barbour
Designer: Ian Bergin
Inspiration: The English luxury brand is
celebrating its 120th anniversary this year
and is famous for its classic countrysideinspired outerwear and sportswear,
including heritage wovens. It is probably
best known for its waxed cotton jackets,
designed to protect the wearer from the
misty English weather.
Key Styles: Although the brand is over
a century old, it is offering collections
designed to appeal to a younger
customer, notably its Ancient Tartan and
Night Watch lines. Marked by a slimmer
fit and more on-trend styling, the pieces
offer reimagined classics in technical
fabrics with utilitarian details in coats,
shirts and knitwear. There are even spots
of color, including bright yellows and
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
greens.
Prices: Mid-layers are $125 to $225 and
outerwear is $375 to $575.
MAN
Brand: Sage De Crêt
Designer: Kimitoshi Chida
Inspiration: The line was launched by
Chida in 2001 in Tokyo, and its name
means “sensible” and “order” in French.
That translates into a collection with
refined ease and a relaxed fit replete with
military and workwear influences. Fabrics
are garment dyed and washed to achieve
a relaxed feeling and there is a lot of
patchwork on shirts and jackets.
Key Styles: A traditional blazer is offered
in a camo print and a pinstriped blazer
and a coat is in a wool/cashmere blend.
There is a trenchcoat with a rabbit lining
and collar and woven shirts have contrast
cuffs and pockets.
Prices: Shirts are $300, pants are $350,
jackets are $800 to $1,000 and the furlined trench is $2,500.
Brand: Andersen-Andersen
Inspiration: The family-owned Danish
brand was founded in 2009 by Catherine
Lundgren-Andersen, product director,
and Peter Kjaer-Andersen, art director,
who were on a quest to create the perfect
sailor sweater.
Key Styles: The sweaters are all knit
in Italy from 100 percent merino wool.
They’re offered in a variety of patterns,
colors and styles including turtlenecks,
crewnecks, and half and full zips. This
season, stripes are also key, and most of
the models are symmetrical so there’s no
front or back.
Prices: $179 to $434.
Brand: You As
Designer: Tony Liu
Design/inspiration: Liu, who studied
fine art at The School of the Art Institute
of Chicago, started working on his line a
year ago. The first collection, which was
inspired by men’s wear of the Fifties and
Sixties, consists of wardrobe essentials
that Liu said can still “stand on their
own.”
Key styles: Liu has riffed on classic
styles and homed in on their details. He
designed a minimal version of a goatskin
perfecto jacket and embellished cotton
shirts with either satin piping or collar
snaps. Wool-blend trousers are updated
with elasticized waists and knits are made
from space dyed yarn.
Prices: Outerwear ranges from $675 to
$1,275, shirts retail from $195 to $225,
knits retail from $150 to $295 and pants
are priced around $240.
Brand: Kinfolk
Designer: Jey Perie and Salah Mason
Inspiration: The brand, which launched
in 2008 as a bicycle shop in Tokyo,
introduced its first in-house, men’s
apparel line last season. This season Perie
said they looked to their usual points
of reference: Japan, New York City and
the Pacific Northwest, along with the
Seventies.
Key Styles: Kinfolk partnered with
outerwear brand Cockpit on a shearling
coat, which comes in a new, more
streamlined silhouette, and produced
fleece shirts, mock-neck sweaters and a
pinstriped bomber jacket decorated with
a rabbit wearing sunglasses and smoking
a cigarette. “It looks like he’s enjoying
his life,” Perie said. The assortment also
includes a series of T-shirts covered in
various Kinfolk logos and Seventiesinspired graphics.
Prices: The line starts at $40 for graphic
T-shirts and goes up to $1,800
for outerwear.
Barbour
Photographs by George Chinsee
number 0925, a new silhouette, is a classic
low-top sneaker with an exaggerated outsole depth and an elongated tongue. The
brand has also launched women’s for fall.
Prices: Shoes retail from $140 to $295.
Brand: N-p-Elliott
Designer: Nicholas Elliott
Inspiration: Elliott, who comes from
Scotland, studied at the London College of
Fashion before working in New York City
as a photographer and starting his collection. Elliott said his line, which is in its
second season, references space, Stanley
Kubrick and the work of architect Oscar
Niemeyer. “I like to be crazy but practicality is important to me,” Elliott said."
Key Styles: The collection features traces
of punk with oversize, wide-leg trousers,
latex skinny pants and a collared, faux fur
coat. Other pieces include a zip-up denim
jacket, a quilted top with cap sleeves
and an uneven hem, and a sleeveless,
ankle-grazing coat.
Prices: The collection retails from $200
for tops and shirts to $1,000 for outerwear.
Brand: Wood Wood
Designer: Karl-Oskar Olsen and Brian SS
Jensen
Inspiration: The contemporary brand
was founded in 2002 in Copenhagen and
blends fashion, sports and streetwear
with youth culture, art and music. It operates five stores in Europe and has lined up
more than 50 collaborations with brands
including Nike, Barbour and Adidas.
Key Styles: The fall collection offers
hybrid versions of classic models with
contemporary detailing in everything
from suits, cropped corduroy pants and
leather flight jackets to short-sleeved
shirts. There is both a Street Basic and
Contemporary Fashion segment.
Prices: A sweatshirt is $170, caps are $55,
a bomber is $340 and T-shirts are $75.
Brandblack
13
29 JANUARY 2016 RETAIL
Primark Signs On
At American Dream
● The value retailer signed a
100,000-square-foot lease
at the New Jersey retail and
entertainment complex
BY SHARON EDELSON
NEW YORK — American Dream, the
three million-square-foot shopping and
entertainment center opening in 2017 in
East Rutherford, N.J., hopes to attract 40
million shoppers annually across a range
of ages and incomes. The project will have
tenants ranging from Primark at the low
end of the price spectrum to Hermès at
the high end.
Primark is the latest retailer to sign on
to the massive project, with plans to open
a 100,000-square-foot store. Primark
will be located on the third floor in the
off-price district, which will also include a
30,000-square-foot Saks Off 5th.
“Primark is an established international
brand that will deliver European merchandise at amazing value to our customers,”
said Don Ghermezian, president of Triple
Five, which is developing American
Dream. “Showcasing Primark, a relevant
and unique fashion retailer with a vast
assortment of fast and mainstream fashion” will help differentiate the property.
Paul Marchant, Primark’s chief executive officer, said the American Dream
American Dream will
include a water park,
amusement park and
16-story indoor ski and
snow park.
store will be a step forward in the retailer’s
focused momentum in the Northeast.
Primark operates two stores in the
U.S., one in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, and the other at the King of Prussia
Mall in King of Prussia, Pa. The retailer
has revealed plans to open six more U.S.
stores this year.
American Dream will have 500 stores,
restaurants and services, including
Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, FAO
Schwartz, Toys ‘R’ Us, Uniqlo, Zara, Victoria’s Secret, Aritzia, Lululemon, Banana
Republic, Gap, MAC and Microsoft.
Hermès will unveil an 8,000-square-foot
store on two levels, located across from
Saks Fifth Avenue. It will be part of American Dream’s 460,000-square-foot luxury
area devoted to European and American
designers.
The American Dream complex will
also house North America’s largest fully
enclosed DreamWorks-themed water
park, an amusement park and a 16-story
Big Snow indoor ski and snow park, a Sea
Life Aquarium, NHL-sized ice skating ring,
Cinemax movie theater and 1,500-seat live
theater. A dining terrace and 15-full service
restaurants will feature three eateries from
Tom Billante, president of Carpaccio at the
Bal Harbour Shops, and his partner
Alex Kalas.
Rebecca Minkoff’s Valentine’s
Day chocolates.
THE MARKETS
Rebecca Minkoff Signs
Deal for Chocolates
● The Valentine’s Day
chocolates will be available
Feb. 1 online and at
Minkoff and Maggie Louise
Confections' stores.
BY LISA LOCKWOOD
Rebecca Minkoff has a sweet idea for
Valentine’s Day.
The designer has teamed with
Maggie Louise Confections, an Austin, Tex.-based chocolatier, for a
chocolate collection. The Valentine’s
Day chocolates will be available Feb.
1 online at rebeccaminkoff.com and
maggielouiseconfections.com, as well as
Minkoff ’s three retail locations in New
York, Los Angeles and San Francisco,
as well as Maggie Louise Confection’s
flagship in Austin.
Minkoff ’s chocolate sampling will
be sold until Feb. 14. There are three
different offerings, ranging from $10
for a three-piece box to $29 for a ninepiece box. Chocolates include dark
chocolate letters, dark chocolate lips
filled with cream caramel and sea salt,
and a milk chocolate jewel filled with
vanilla marshmallow and spiced graham
cracker.
Both Minkoff and Maggie Callahan,
founder and creative director of Maggie
Louise Confections, have joined forces
with Every Mother Counts, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to making
pregnancy and childbirth safe for every
mother. Twenty percent of every box of
chocolates sold through Valentine’s Day
will support the cause.
Minkoff, who noted that chocolate is
her favorite food, said she was happy
“to help support another female entrepreneur and give back to others during
this season of love.”
Callahan added, “I’ve always admired
Rebecca’s unique style and her remarkable business accomplishments. It’s
been a wonderful experience collaborating to create a beautiful and delicious
chocolate collection. The cherry on top:
Our work is supporting such a meaningful cause.”
Minkoff ’s not the first designer to
lend her name to a chocolate line, but
hopefully she’ll have more success. Who
can forget Bill Blass’ ill-fated deal for a
chocolate line with Godiva in the
early 1980s?
BUSINESS
Ferragamo’s
Sales Climb 7.4%
● Growth was centered in
handbags and leather goods.
BY LUISA ZARGANI
MILAN — Solid global growth, boosted
by its handbags and leather goods accessories in both the retail and wholesale
channels, lifted Salvatore Ferragamo
SpA’s revenues by 7.4 percent in the 12
months ended Dec. 31.
The Florence-based group, which is
listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, at
the end of the day Thursday reported
preliminary revenues rose to 1.43
billion euros, or $1.58 billion at average
exchange, compared with the previous
year. This included a negative hedging effect of 51 million euros, or $56.6
million. At constant exchange rate, sales
grew 1.3 percent.
The group’s core market, the Asia-Pacific area, posted a 4 percent increase in
sales and represented 36 percent of total
revenues. In the last quarter, the region
climbed 8 percent, despite a hard comparison base of 11 percent in the same
quarter last year and the deterioration of
business in Hong Kong.
The company’s retail channel posted
10 percent growth in China and a 10 percent rise also in the fourth quarter, an
improvement compared with the third
quarter, when sales were down 3 percent
in the area.
Sales in Europe were up 7 percent in
the full year and 9 percent in the last
quarter despite the terrorist attacks in
Paris during the period, which impacted
tourism to the region.
North America was penalized by the
strong dollar and a drop in tourism.
While it registered a 9 percent increase
in sales for the year, the region was down
2 percent at constant exchange.
Japan was up 14 percent for the year
and 18 percent in the fourth quarter, also
thanks to tourists traveling from China.
Revenues in Central and South America gained 12 percent.
At the end of December, the group had
391 directly operated stores, while the
wholesale and travel retail channel comprised 271 third party-operated stores
as well as a presence in department
stores and high-end multibrand specialty
stores.
For the year, the group’s own retail
channel posted a growth of 7 percent. At
constant exchange rates the increase was
1 percent and like-for-like revenues at
constant rates were down 3 percent.
The wholesale channel grew 7 percent,
thanks to the travel retail division.
Handbags and leather accessories
posted 12 percent growth.
Full-year figures, including profits, will
be released on March 17.
A Salvatore Ferragamo
bag for spring.
14 29 JANUARY 2016
Anne de Carbuccia’s Moments in Time
An exhibition of the artist’s “Time Shrines” photographs is opening in Monaco.
Artist Anne de Carbuccia’s
message is razor-sharp clear,
prompting viewers of her
photos to reflect on the damage
mankind has done to nature
and animals. “We are past
judgments. There’s no pointing
fingers here but, rather, there are
questions on what we want for
the future,” says de Carbuccia
at her Milan studio ahead of her
first public exhibition, “Water
at Dusk,” opening at Monaco’s
Musée Océanographique on
Friday.
The striking photos are part
of an ongoing project called
“Time Shrines” by de Carbuccia, who is an art historian
and anthropologist born in
New York and raised in Paris.
She draws inspiration from
16th- and 17th-century vanitas
art and meticulously creates
time shrines reminiscent of
still-life paintings of that period,
which generally featured a skull
and an hourglass. “These are
symbols of time, not death, and
I build shrines to time. They are
static installations in a natural
lively environment,” she explains,
pointing to the transient nature
of human existence and the
resilience of the earth.
De Carbuccia adds organic
elements to the shrine, such as
a whalebone or shells, as well as
tribal ornaments. The locations
are remote, from the Kilimanjaro
jungles to Antarctica and the
Mekong River in Laos, highlighting the erosion of glaciers or the
dams that threaten the river’s
ecology. But de Carbuccia also
tackles issues that are closer
to home, such as the mounds
of toxic waste buried in the
so-called “Terra dei Fuochi”
(“land of fires”) between Naples
and Caserta in Italy, or that of
Here, above and right: A visual
from Anne de Carbuccia’s
“Water at Dusk” exhibit.
Anna Cleveland and
Caroline Vreeland
Karl Lagerfeld, Babeth
Djian Host Couture Bash
Owen Wilson, Clare Waight Keller and Haider Ackermann were among guests.
The fashion world loves "Zoolander" and
Owen Wilson, the blockbuster's star, loves
it back.
Wilson and his two brothers, Luke and
Andrew, turned up at the party cohosted by
Karl Lagerfeld and Babeth Djian, editorial
director and founder of Numéro magazine,
at Paris' Castel Club on Wednesday night.
The occasion was the release of a
tome published by Steidl titled, “La Couture
fait son Numéro,” edited by Eric Pfrunder,
image director of Chanel. It contains a selection of couture series shot by Lagerfeld
for the magazine over the last 15 years.
“I just saw [Karl Lagerfeld]. It was exciting
to see him," said Wilson, who was in the
City of Light to present the movie sequel,
"Zoolander 2," opening Feb. 12. “I love being
in Paris,” he told WWD, noting it was his first
time at city's mythic club.
A roster of designers, including Clare
Waight Keller, Haider Ackermann, Giambattista Valli, Viktor Horsting, Rolf Snoeren,
Bouchra Jarrar and David Koma — as well
as executives Delphine Arnault, Michael
Burke and Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye —
were in attendance.
"It is hard not to be a ['Zoolander'] fan,"
said Peter Marino. "I have only seen the
first one; the reality of fashion is way more
absurd," the American architect joked. "I
saw a [trailer for 'Zoolander 2'], where [the
actor] is lying on the saddle of a horse and
a girl is spanking him. I thought it was pretty
hilarious."
"We made a promise with David [Koma]
to go see the movie altogether [with the
Mugler team] when it comes out," said
Virginie Courtin-Clarins, who hinted at the
fall 2016 collection for Mugler with the word
"tribal."
"But it's still going to be Mugler, so
'Mugler tribal,'" she added.
Lagerfeld, Waight Keller and Arnault
were among those who made their way
downstairs for the performance of the
up-and-coming band Minuit, which was
formed by children of the legendary French
pop-rock group Les Rita Mitsouko.
"It's very Eighties," noted Horsting. "My
music taste is eclectic — from trance to
Rachmaninoff."
The bright young things of French cinema — Marie-Ange Casta, Ana Girardot, Lou
Lesage and Jessé Rémond Lacroix — were
at the event.
Girardot said she plans to launch a bag
collection.
"They are tote bags in leather. I started
designing them for myself and my friends
keep asking me [for them]," she said.
French actor and director Michaël Cohen said he just wrapped up a commercial
for Lancôme starring Alma Jodorowsky
and that he's working on his new film "L'Invitation," in which he costars with Nicolas
Bedos.
"It's a buddy movie," said Cohen. "Not
really like 'Zoolander,' but more in line with
[the films of] Judd Apatow."
Numéro owner Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers
likened Lagerfeld to a modern-day Andy
Babeth Djian and
Owen Wilson
Warhol — "pop, cultivated and creative."
"We are celebrating 15 years of complicity," said Djian. "Like in his shows, Karl
dazzles," she added, flipping through the
pages of "La Couture fait son Numéro."
In one photo he shot for a Numéro
couture issue in 2004, Lily Cole wears Dior
couture in a circus. In another from June
2003, it's Linda Evangelista backstage at a
couture show. Meanwhile, the last images,
from March 2015, feature model Anna
Ewers wearing Chanel couture for a series
called "La couture en fleurs" (or "Couture
in bloom").
The book is being showcased in the windows of Paris' bookstore Galignani before
rolling out to other select bookshops. — LAURE GUILBAULT
Carbuccia photographs by Anne de Carbuccia; Couture bash by Stéphane Feugère
Karl Lagerfeld and
Clare Waight Keller
migrants on the Mediterranean
island of Lampedusa, off Sicily.
De Carbuccia takes plenty
of risks to capture the right
image, a few steps away from
wild elephants and hippos, or
perched on the edge of a glacier.
But there are no tricks, no quick
swipe of Photoshop to inject an
animal or particular sunset. She
simply waits and waits until the
right image is before her.
“These are intimate situations, and I never know what I
will find, so I wait with patience
and in silence. I never have a big
crew,” she says.
The Monaco exhibit is a
precursor to a larger one de
Carbuccia is organizing in New
York that will open Sept. 30 at
the Westbeth Art Gallery. In
2014, she founded the nonprofit
organization Timeshrine Project,
which donates proceeds from
the sale of her works to protect
the environment.
“This is my way to exorcise
what may happen in the future,”
de Carbuccia adds, noting that
the younger generation is much
more attentive to ecological
issues. “Do we want to live in a
world without elephants? We
have choices we can make,
especially as a consumer.”
— LUISA ZARGANI
16 29 JANUARY 2016
Tommy Hilfiger
A visual from the Diesel Black
Gold spring ad campaign.
FASHION
FGI Rising
Star Winners
Announced
● Brandon Maxwell won for
Women’s Ready-to-Wear and
EFM’s Donrad Duncan and
Malan Breton Homme’s Malen
Breton tied for men’s wear
at FGI Rising Star Awards
Thursday.
BY ROSEMARY FEITELBERG
Tommy Hilfiger will host New York Fashion Week’s
first ever “InstaPit” for Instagram content creators at
its fall women’s fashion show.
The Hilfiger Collection fashion show will return to
the Park Avenue Armory at 11 a.m. on Feb. 15.
The “InstaPit” will create an exclusive space for
Instagrammers to capture fall 2016 looks. The concept is aimed at generating runway photography that
reflects the brand’s vision and to further democratize
the show experience.
“Each season we use digital technology in innovative ways that transform the show setting and open
the experience to everyone — from guests in New
York to our global fan base watching via live-stream
and on social media,” Hilfiger said. He anticipates that
“InstaPit” will leverage the platform’s popularity and
influence in the industry.
Past digital innovations at Hilfiger Collection
shows have included “Twitter Halo” for spring 2016,
where Gigi Hadid, Suki and Immy Waterhouse and
Joe Jonas, among others, lined up to film 360-degree “Halo” videos that were shared in real time and
embedded in the Tommy Hilfiger Twitter feed. The
“Vine 360 Booth” backstage at the spring 2015 show
generated widely viewed posts from Kendall Jenner,
Georgia May Jagger and Alexa Chung, among others. For the fall 2014 show, the brand hosted its first
runway show “InstaMeet” where a group of 20 local
O’Neal dipped in shoe polish…I give good range,
apparently.”
— LISA LOCKWOOD
— LEIGH NORDSTROM
SHE LOOKS LIKE...
URBAN LEGEND
It’s not often the photographers will outnumber
the who’s who at any fashion party — but that was
entirely the case Wednesday evening as Steve Eichner – former longtime WWD nightlife photographer
– launched his new venture, NameFace. Surrounded
by many of his photographer friends (the BFA boys,
et al.), Eichner and his business partner, computer
coder Daniela Kirsch, took to No. 8 in Chelsea to
celebrate their project, with drinks and a presentation
of their Kickstarter campaign.
Socials including Alina Cho, Gillian Miniter, Kelly
Killoren Bensimon and Jill Kargman and designers
Bibhu Mohapatra and Nicole Miller came out to show
their support.
NameFace aims to save event photographers
the hours they spend every night identifying their
subjects. The program scans the photograph and
suggests an identification — cutting out much of the
time and headache for photographers.
“I get confused for Bette Midler,” said DJ Marjorie
Gubelmann of who most often she’s mistaken for in
photographs. “People need to get their NameFace
going.”
Kargman, who showed off her newest tattoo, “New
York,” emblazoned across her back, has apparently
had quite the range of look-alikes.
“People used to say I looked like Alan Rickman in
drag,” she said. “I’ve had that, Marilyn Manson, Tatum
Diesel Black Gold’s creative director Andreas
Melbostad returned to his go-to photographer Karim
Sadli for the brand’s spring 2016 ad campaign, but
for the first time tapped Lexi Boling to appear in the
images, together with Timur Muharemovic.
“Lexi has the right modern, cool attitude that
reflects the collection, an attitude that is very important when designing the line,” Melbostad told WWD.
Defining her look as “androgynous,” the designer
added that Boling and Muharemovic “as a couple feel
relatable and modern.”
Melbostad said he chose to work with the French
photographer for the fourth time because of the “established” relationship and “very nice collaboration
built over time. I like the sense of consistency and progression.” While previous campaigns were in black
and white, the spring images are in color, for “a new
appeal.” Melbostad explained he decided to shoot
in Los Angeles by the Sixth Street Viaduct, which is
being torn down. “We were perhaps the last to shoot
there; it’s a pity, it’s such an iconic and distinctive
bridge that has appeared in films such as the original
‘The Transformers’ and ‘Grease.’”
The designer said he wanted “a beautiful summer-looking location,” yet one that represented an
“empty urban landscape,”reflecting the brand’s
“international attitude but urban spirit.”
— LUISA ZARGANI
Tracy Reese
Pre-Fall 2016
CH-CH-CHANGES
Tracy Reese is shaking things up for New York
Fashion Week. For her upcoming fall 2016 collection, the designer will premiere a short fashion film,
“A Detroit Love Song,” alongside a small presentation on models. On a phone call before hopping
on a plane to Detroit, Mich., Reese said she was
craving a more intimate and immersive fashion
show experience.
“We’ve been yearning for a change. We sense
it all around us. I feel like this is going to be a pivotal
season for change in terms of how people are presenting collections,” Reese said. “We’re looking to
the future. Are we going to be going direct-to-consumer soon? We’re not sure. But we’re all feeling a
little bit of runway fatigue. We’ve been wanting to
do something different that felt more expressive of
who we are and what the collection is about — and
a little more artistic. We wanted to break away, and
it seemed like a perfect time to do that.”
The film is an ode to Reese’s hometown of
Detroit, featuring local talent, including an original
score by jazz violinist Regina Carter. The idea came
to her over the recent Christmas holiday, which she
spends in the city with her family. “Detroit seemed
like the perfect backdrop for the collection. The
minute the words came out of my lips, things just
fell into place. So many people wanted to participate and add their talent to the piece,” she said.
Reese’s presentation and screening will take
place at The Roxy, formerly The Tribeca Grand
Hotel, on Sunday, Feb. 14.
— KRISTI GARCED
TEAM GAULTIER
Jean Paul Gaultier celebrated his spring 2016
fashion collection in high style Wednesday night at
Le Grand Colbert.
Zaniness abounded at the Paris brasserie,
which gathered longstanding close friends including Farida Khelfa, Victoria Abril and Blanca Li, who
at one point began chanting in unison “Jean Paul,
Jean Paul.”
One voice rang out above the crowd — that of
Beth Ditto. She had come to town specifically for
the designer’s show earlier in the day. The Gossip
singer shared what she likes best to do in Paris.
“Eat butter,” Ditto said with a laugh. “Why is the
butter amazing? It’s like eating cheese. Museums
are good…butter’s better.”
Ditto added that she’s at work on a solo record
and readying the launch of her plus-size fashion
line, which is due out in February.
Earlier in the evening, before Ditto was lifted on
to the restaurant’s zinc bar to serenade guests,
waiters wheeled in two covered dishes that
contained not appetizers, not main courses — but
talking heads. Two women (whose bodies were
literally out of sight) carried on a disjointed conversation in various languages across the room,
before being concealed by covers and whisked
away again.
It was, indeed, surreal: A contortionist painted
gold plied her craft on the bar as a welcome to
guests. One waiter walked on extreme wedged
shoes. Gaultier tried on a wig, and someone with
red-glittered lips popped out of a cake with lighted
candles to mark the Jean Paul Gaultier fashion
brand’s 40 years.
Then the evening evolved into a dance fest, after
each guest was given a cardboard mask (with an
image of Gaultier’s face) to sport.
Alongside four decades in fashion, 2016 marks
the first year the Gaultier fragrance label is being
developed by Puig. And on Thursday, the house
revealed to journalists the debut advertising campaign under its purview.
The film version, shot by Miles Aldridge with
Dvein, will break Friday worldwide with a 47-second
spot.
The television ad is for both Jean Paul Gaultier
fragrance blockbusters — Le Male for men and
Classique for women. Its backdrop is a factory but,
of course, with a twist à la Gaultier. While all of his
iconography is evident — think women in corsets
and men sporting striped shirts — the setting is
industrial.
A sailor throws a lever (that’s his size) of the
mechanism. Actual women roll out on conveyor
belts, and robots handle the perfume bottles. The
Blanca Li,
Jean Paul
Gaulter,
Farida
Khelfa
and
Victoria
Abril
spot features models Daphne Groeneveld and
Chris Bunn.
Gaultier said the factory theme goes back to
his “high-tech” collection from the late Seventies
and the spirit of the tin-can packaging he chose to
hold his fragrances (taking the form of busts) from
the start.
“It was like a body in conserve, that was the
idea,” he said. “So [with the ad] it’s a little like coming
back to the essence of the can, and the industrial
way it’s done. It is at the same time humoristic and
futuristic. The factory is like a paradox with couture
— which is good.”
Aldridge also lensed the still single page ads for
each of the scent.
— JENNIFER WEIL
With more than 75 million people
employed in the global fashion industry
(four-million-plus in the U.S. alone), guests
at Thursday’s Fashion Group International’s
Rising Star awards were reminded by Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo, “there’s room
for all of you with an idea and a dream.”
Some — like Brandon Maxwell, Brett Heyman and Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger — had those
ideas fast-tracked with wins at the Cipriani
42nd Street event. As Fargo noted, they follow in the footsteps of previous winners like
Tory Burch, Thom Browne, Joseph Altuzarra
and Cornelia Guest. “Fashion as a profession
has probably overtaken sports as an international obsession and business. The tougher
news is that it’s increasingly competitive,”
Fargo said.
So much so that in presenting the Rising
Star Accessories award, Guest revealed a
tie between Heyman’s Edie Parker and Hilfiger’s Dee Ocleppo collections. Slightly out
of breath, Hilfiger told the crowd, “In fact,
my husband, Tommy, who is here with me
today, was preparing me all week for losing.”
There was also a tie for men’s wear with
EFM’s Donrad Duncan and Malan Breton
Homme’s Malan Breton sharing top honors.
The latter thanked his former mentor at
Turnbull & Asser, Paul Cuss, and the late
Arnold Scaasi, among others. Brandon Maxwell, the winner for Women’s Ready-to-Wear
rising star, the most competitive category
with eight contenders, also had a long list of
thanks that included his mother and father
(who runs the business), a friendly adviser
Domenico De Sole and every magazine that
ever employed him as stylist, giving him
money to help start his company.
The Rising Star Retail winner was Catherine Smith, who started the PDV site to focus
on emerging designers in November 2014.
Top honors for Home/Interior Design went
to Aerin Lauder for her Aerin collection,
who, in thanking her team said, “My uncle
Leonard always says, ‘You’re only as good as
the people around you’ and I’m surrounded
by the best.”
Cadar’s Michal Kadar for Fine Jewelry,
Firmenich’s Clio Ermenidis for Beauty/Fragrance Corporate, and Vbeauté’s Julie Macklowe for Beauty/Fragrance Entrepreneur
were the other winners. Any celebrations
were short-lived, as many, like Maxwell, had
similar plans — head back to work.
Tommy Hilfiger and
Dee Ocleppo
FGI photograph by George Chinsee; Diesel Black Gold by Karim Sadli/courtesy of Diesel
OPEN FOR ALL
Instagrammers were invited to join Hilfiger on show
day to capture the fashion show scene.