see page 2 - InterLuxe

DAILY EDITION 17 AUGUST 2015 1
First Step
Fashion. Beauty. Business.
G-Star Raw’s store opening
in India begins an
aggressive expansion in the
country. PAGE 3
Pictures of Health
Pantone makes first color
system addition in three
years. PAGE 2
Retail Plays Catchup
Marketer Catherine Sadler
discusses the malaise at the
mall. PAGE 8
RETAIL
J.C. Penney Sees
Improvement
● CEO Marvin Ellison outlines
Photograph by Alexander Saladrigas; Styled by Mayte Allende; Model: Sophie/DNA; Hair: Paul Warren/Art Department; Makeup: Miguel Lledo/ArtList; Photo Assistant: Dfernando Zaremba; Fashion Assistant: Milton Dixon; Bracelets by Giles and Brother; Rings by IRO and Campbell; Earrings by Kara Ross
what’s in store for further
progress.
BY DAVID MOIN
J.C. Penney & Co. Inc. feels good about
its performance.
That being said, there’s plenty of work
left to do to return to profitability.
After reporting on Friday a narrower
loss and a solid top-line performance
for the third quarter, officials outlined
exactly where the company needs repair
work, and where it’s doing just fine.
Customers are returning to Penney’s
and there are now approximately 87 million active customers, the same level as
2011 before the catastrophic Ron Johnson
regime from 2011 to 2013 led to mass
shopper defection to competitors.
Also, judging from the third-quarter
figures, the business is improving — even
in women’s. Major changes on the selling
floors are ongoing, from center core to
footwear and home, and Sephora continues as a top performer and is being rolled
out to additional Penney’s doors.
“When you look at men’s and women’s
apparel, they’ve been two of our strongest businesses for the first half of the
year,” said chief executive officer Marvin
Ellison. “In retail, that’s probably not as
commonplace as you would think. So
THE MARKETS
Bewildering
Phenomenon
Hits Cambodia’s
Garment Sector
● Mass faintings in the
FASHION
Feeling
Blue
Designers dove deep for resort, exploring every
shade of the sea from the palest aqua to the
darkest navy. Here, Baja East teams an oversize
striped cotton shirt with a ribbed cashmere bikini.
For more looks, see pages 4 and 5.
country’s factories remain
largely unexplained.
BY DENE-HERN CHEN
AND CHENG SOKHORNG
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Last month,
Thon Sophana was working on the factory
line in Quint Major International factory
(QMI) when she was suddenly gripped by an
overwhelming sense of dread.
“I felt my hands and my legs become
cold, and then I had difficulty breathing,”
said the 35-year-old worker. “And then I
collapsed.”
Sophana was one of 38 workers who
lost consciousness at QMI on July 2, the
third day in a week that the manufacturer
had seen these mass faintings. But the
QMI incident was not an isolated case;
in that same week, a total of nearly 400
workers collapsed in four factories across
Cambodia.
Mass faintings are a curious
we’re very pleased.”
Ellison said there will be greater
emphasis on special sizes.
But kids and home need serious
repairs. Penney’s is “way to lean” in
some key categories like sheets, towels
and bedding. “We’re working on that,
and to correct the promotional cadence
in home,” Ellison said.
There’s also dissatisfaction with the
rewards program but it’s undergoing a
redesign that should be ready next year;
Penney’s lags the competition on the
omnichannel front also, though several
initiatives are in the works and marketing needs to be less broad and more
“one-on-one.”
Officials also said there’s a need
to optimize private brand pricing to
grow margins faster, and to bolster the
supply chain to lower costs and increase
efficiency.
“Although there’s much work to do and
we have many areas of the business that
require enhanced systems and process
improvements, it’s clear that when we
execute well, we can deliver profitable
sales and take market share,” said
Ellison.
On Friday, Penney’s reported that it
narrowed its net loss for the second-quarter ended Aug. 1 to $138 million from $172
million in the year-ago period. Earnings
per share came in a negative 45 cents a
CONTINUED ON PG.6
phenomenon that regularly plagues
Cambodia’s $6 billion garment industry.
Last year, the Ministry of Labor recorded
that more than 1,800 workers collapsed
in 24 factories. Labor activists believe
the problem to be far greater, saying that
while large numbers typically garner
media — and government — attention, the
frequency of afflicted workers collapsing
in smaller groups is higher, but more
difficult to quantify given the secrecy in
many factories across the country.
At its height in 2011, the ministry
recorded almost 2,000 worker faintings.
While this number makes up a small
percentage of the 350,000 workers
employed by the industry at that time,
the incidents garnered international
attention, perhaps due to the perplexing
circumstances.
Experts from the International
Labor Organization concluded that the
faintings were caused by a combination
of reasons: namely poor nutrition,
low ventilation and air circulation in
factories, and mass psychogenic illness
— more commonly referred to as mass
hysteria — experienced by workers.
In an effort to combat this, the ILO’s
Better Factories Cambodia program,
which monitors the country’s exporting
factories for labor compliance, launched
the “One Change Campaign” in 2012,
encouraging factories to make changes,
such as providing subsidized meals for
workers, or organizing paid five-minute
CONTINUED ON PG.7
2
17 AUGUST 2015
THE MARKETS
Pantone Adds 210 New
Shades to Color System
color trends and why certain
shades were added to the
firm’s range.
BY VICKI M. YOUNG
Pantone has added 210 shades to its
color palettes.
The additions bring the total number
to 2,310 in its color system. Pantone is an
international trend-spotting intelligence
firm focused on color selection for designers and colorists working in fashion,
home and interiors.
Leatrice Eiseman, executive director
of the Pantone Color Institute, said, “The
extension of our range, what we tried to
do, is to make certain we incorporate for
the people who use our system the direction [regarding the] needs in color based
on what consumers tell us.”
The last time there was an addition was
nearly three years ago, with about the
same number of additions. “The difference this time from last time is the idea of
healthy colors. It speaks to food and how
you cook, what you are using, as well as
more of the exotica, such as colors that
people are understanding better now, like
the orange family,” Eisemen said.
While the company has been studying
Here and
above: Some
of the new
colors from
Pantone.
the orange family for some time, it was
one of those hues that went in and out
of fashion. The recent resurgence and
longevity of the color was one surprise
in the latest study, according to Eiseman. “There’s a certain exoticness [with
orange] and many other cultures are now
embracing the shades of orange. More
are appearing on the horizon and people
are intrigued. We have dragon fire, exotic
orange, aura orange and, what you could
cook with, mango mohito,” she said.
The growth of the orange shades
reflects an “influence of what is happening all over the world — we are so much
more attuned to other cultures that
embrace color,” she noted.
Eiseman also said there’s been interest
in the idea of being healthy, hence the
addition of shades within the pink family.
“Looking healthy is very important in
today’s society. More colors now convey
that, and in fashion, people are surrounding themselves in the color. We now have
names like love potion and pink peacock.
At the opposite end of the pink [spectrum] are the brights and playful [shades].
We added those colors that we think best
demonstrate those feelings,” she said.
And perhaps as a reflection of how
busy life can get, there’s also been an
increase in the number of blue shades.
InterLuxe Takes
Majority Stake in A.L.C.
● Andrea Lieberman’s
contemporary line takes on
investment.
Andrea
Lieberman
BY JESSICA IREDALE
Andrea Lieberman has sold a majority
stake of her contemporary label A.L.C.
to InterLuxe, an investment arm of Lee
Equity Partners. WWD reported last year
that the two companies were in talks, as
Lieberman had been seeking investors
and InterLuxe, which was established
last year by chairman Gary Wassner of
Hilldun, has been looking to build its
portfolio of designer brands. The company took a controlling interest in Jason
Wu last September.
“I’ve put my heart and soul into this
business, and I needed to get an education in the business and economics of it
all,” said Lieberman, who had a career as
a high-profile celebrity stylist (responsible
for Jennifer Lopez’s infamous Versace
dress at the 2000 Grammys) before
launching A.L.C. in 2009. “I need to know
that I covered the potential partners from
“We have made a number of additions to
the blue family, such as the ethereal and
vacation destination blues. If you look at
the names, they suggest a calm feeling.
Ibiza blue, island paradise, zen blue and
blue horizon — these are colors that speak
to that need for relaxing and serenity.…
Our job is to drill down and take it one
step further to fill the needs of the emotions they express,” Eiseman said.
The 50 Most
Influential People
in the Multicultural
Market
“Looking healthy is very important in today’s society.
More colors now convey that, and in fashion, people
are surrounding themselves in the color [pink]. We now
have names like love potion and pink peacock. At the
opposite end of the pink [spectrum] are the brights and
playful [shades]. We added those colors that we think best
demonstrate those feelings.” —Leatrice Eiseman, executive
director of the Pantone Color Institute
BUSINESS
A to Z. The partnership with InterLuxe
felt right from a gut standpoint, and they
offered what I needed — a strategic financial partnership.”
InterLuxe and Lieberman declined to
disclose the specifics of the investment,
ON WWD.COM
but ceo Melissa Beste said she and her
partners were attracted to A.L.C. because
of its consistent growth without any
official marketing. The line is carried at
Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman,
Saks Fifth Avenue, Intermix, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Matchesfashion.com.
“Today, the brand is 100 percent wholesale,” said Weste. “Part of our roadmap
is establishing a marketing platform that
will be very digitally based. Opening retail
stores and an e-commerce launch are all
on the short-term horizon.” She estimated retail and e-commerce to happen
in 2017. There will also be management
and infrastructure developments.
This is InterLuxe’s first contemporary
brand, a category in which they clearly
see potential. Beste said a plan is in place
for Wu to launch a sister collection in
the contemporary market next year. Part
of the strategy for his brand included
discontinuing shoes to focus on handbags and ready-to-wear. A.L.C. is mostly
apparel-driven with a handbag collection,
and there are no plans to pull back on
categories.
Lieberman plans to remain in Los
Angeles, where the company is based.
“The most important change for me is
that I have a real partner at the table who
will allow me to focus on the creative, the
marketing, the branding — everything in
my area of expertise — and they’ll be able
to take the business and infrastructure
responsibilities off my plate, which will be
helpful.”
● WWD Beauty Inc’s list
of the top 50 heavy-hitting
influencers in the industry.
●They Are Wearing: Paris
Fashion Week
● Men’s Spring 2016
Accessories
●They Are Wearing: Paris
Men’s Fashion Week
Spring 2015
● They Are Wearing:
Adam Lippes for Target
Celebration
Global Stock Tracker
As of close August 14, 2015
ADVANCERS
Giordano International Ltd.
+6.20%
The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.
+6.12%
J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
+5.58%
Nordstrom Inc.
+4.28%
Oxford Industries Inc.
+3.54%
DECLINERS
Global Brands Group
-3.51%
Esprit Holdings Ltd.
-3.38%
Chow Tai Fook
Jewellery Group
-3.16%
Coty Inc.
-2.82%
Li & Fung Ltd.
-2.24%
Lieberman photograph by Karla Ticas; Beyoncé by Jason Merritt/Getty Images
● Leatrice Eiseman discussed
TOP 5
TRENDING
3
17 AUGUST 2015 RETAIL
G-Star Raw Unveils
Location in Mumbai
● The denim label begins expansion in
India with store opening.
BY MAYU SAINI
MUMBAI, India — Dutch denim brand
G-Star Raw has opened its first store in
India, at the Palladium Mall in Mumbai.
The 1,200-square-foot store is the first
of a planned expansion of 30 to 35 points
of sale in India by 2020. The brand has
launched in India in partnership with
local company Genesis Luxury which has
brought in other global brands including
Paul Smith, Emporio Armani, Giorgio
Armani, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Furla,
Bottega Veneta and Crabtree & Evelyn,
among others.
“Special attention has been given to the
selection of products, which represent the
brand’s DNA while also appealing to the
Indian consumer through craftsmanship,
quality, and overall design look,” Patrick
Kraaijeveld, the chief creative and commercial officer of G-Star Raw told WWD.
“Pricing is also essential for new brands
looking to make their mark. As our jeans
range starts at Rs 6000 ($92.30), with
T-shirts starting at Rs 2500 ($30.46), this
aspect works well with our customers,” he
said.
The range launched in India includes
jeans, T-shirts, knitwear, button-up shirts,
outerwear, dresses, accessories, footwear
and eyewear.
As global brands continue to enter India,
the $550 billion retail market is expected
to continue growing at more than 20
G-Star Raw in Mumbai.
percent a year and to double over the next
five years. Consumer spending has been
growing as well and customer confidence
has been high over the last year. Analysts
expect this trend to continue, with GDP
growth of more than 7 percent expected
in the next year as well as the opening of a
number of new malls.
“India is an emerging powerhouse, and
we want to be part of this growth through
a sustainable partnership,” Kraaijeveld
said.
“Our jeans and collections cater to this
demographic. The young and daring who
have a desire to stand out in their appreciation for innovation, sustainability and
modern authentic craftsmanship,” Kraaijeveld added.
Analysts believe that denim is one of
the most promising markets in India and
according to industry figures it is expected
to continue growing at 15 percent a year to
become a $4.18 billion market by 2018.
G-Star also continues to drive innovation
in the RAW for the Oceans collection — a
range of jeans, jackets, Ts and sweats that
are all made using recycled ocean plastic.
“This initiative, in collaboration with
Pharrell Williams (who codesigns the
collection), material innovator Bionic Yarn
and the Parley for the Oceans project is
great for these newer markets of ours, who
we know are environmentally conscious
and wanting to make a difference,” Kraaijeveld added.
“Our jeans and collections
cater to this demographic.
The young and daring who
have a desire to stand out
in their appreciation for
innovation, sustainability
and modern authentic
craftsmanship.” — Patrick
Kraaijeveld, G-Star Raw
RETAIL
Juicy Couture Store Opens in India
● The shop in Gurgaon at Ambience
Mall opened Friday under an
exclusive agreement between
Authentic Brands Group and
Reliance Brands Ltd.
BY VICKI M. YOUNG
The Juicy Couture brand now has its first
freestanding store in India.
The shop in Gurgaon at Ambience Mall,
a high-traffic shopping destination for the
Indian Juicy Couture customer, was opened
on Friday under an exclusive long-term
franchise agreement between Authentic
Brands Group and Reliance Brands Ltd.
The store offers the complete Juicy Couture
experience, while the merchandise
assortment includes apparel, handbags
and accessories and footwear. Fragrance
will be added to the assortment mix in a
few months. Polished brass and beveled
mirrored fixtures stay true to the Juicy
Couture aesthetic.
Jamie Salter, chairman and chief
executive officer of ABG, which owns the
brand, said, “Reliance brings an expertise
in fashion retailing to this key luxury
market.” He noted, “India is an important
territory for brand growth.”
Darshan Mehta, president and ceo of
Reliance, said, “I’m quite optimistic. It
should be good.”
Mehta is busy working on the next phase
of store openings for the Juicy brand. A
second Juicy store will open at Elante Mall
in Chandigarh next month, followed by a
third in January slated for DLF Promenade
in New Delhi. A fourth store is planned for
Mumbai’s Palladium Mall in summer 2016.
Mehta explained that there are only
about 20 relevant malls across India for
luxury brands, noting that it’s not just
about getting space, but also the right
location within the mall. For Mehta, that
means obtaining strategic locations near
the entrances from the parking facilities
for consumers who, due to the hot climate,
prefer to arrive in air-conditioned cars.
At Mumbai’s Palladium Mall, the planned
Juicy store is located near the entrance
to where the drop-off point is for valet
parking. Mehta is also working on securing
locations at the sites where new malls are
under construction. Three new malls are
slated for completion in 2016.
The franchise agreement between
Reliance and ABG is for 20 years. The terms
call for the opening of 20 Juicy monobrand
stores over five years, he said.
Reliance, a key distributor in India for
the premium-to-luxury fashion categories,
is part of Reliance Industries Group.
Reliance Industries started Reliance
Brands in October 2007 for the purpose
of launching and building international
fashion brands focused in the luxury and
premium markets. Other brand partners in
Reliance’s portfolio include Steve Madden,
Kenneth Cole and BCBG Max Azria. Brand
partnerships via joint ventures include
Brooks Brothers, Iconix Brand Group,
Diesel and Ermenegildo Zegna.
“India is an important territory for brand growth.” — Jamie
Salter, chairman and chief executive officer, Authentic
Brands Group
Juicy Couture in India.
4
17 AUGUST 2015
FASHION
Resort 2016 Trend:
Shades
Of Blue
● Resort collections are by nature attuned to the sand and sea. This
season designers plunged into an ocean of blue, sometimes offering
a subtle suggestion of nautical via stripes or a rope-inspired detail.
The result was a moody mix of pieces that work in a city setting, too.
BY MAYTE ALLENDE
No. 21’s cotton, polyester
and elastane coat and
cotton shirt over Norma
Kamali’s polyester
swimsuit. Necklace by
Kara Ross.
Photographs by Alexander Saladrigas; Styled by Mayte Allende; Model: Sophie/DNA; Hair: Paul Warren/Art Department; Makeup: Miguel Lledo/ArtList; Photo Assistant: Dfernando Zaremba; Fashion Assistant: Milton Dixon
3.1 Phillip Lim’s
wool dress and
sweater. Bracelets
by Alexis Bittar
and Lady Grey.
5
17 AUGUST 2015 Resort 2016 Trend: Shades Of Blue
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
Photographs by Alexander Saladrigas; Styled by Mayte Allende; Model: Sophie/DNA; Hair: Paul Warren/Art Department; Makeup: Miguel Lledo/ArtList; Photo Assistant: Dfernando Zaremba; Fashion Assistant: Milton Dixon
Zero + Maria Cornejo’s
leather jacket over
Apiece Apart’s silk and
linen shirt. Bracelets
by Giles and Brother;
earrings by Alexis Bittar.
Apiece Apart’s
cotton top with
Creatures of
Comfort’s cotton
pants. Bracelets
by Giles and
Brother; earrings
by Kara Ross;
rings by IRO and
Campbell.
Preen by
Thornton
Bregazzi’s
polyester
coat over
Balenciaga’s
silk jersey
swimsuit.
6
17 AUGUST 2015
RETAIL
Neiman’s Shines Brighter
Light on Exclusives
● The luxury retailer’s Truly NM
campaign aims to more prominently
feature special products.
BY DAVID MOIN
Neiman Marcus has a good thing going
and wants to flaunt it.
The Dallas-based luxury retailer has
begun calling out its exclusive offerings
through a new campaign called Truly NM.
After decades of procuring products
from top luxury brands around the world,
created just for Neiman’s, “We felt there
was an opportunity to shine a brighter
light on those exclusives and to take a
more comprehensive approach in terms
of showcasing them...so those exclusives
stood out amongst our assortments,” Jim
Gold, president and chief merchandising
officer of the Neiman Marcus Group, told
WWD.
Gold said that Neiman’s worked with
over 50 brands to present several hundred
items under the Truly NM campaign, on
top of the thousands of exclusives offered
at the luxury chain already.
Truly NM, Gold said, represents “Items
or small groupings of products that were
so compelling from a brand and design
standpoint, we wanted to feature them in
a more robust way than we have featured
J.C. Penney Sees
Improvement
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
share, which was better than the anticipated negative 48 cents per share. Last
year the discount retailer experienced
a loss of 56 cents per share for the same
period.
Same-store sales rose 4.1 percent, with
total sales reaching $2.88 billion compared
with $2.8 billion in the year-ago period.
Penney’s raised its guidance to full-year
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $620 million,
higher than the previous guidance of $600
million. Penney’s goal is to reach $1.2
billion in EBITDA in 2017.
“We’ve done a much better job of
planning our business this year and we
are very confident that we would have a
strong fall season,” said Ellison on Friday
during the earnings conference call,
the first that he handled since joining
Penney’s last year, and after a transition
period ascended to ceo, succeeding Myron
“Mike” E. Ullman who became executive
chairman.
Ellison said he’s confident Penney’s will
hit its full-year guidance of a 4.5 percent
comparable-sales growth. And Penney’s
chief financial officer, Ed Record, said
there’s been “a strong start” to the third
quarter.
Last quarter, Penney’s did best with its
Sephora in-store shops, which enjoyed
double-digit same-store sales growth.
Ellison wants to assure a long-term partnership with Sephora, which is one of
Penney’s main attractions and key points
of differentiation. He attended Sephora’s
“Items…that were so
compelling from a brand
and design standpoint, we
wanted to feature them in
a more robust way than we
have featured exclusives
in the past. We said, ‘Let’s
take a subset and feature
these under this Truly NM
campaign.’” — Jim Gold,
Neiman Marcus
exclusives in the past. We said, ‘Let’s take
a subset and feature these under this Truly
NM campaign.’ We intend for it to be
ongoing.”
Truly NM flags items such as an Alexander McQueen crocodile-embossed padlock
tote, priced $1,895; a Brunello Cucinelli
calfskin backpack with Monili straps,
priced $3,840; a Chloe patchwork poncho,
$1,995; a Salvatore Ferragamo suede driving shoe, $650; a Givenchy suede sharklock knee boot, $2,125; a Canada Goose
Prideaux parka with a fur hood, $975; and
a Rag & Bone patchwork skinny ankle jean,
at $495.
“We came up with themes we wanted
to address, like embellished denim, so we
went to seven of our denim brands and
requested embellished looks,” that no
other stores would feature.
The campaign items are indicated with
Truly NM hang tags with Neiman’s signature butterfly logo and in-store signage.
The majority of the Truly NM items are
in all stores. There is also exposure on
Neiman’s Web site and inside The Book,
Neiman’s magalog.
“The merchandise is starting to roll in
now,” Gold said.
Gold posed the question: “The challenge
has been, if you’ve got exclusive items
sprinkled thoughout the assortment, how
do you call them out effectively?”
Sales associates do inform customers about exclusives, which are often
identified as such through a label on the
garment. And smart shoppers do know
what’s exclusive and what’s not. But Neiman’s, up to now, “hasn’t taken a really
comprehensive approach that runs across
virtually all categories,” Gold said.
Neiman’s started organizing the Truly
NM campaign last December, before the
pre-fall market, Gold said.
Truly NM does not involve Bergdorf
Goodman, which is also part of the Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group.
For years, retailers have made it a
priority to tout their exclusives, whether
it’s their private brands or products
brought in from shopping the market
that they sell exclusively. Last year, for
example, Bloomingdale’s launched its
100% Bloomingdale’s campaign, presenting 1,000 exclusive styles and items from
100 designers and brands from around
the world.
annual meeting this month and met with
Sephora’s ceo, Calvin McDonald, and
other management. “We have a great
partnership with Sephora, and we will
continue to allow and embrace the fact
that they will be a part of our long-term
growth strategy,” Ellison said. “We’re also
very excited that we’ll see a significant
increase in a number of new locations
next year and beyond.”
Penney’s men’s, home and fine jewelry
businesses also did well last quarter. But
the home and kids departments still show
wounds inflicted by the Johnson regime.
Higher-priced merchandise, slicker
presentations, and the cancellation of coupons led to a one-third decline in volume.
Last year, Penney’s generated $13 billion
in sales and Ellison outlined several factors
that should further lift revenues. Among
them, recently enabling customers to
order online and pick up their purchases
in the stores, which leads to customers
shopping more.
He said Penney’s is getting better at
fulfilling online orders utilizing store
inventories. With more than 1,000
brick-and-mortar locations, “leveraging
enterprise inventory provides us with
a great opportunity for stores to act as
fulfillment centers.” Penney’s this year is
piloting same-day delivery of online orders
to stores and to customers’ homes for 2016
rollouts.
Omni efforts have been boosted by
investments in Oracle systems during the
last few years, to improve the merchandising, planning, sizing and localization of
assortments, and by two recent hires. Mike
Amend, former vice president of online,
mobile and omnichannel for the Home
Depot, has become Penney’s executive
vice president of omnichannel, and Mike
Robbins, former senior vice president of
global supply chain for Target stores, has
become Penney’s senior vice president of
supply chain.
Sales growth is also expected through
investments on the selling floor. Men’s and
women’s shoe departments have been
separated and converted to open sell; hair
salons are being rebranded in collaboration with InStyle magazine; and handbag
areas are being reinvigorated with better
products, including new bags from Liz
Claiborne sold exclusively at Penney’s.
Penney’s has also reset space for fashion
jewelry, accessories and intimates. Ellison
is aiming to strengthen the center core
floors, with 12 pilots in place and roughly
500 seen in 2016.
With expenses, SG&A decreased $63
million due to reductions in store controllable expenses and advertising, and
increased revenue from the store credit
card. “Minimum wage rate increases are
a leading topic in our industry, and we
continue to monitor the situation on a
market-by-market basis to ensure that we
remain competitive in our ability to attract
top talent,” Record said.
Penney’s expects to save approximately
$120 million this year. “We are committed
to achieving an expense structure that
makes sense for our business,” Record
said.
Inventory is up 5.5 percent over last
year, partly due to a back-to-school taxfree event that shifted into the third quarter, which also impacted second-quarter
sales, and also due to building inventory
levels this year in response to running lean
last year. “Having said that, we feel very
good about our inventory content and
the levels heading into the second half,”
Record said.
“To summarize, the three strategic
priorities of private brands, omnichannel
and increased revenue per customer will
become our strategic framework,” Ellison
said. “This framework will allow us to
simplify our focus and allocate capital and
resources to areas of the business that will
simply make us a better company.”
“We believe that we will start to see
true benefits of our omnichannel strategy
in the second half of 2016. We are seeing
improvements with enterprise inventory
today. I mean, we are able to fulfill more
dot-com orders that historically would’ve
been simply out of stock because we can
bounce the fulfillment from our distribution centers that services dot-com to
roughly 250 stores, and we can fulfill the
order from those locations. That’s a huge
benefit,” Ellison said.
“The other benefit is we’re capturing
that data. And we’re updating the replenishment in the in-stock performance in the
DCs to reflect the fact that they were out of
stock when an order came through. We’re
also going to be very aggressive in expanding our assortment online. I would argue
that we have one of the most conservative
assortments online of any large retailer.”
Asked about the health of the store fleet,
Ellison said, “Candidly, we would love to
have more capital spend. Having said that,
if you look historically over the last five
years, a significant amount of capital was
put into the stores. And as I said earlier,
when the board and Mike Ullman first
approached me to consider coming to J.C.
Penney, I candidly had not been in a J.C.
Penney in quite a while. And so I started to
go around the country, and just pop into
stores to get a sense of the culture and the
sense of how the business was running.
And my first takeaway was the stores
looked really good. And I was surprised
because the Penney’s I remember was a
little tired and a little worn. But I would
have to admit that although some of the
capital investments were not well thoughtout, and they have not been accretive to
the business, they’ve done a really nice job
of cleaning the stores up, brightening the
stores and making them more modern.”
Christian Louboutin’s
Panettone Spike Stud
Continental wallet.
7
17 AUGUST 2015 Bewildering
Phenomenon
Hits Cambodia’s
Garment Sector
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
breaks. Major clothing brands, like H&M,
Gap, and Levis, threw their support behind
the campaign.
For the Garment Manufacturers
Association in Cambodia’s part, deputy
secretary-general Kaing Monika said that
since the problem emerged in the 2011,
they have been working with the Ministry
of Labor’s National Social Security Fund.
“We have been going on a mass
education campaign to educate workers on
how to take care of their hygiene, and we
also educate factories on how to improve
the work environment, how to handle the
chemical substances,” Monika said. “It’s
about education to workers; it’s about
stringently enforcing labor compliance.”
Union leaders and labor activists have
long argued that raising the minimum
wage would better solve this issue. In 2011,
the minimum wage sat at $61 a month. If
wages were higher, they argued, workers
would be able to afford better quality food,
and not feel pressured to work excessive
overtime hours to increase their take-home
salary, activists say.
With the wage recently raised to $128 at
the end of 2014, Joel Preston, a consultant
with Community Legal Education Center
(CLEC) — a Cambodia-based organization
that advocates for workers rights —
said that the situation has only slightly
improved.
He added that while the mass faintings
attract media attention, CLEC is
worried about individual workers losing
consciousness in factories. During the first
six months of this year, CLEC calculated
that more than 900 workers — either
individually or in a group — have fainted.
“That sort of goes to show that mass
hysteria can’t really be blamed because
you have people fainting just in one
singular instance, and not everybody in
the factory falling over,” Preston said.
But Sotheara Chhim, executive director
of Transcultural Psychosocial Organization
(TPO), which provides mental health care
to locals, said that mass hysteria is a piece
in the puzzle that should not be ignored.
Eschewing the word “hysteria,” Chhim
instead referred to it as a “conversion.”
“It refers to the escalation of anxiety
that transforms into psychological or
neurological symptoms and that could
affect what we call voluntary, mobile
and sensitive systems. So people can
be affected by numbness and loss of
sensations or it can be paralysis,” he
said. “Usually this condition follows after
events, after conflicts, or after a serious
difficulty or hardship or problems in
interpersonal relationships.”
For Sophana, the 35-year-old worker
who fainted in QMI factory last month,
she had been feeling an ever-increasing
amount of stress at work recently. Three
months ago, the factory started raising the
target amount of clothing that workers had
to produce, she said.
“I’ve been feeling a bit of pressure
because they forced me to meet a new
target. In one day, we need to do 400
pieces of clothing, which means that in
one hour, we need to finish 40 articles,”
she said, explaining that the target used to
be 200 pieces a day.
High stress, low wages, and poor factory
conditions are issues raised by unions
in many garment-producing countries,
yet the mass faintings seem specific to
Cambodia. Chhim believes that this is
due to how Cambodians interpret their
surroundings, believing that spirits reside
upon building structures or in natural
elements. For workers who have traveled
long distances to Phnom Penh, there is
the belief that new environments are
inhabited by different spirits, which means
that protection is not guaranteed without
offerings of some kind.
“People feel more secure when they are
close to home….And then they come to
Phnom Penh, where they live in different
places, and there are different spirits,”
Chhim said. “And people believe that they
might be doing something…that upsets the
spirit, and that could cause faintings or
possessions.”
The most recent example of this
occurred at around 3 p.m. on July 24 in
Yu Fa factory, on the outskirts of Phnom
Penh. Eighteen workers collapsed in
unison at their workstations, but there
was one woman who set it off, said Kim
Khouch, a worker representative in the
factory.
“One worker said that the spirit
possessed her. She woke up and she said it
needed food; it was hungry,” Khouch said.
“And then she lost consciousness. Other
workers saw that and they fainted as well.”
The workers were sent to a local clinic,
and then home. But three days later, it
happened again — 17 workers fainted
this time. With workers terrified of
spirits, factory management immediately
arranged for a ceremony to provide
offerings. Phoeng Kakada, a 27-yearold worker who was among those who
passed out, blamed the faintings on the
management.
“There is a new manager in the factory.
The old managers always prayed to the
spirits of the factory but this new manager
never respected the spirits of the factory,”
Kakada said. “He only offered fruit, but did
not pray, and maybe that’s why it caused
the anger in the spirits.”
This is not the first appearance of a
spirit possession in the factory. Local
media reported in 2012 that dozens of
workers of Anful factory fainted after
witnessing one of their coworkers falling
into a trance, and then screaming for food
and wine to appease the spirit within her.
The faintings continued for days after,
until the factory owner finally paid for a
Buddhist ceremony.
While TPO’s Chhim agreed that
some Cambodians are more inclined to
subscribe to a cultural explanation instead
of a scientific one, the solution to stopping
these mass faintings would lie in actual
changes within factories to de-escalate
stressful situations, to provide workers
with clean water, rest areas and to have
more ventilation within the premises.
Cheav Bunrith, policy director of
the ministry’s National Social Security
Fund, reverted back to the argument
that workers should take better care of
themselves. He explained that because
Cambodians often send home the bulk
of their salary to their families in the
provinces, they are skimping on the
quality of their daily meals — eating the
cheapest option available instead of the
healthiest.
“What is the most important is that
workers need to be concerned about
their own health and take better care of
it,” Bunrith said. “We need to base our
investigations on the science of it, but
we also need to take into account of our
culture and what the workers feel.”
For Yu Fa factory worker Kakada, she
recovered only after management held
a ceremony offering two chickens and
barbecued pork to the factory’s spirits.
The next day, the factory owner invited
five monks to bless workers.
“I got blessed with holy water by the
monks on Wednesday, and I am fine now,”
Kakada said. “I feel happier now and at
peace, and I am glad to return to work.”
FASHION
Stella McCartney, Patagonia
Address Animal Cruelty Allegations
● PETA released a video purporting to
show the mistreatment of sheep at
an Ovis 21 farm.
BY NINA JONES
LONDON — Stella McCartney said
Friday that she has stopped sourcing
sustainable wool from the Ovis 21 network
in Patagonia, Argentina, after viewing a
video released by People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, which alleges the
mistreatment of lambs there.
PETA’s video purports to show the
sheep on an Ovis 21 farm being injured
while being sheared, then being skinned
and killed. McCartney said after viewing
the video — made last year by PETA — her
label conducted its own investigation into
the ranches there, and found that one out
of the 26 ranches mistreated its sheep.
“It is one too many,” said McCartney in
a statement on her Facebook page. “As a
designer who built a brand on not using
leather, fur or animal skins in its designs, I
can’t tolerate it.”
McCartney said she would monitor
suppliers “even more closely,” and
is looking into developing a vegan
alternative to wool, in the same way that
her label has developed alternatives to
leather and fur.
Outdoor clothing label Patagonia,
which also works closely with the Ovis
21 network, posted a statement on its
Web site Wednesday, calling PETA’s video
“disturbing.” “We are not immune to
shocking images,” the statement read.
“There is no excuse for violent shearing
methods and inhumane slaughter. We are
investigating the practices shown,” the
company said, adding that it will “work
with Ovis 21 to make needed corrections
and improvements, and report back to our
customers and the public on the steps we
will take.” Patgonia added: “We apologize
for the harm done in our name.”
But Patagonia did argue that two of
the practices in the video are standard
across the wool industry – castrating select
flock members to eliminate overcrowding
and docking tails, to reduce instances of
infection in sheep and improve hygiene.
Patagonia stated that it has worked in
“close partnership” with Ovis 21 since
2011, to develop “a radical new way to
grow wool — one that regenerates rather
than depletes grassland [and] keeps alive a
way of life in the Patagonia region.” “PETA
does not believe in the use of animals for
any human purpose; this is a belief we
respect but do not share,” Patagonia’s
statement read. “Nevertheless, PETA plays
an important role in raising awareness of
harmful practices involving animals, and
we listen when legitimate concerns are
uncovered, even if we become a target of
their activism,” it added.
Ovis 21 released a statement Friday,
saying that it had “identified and
intervened [at] the property involved,
which is now no longer a certified
property.” “The images depicting
inhumane treatment of lambs and sheep
are unacceptable,” said Ricardo Fenton,
co-founder of Ovis 21, in a statement.
“We are very sorry and we are working to
reverse this unpleasant reality.”
Fenton added that he regretted that
Ovis 21 were not informed in December
2014, when the footage was shot, so they
could “act immediately.” He added that
Ovis 21 is working toward implementing
third party animal welfare standards for
its certified properties. Fenton noted that
Ovis 21 manages a network of farmers who
aim to create a “regeneration culture”
in the Patagonian grasslands. “We work
to improve biodiversity [and] revert
widespread land degradation, migration
from rural ares to cities and farmers’
bankruptcy.”
In its own statement on the video’s
release, PETA called for all companies
and consumers to stop using real wool.
“Today, finding alternatives to hide, fur
and fleece is easy, and no animal has
to suffer when businesses make kind
choices,” PETA’s U.K. director Mimi
Bekhechi said.
“As a designer who
built a brand on not
using leather, fur
or animal skins in
its designs, I can’t
tolerate it.” — Stella
McCartney, on
ceasing the use of
sustainable wool from
Patagonia, Argentina
8
17 AUGUST 2015
Q&A: Catherine Sadler on
Branding, Change and More
● Sadler+Brand will be an
“igniter.”
BY EVAN CLARK
Catherine Sadler — something of a refugee from the corporate world — is taking
her 30 years of marketing experience on
the road.
Sadler worked at Coach in the Nineties
before becoming chief marketing officer
for Ann Taylor and later, global chief marketing officer at Banana Republic, where
she helped bring the chain together with
“Mad Men.”
She left Banana last fall and is stepping
out with Sadler+Brand, which she said is
not so much a branding agency or consultancy, but an “igniter” and “change agent.”
WWD sat down with the New Yorkbased marketing guru to talk branding,
tech, change, the malaise at the mall and
the challenges facing big corporations in
fashion today.
WWD: Is it time for marketers
to start focusing on Gen Z over the
Millennials?
C.S.: I don’t think it’s an either/or situation. We’re talking about the foundation
of a new retail world and that new retail
world order is about being reactive in realtime and authentic. And that is if you’re
talking about the Millennials and, even
more so, just turn it up exponentially, Gen
Z. How they operate, the way they think,
the way they intuitively navigate through
their world. And the brands that they
respond to are brands that are integrating
today? Allowing the customer to play a
part in the process?
C.S.: Yes, I believe we have to more and
more put the customer at the center of all
of our thoughts. The customer has been
Catherine Sadler
at Neuehouse.
them directly [and that play a part in] their
lives. Reaction time has to be quick. Being
relevant, speaking to them and co-opting
things together will be more and more
important.
WWD: Is that the secret of marketing
moving way further ahead than the brands
frequently have.
WWD: The pure plays that have
reverse-engineered their way back into
retail have been getting a lot of buzz,
but are those companies as envisioned
RETAIL
American Rag Ready for China
● The L.A.-based retailer has
ambitious plans for expansion.
BY CHARLOTTE MIDDLEHURST
SHANGHAI — After two decades of bringing some of America’s best-loved streetwear brands to Asia, fashion consultant
and Evisu International founder Peter
Caplowe is taking on a new challenge:
introducing U.S. multibrand store American Rag to the Chinese market.
The L.A. store, known for its quality
denims and heritage brands, opened its
first China outlet late last month. Located
in the Crystal Plaza mall on Shanghai’s
Nanjing West Road, the 6,500 square-foot
showroom built over three floors will stock
its own vertical line, ARC, as well as rising
local talents.
The opening signals two things. First, a
notable pivot east in terms of expansion
and corporate strategy at a time when
retailers doubt the robustness of the
Chinese economy. It also heralds a new
chapter in the evolution of China’s fashion
sector: the rise of the multibrand store.
As China’s middle class continues to
expand, demand for product quality and a
greater selection of international brands is
growing. Meanwhile, GDP growth is juddering, sinking to a six-year low of seven percent growth in the second quarter of 2015 —
leading to multiple devaluation of the yuan.
While this has created rough going for the
luxury sector, whose profits have tumbled
in the last three years, affordable brands
Inside the American
Rag store located in
Shanghai, China.
have faired well.
Together with American Rag’s founder
Mark Werts, Caplowe believes there has
been a fundamental shift in the needs of
Chinese consumers, which has not been
addressed. As well as affordability and
quality, China’s Eighties- and Nineties-generation shoppers are looking for style and
comfort — not just status symbol brand
logos.
“We definitely see ourselves as trailblazers and early entrants in this space in
China. We have a long-term plan to be the
go-to store for the next generation who are
interested in fashion and have the disposable income to buy international brands,”
says Caplowe, also co-founder of The Hub,
a premium fashion trade show in Hong
Kong.
The number of Mainland retailers offering international multibrand experiences
is still limited. In Shanghai, Lane Crawford,
the high-end department store chain from
Hong Kong, dominates, followed by a
handful of domestic players, such as Aegis
and I.T.
ARC plans to position itself differently
with a new business model tailored to the
Mainland market. It aims to have wide,
cross-regional appeal rather than a selective regular clientele. It also wants to play
down celebrity endorsements in order to
cultivate a more everyman image.
Perhaps most importantly, the China
arm will operate as a franchise rather than
an owner-operator model, as it does in
Japan. The opening of the Shanghai flagship
is the first step in this plan. By the end of
2019, ARC aims to have 30 to 40 new retail
spaces in Tier One and Tier Two cities in
Mainland China alone.
today the future of retail?
C.S.: We’re in a moment of evolution,
where we’re all learning and learning
quickly. The bottom line is creating product and experience that is meaningful and
relevant to the customer. So, yes, certainly,
I think ultimately it will be a seamless
integration between the online and offline
experience, but to me that will just be the
foundation. That’s the new retail world
order to me. The bigger question becomes
what are you selling and how is it meaningful to the customer and what are those
touch points that really engender loyalties?
We’re living at a time when there’s been
a sea of sameness. The malaise in the mall
to me, yes part of it is the fickle consumer,
but part of it is that we’ve shot ourselves
over the last couple years with product
that has been frequently out of touch with
what the customer wants, relatively the
same whichever brand you go to, and an
experience that feels more commodity
than special.
WWD: Why do big retailers fail to
deliver product that people want in an
environment they like? Is it that people
don’t recognize this as a problem or
don’t put resources into the right
places?
C.S.: I think the customer evolved more
quickly than the brands have and that
we’re playing catch-up. The consumer is
so savvy and so able to have access, from
high to low, that the brands have to catch
up in order to create an experience that
feels unique.
WWD: Should fashion take its lead
from tech and be quicker to change?
C.S.: Absolutely, but for me, I see an
evolution. There will come a day shortly
when there won’t be this distinction
between retail and tech and that idea of
sectors or omnichannel will just become a
part of the way in which we all operate.
It will start by opening a second smaller
store in Shanghai plus seven regional
franchises. Within three years, it hopes to
have an additional three flagships, starting
in Beijing, followed by Chengdu and Hong
Kong or Guangzhou, depending on the
future price of Hong Kong rents.
“There is a lot of franchiser capital
out there — they are looking for the next
thing, something new. At the moment, the
franchisers seem to be stuck between the
domestic brands, which are in decline, and
international brands that have an owner-operator model,” explains Caplowe.
The China stores will stock local brands.
Nels Fry, head of business development,
says Chinese designer Chuang Qu is a name
to look out for. A former designer for Mark
Fairwhale, Qu has just launched his own
eponymous label. He also noted Hiuman,
a Shanghai-based designer and denim specialist. And Capitale Nord, the label of British-Swiss designer Kevin Tallon, formerly of
Balmain and Kappa, who moved to Beijing
over a decade ago is another on his radar.
The store is also setting up manufacturing bases for some of its non-Chinese
brands, as well. In the next few years,
it intends to open five to six factories in
Guangdong and Wuxi. This bucks the
trend for foreign labels that are currently
minimizing their China operations or
relocating them to Vietnam or Bangladesh
in the face of rising wages and slowing
economic growth.
But for multibrand stores, the import
process is particularly painful, given each
label stocked must be checked separately
by customs. Manufacturing on Chinese
soil solves this.
So how big a consideration is China’s
retreating economy? Caplowe is unfazed:
“The general slowdown has been a kind of
a blessing for us. If the market is booming,
then there are new store openings every
week. So there are advantages,”
says Caplowe.
Sadler photograph by George Chinsee
BUSINESS
9
17 AUGUST 2015 ‘Digging for Fire’ Premieres in Los Angeles
Orlando Bloom, who spilled details from Jennifer Aniston’s secret wedding, was among the cast members who turned up for the party.
Rachel Roy in
Zimmermann.
Holland
Roden in
Caterina
Gatta.
Call it an occupational hazard, but
Rosemarie DeWitt found herself spontaneously making out with her “Digging
for Fire” costar. And it wasn’t her real-life
husband Ron Livingston, who also
appears in the film.
“It happened to be Orlando Bloom,
which was really hard because he’s
so unattractive,” the actress cracked,
talking to reporters outside the film’s
premiere on Thursday night at the
ArcLight Hollywood. DeWitt said their
impromptu kiss — encouraged by
director Joe Swanberg’s improvisational
approach to filmmaking — was shot over
the course of four hours on the first day
of filming. “I had to call Ron on the phone
and say, ‘I know you read the treatment
and it said I didn’t make out with Orlando
Bloom, but all of a sudden I did, so…’ It felt
like a confession of sorts.”
Ever the professional, Livingston
chalked it up to being part of the job.
“Anybody who kisses my wife in a movie
is family, so it’s all good,” he said.
For his part, Bloom said it was that
sort of creative freedom that attracted
him to the film. “Because everything is
improvised, it’s very loose,” he said of the
project, which had only a three-page outline in lieu of a script. “I’ve never worked
like that, so it was like, ‘Dive in!’ We had
extensive conversations about how I
could come in and mess with Rosemarie
DeWitt’s character in an interesting
way.” Bloom felt that the approach had
an added bonus. “It’s a great way to
work. You don’t have to learn lines!”
Even so, Jake Johnson — who plays
DeWitt’s on-screen husband — received
a co-writing credit since the film’s concept was based on one of his real-life
experiences from eight years earlier.
“The story is about a guy looking for a
dead body in his backyard…that actually
happened to me,” he said. “I was putting
a garden in my backyard and I found an
old bone, and I found a rusted gun, and I
found the rusted license plates. I called
the police and I said, ‘There might be a
dead body in our yard,’ and they said, ‘It’s
not our job to dig out your garbage, so
when you find a body call us.’ And I called
a bunch of my friends, and we went
digging, looking for a body.”
The party carried on down the
street at Wood & Vine where bite-sized
chicken-and-waffles awaited guests like
Rachel Roy and Lamorne Morris, kicking
back on the venue’s outdoor patio.
Earlier in the night, Bloom spilled
some details from inside Jennifer
Aniston’s recent wedding. “They’re a
wonderful couple. I was really honored
to be there and it was a great night,” he
said. While he noted that Jimmy Kimmel
— who officiated the ceremony — was
“great,” it was fellow guest and unofficial
dance partner Howard Stern that made
the biggest impression on Bloom. “I have
a man-crush on him. Have you seen him?
He’s the most handsome thing you’ve
ever seen. I mean, he thinks I’m handsome? That’s ridiculous. He’s seeing a
reflection of himself that’s what it is.”
No wonder everyone wants to kiss
this guy.
Orlando Bloom, Jake Johnson
and Rosemarie DeWitt.
Arden Myrin and Steve Berg at
the premiere of “Digging for Fire.”
— LINDZI SCHARF
Oliver Cheshire and
Alex Thomson
Oliver Cheshire
Oliver Cheshire: Live! From the Hugo Boss Yacht
The British model reveals plans to design his own men’s collection through a collaboration.
“Digging for Fire” photographs by Amy Graves; Cheshire by Lloyd Images
Oliver Cheshire aboard
the Hugo Boss yacht.
“It’s been so much fun — very wet obviously — I’m
drenched to the bone,” said Oliver Cheshire, after riding
the waves — in pouring rain — aboard a 60-foot-yacht
sponsored by Hugo Boss.
On Thursday, Cheshire joined top British yachtsman Alex Thomson and his racing crew — all decked
in Hugo Boss ATR sailing gear — for the Artemis
Challenge, a 50-mile charity race that took place
during the annual Cowes Week Regatta, off the Isle
of Wight.
New to the sport, the 27-year old British model did
his sailing homework, and focused on his grinding
duties. “It lifts up the sails. You drop the sails and then
you spin them, and then you grind as much as possible and then you get out the new sails,” he explained.
The “Hugo Boss” is a carbon-fiber IMOCA 60 boat
that can reach speeds of up to 35 knots, or 40 mph.
With Thomson at the helm, it competed against 15
other teams from France, Ireland and the U.K.
Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips and her
husband Mike Tindall were on board one of the
competing boats.
The new face of Marks and Spencer’s Autograph
collection, which launches in September, Cheshire
has a number of projects in the pipeline, including
writing.
“I’m still working on fashion writing, bits and bobs,
and very heavily involved in, like, British fashion,” said
Cheshire, who’s been blogging for years and who has
reported on London Collections: Men for GQ. He’s
also an ambassador for LC:M.
He said his goal is to get more into actual design. “I
just love men’s clothes. People are always on Twitter
asking me ‘What are you wearing?’ or ‘How do you
know the trends and predict them?’ I’m thinking it’s
just what I like, it’s a natural progression for me.”
Cheshire, who’s walked the runway for brands
ranging from Dolce & Gabbana to Marks & Spencer,
said he’s thinking about men’s wear specifically:
“Smart casual, kind of date-evening stuff. Suede and
leather. Brands have approached me, but for my first
collaboration, I want it to be amazing.”
The Boss team finished the race in fourth place in
the IMOCA class in 5 hours, 17 minutes and 24 seconds. The overall winners were Musandam, although
Thomson was the first British skipper to cross the
finish line. Hugo Boss donated 3,000 pounds, or
$4,685, to Cheshire’s charity of choice, London’s
Great Ormond Street children’s hospital.
Hugo Boss has been a sponsor of Alex Thomson
Racing since 2004, supporting events including the
Transat Jacques Vabre — a race from France to Brazil – in October and the Barcelona World Race.
—LORELEI MARFIL
10 17 AUGUST 2015
Fashion Scoops
A look from
SILK’s fall
collection.
U.S., including at Harari in California, Evelyn & Arthur in Florida and Tracy Brent
Collections in Connecticut.
SILK’s debut fall collection, which also
includes a few holiday pieces, emphasizes
bold colors and feminine prints in clean
silhouettes: think chunky, funnel-neck
knitwear, floral-print miniskirts, oversize wrap coats and cardigan sweaters
with fringe detailing, which range from
$250 to $575. “To make the brand more
diverse, we incorporated some modern,
nonsilk fabrics such as stretch wool and
alpaca-blend knitwear,” Lee said.
– KRISTI GARCED
IN THE BAG
Cath Kidston, the British accessories,
clothing and homeware brand known
for its vintage-inspired prints, has shot a
ALL SILK EVERYTHING
Hong Kong-based designer Michele Lee,
who has worked in garment manufacturing for more than a decade at Profits Fund
Global Holding Ltd. in her native China,
is bringing her SILK collection — a new
Memo
Pad
Stephanie Smith
SMITH JOINING YAHOO
Stephanie Smith is heading to Yahoo.
The former Page Six reporter has departed The New York Post after five and a
half years, and she will now serve as senior
editor of Yahoo Food, WWD has learned.
Yahoo confirmed the news on Sunday.
Smith will report to Yahoo Food editor
in chief Kerry Diamond when she starts
her new job on Sep. 14. Diamond was
tapped to helm Yahoo’s food vertical in
film to tout the upcoming back-to-school
season — and its new collection of school
bags.
The short film spotlights British bloggers
Katie Ellison of Mummy Daddy Me; Kat
Molesworth of Housewife Confidential,
and Kathryn Sharman of Kat Got The
Cream, who are all shot with their children as if preparing for the first day at
school, while toting Cath Kidston’s fall bag
collection, dubbed Bags to School. For
b-t-s, the label has worked up designs with
playful prints of robots, ballerinas and
sausage dogs. Prices for the bags start at 24
pounds, or $37, for a race-car drawstring
backpack, and rise to 30 pounds, or $46,
for a rose-print satchel backpack.
Sam Washington directed the film, with
production by El Carousel. Sue Chidler,
marketing director of Cath Kidston, said
the firm had decided to create the collection and film “to capture the first day of
school as one of the big emotional periods
that parents go through,” she said. “We
wanted to connect with our customers in a
unique way and be a part of this…journey
with them.” The films will make its debut
on Cath Kidston’s Web site and Facebook
page Saturday.
women’s line composed of mostly silk
and silk-blend pieces — to the U.S. Though
designed and produced in China, the
brand also has a showroom in New York’s
Garment District and has begun its retail
rollout to specialty boutiques across the
September 2014. Her addition followed a
string of big name hires, such as Joe Zee
for Yahoo Style and Michele Promaulayko
for Yahoo Health. Last week, Yahoo tapped
former Time Inc. editor in chief Martha
Nelson as global editor in chief overseeing
all of Yahoo’s digital magazines, including
Food.
Smith, who authored a food blog called
300Sandwiches.com and a memoir “300
Sandwiches: A Multilayered Love Story...
with Recipes,” will write about food-related current events, trends and personalities
for Yahoo Food.
At Page Six, Smith covered breaking
business, fashion and entertainment news.
Smith could not be reached for comment,
however she did write a note on her departure on her personal Facebook page on
Sunday.
Smith offered: “I had such a hard time
saying good bye because I’ll miss my
colleagues so much that I spent two days
editing my good-bye e-mail. And another
half an hour editing this Facebook note. I
could go on, but I’ve got to say so long for
now...Onward.”
Prior to The Post, Smith served as a media reporter at WWD from 2006 to 2009.
She also held various reporting roles at
Media Week, People and Money Magazine.
GOING BIG
– ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD
Pilar Guzmán wants Condé Nast Traveler
to be a coffee-table mainstay.
The September issue will mark the
debut of what Guzmán is calling a more
luxurious product. The magazine’s trim
size has increased by two inches, the interior pages feature more white space and
the paper stock is slightly thicker.
– LORELEI MARFIL
A still from the Cath
Kidston short film.
“We are prying print and digital apart,”
said Guzmán, who joined the title in 2013.
“The experience of reading a magazine
is a luxurious experience. You curl up in
your reading nook with a magazine and
we know that our issues are dog-eared and
kept for years. We felt like the increase in
size is a reflection of all of these things.”
The September issue will also include a
new style-focused front-of-book section,
Where + Wear, which showcases stories
ranging from what Chloé’s creative director Clare Waight Keller packs when she
travels to Josep Font of Delpozo’s favorite
spots in Barcelona.
“We always talk about this idea of who
do you want to be on vacation,” Guzmán
told WWD. “I think that our industry has
been a little bit behind in knitting together lifestyle categories. It’s less about the
act of travel and more about tapping into
passion points that fall under the umbrella
of travel.”
According to Condé Nast Traveler publisher Bill Wackermann, the new magazine
complements the Web site, but they have
different readers.
“In making this change, we are making
a clear delineation in the marketplace
that the magazine is for the person who’s
taking seven or more foreign trips a year.
That’s very different from someone who is
just coming to our Web site and planning a
family vacation,” said Wackermann.
Guzmán has tweaked the magazine a
few times since she started. She released
a more stylized logo earlier this year and
before that she placed supermodel Christy
Turlington Burns on the cover and lent the
inside content a more fashionable touch.
The changes seem to be working. According to the magazine, its September
2014 issue showed a 15.2 percent increase
in pages while this September issue will
reflect a 20 percent increase in pages,
which will include luxury ads from brands
including Bottega Veneta, Hermés, Fendi
and Blancpain.
On the digital side, Condé Nast Traveler
relaunched its Web site last year and has
worked with brands such as Land Rover
and Samsung on native video content.
Wackermann said digital revenue is up
more than 100 percent since last year and
in July the site received 4.8 million unique
visits, which can be compared to the
800,000 unique visits the site logged when
Guzmán first started. The team will also
release mobile-first city guides on Aug. 21.
According to Wackermann, this fall,
Condé Nast Traveler will also be featured
prominently on the Apple News app.
“There’s a sales opportunity for us to sell
onto Apple, so it’s kind of a big deal
for us.”
– ARIA HUGHES