Page 1 Friday

s
s
EYE:
Designer parties
in New York,
page 12.
FiNANciAl:
American
Apparel
earnings
fall, firm’s
covenants
eased,
page 14.
s
NEWS: Avon buys Liz Earle
brand in the U.K., page 10.
s BEAUTY: Apparel retailers
rush into beauty, page 6.
WWDFRIDay
Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • March 26, 2010 • $3.00
Beauty
New Wave
Giorgio Armani drew inspiration from the seductive
power of the sea with Acqua di Gioia, his newest
scent for women. Set for a June launch, the
fragrance will be available in about 2,200 U.S.
doors and could do as much as $100 million at
retail globally. For more, see page 4.
ExclUSivE
Photo by GeorGe Chinsee; styled by lexie Moreland
Building Toward Launch:
Tom Ford in Key Hires
For Women’s Collection
By Miles Socha
PARIS — Tom Ford women’s wear is getting
closer to reality, despite a hush-hush approach
uncharacteristic for a designer known for his
marketing razzle-dazzle and celebrity appeal.
According to sources, Ford is quietly
assembling his design team, having
recently tapped Caroline Tixier, a women’s
ready-to-wear designer at Givenchy, and
Pablo Coppola, an accessories designer at
Alexander McQueen.
Asked about the hires, a Tom Ford
spokeswoman had no comment Thursday.
Domenico De Sole, Ford’s longtime business
partner, also declined comment.
Speculation in Europe is mounting
that Ford is plotting a fall 2011 launch for
See Ford, Page 13
10 WWD, FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010
The HBA Report
Avon Acquires Liz Earle Skin Care
By Brid Costello
LONDON — avon Products inc. has acquired liz earle Beauty co., which manufactures the liz earle
naturally active skincare brand. the acquisition moves the avon company into more channels, including television shopping and a limited network of retail stores.
the purchase of liz earle might not have a large financial impact for the $10 billion directselling giant, but it has significant implications.
“it sounds like avon is opening its mind to other avenues, including new geographies and pricing,” said caris & co. analyst linda Bolton Weiser. she said the company named acquisitions as
its first priority over the existing share repurchasing program. the last brand avon acquired was
discovery toys in 1997, which it later sold.
avon said the all-cash deal for 100 percent of the company would not have a material impact on
its earnings. other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
liz earle will operate as a freestanding brand based in ryde, on the U.k.’s isle of Wight, with its
founders liz earle and kim Buckland at its helm, according to statements issued by the companies.
“We are delighted to welcome liz earle naturally active skincare to avon, and we see this new
partnership as a perfect fit for both companies,” stated andrea Jung, avon’s chairman and chief
executive officer. “liz earle’s tightly edited range of award-winning,
Items from Liz
naturally active skin care products
Earle Naturally
is highly complementary to avon’s
Active Skincare.
antiaging skin care and broader
beauty portfolio. it also represents
a long-term opportunity to develop
a stand-alone liz earle direct selling representative channel.”
as reported in June of last year,
earle and Buckland tapped financial advisory firm Baylor klein to
explore investment options. at the
time, Buckland said the goal was
to find a partner that could “add
value” and noted the brand needed help with its distribution. the
15-year-old company is believed to
have generated roughly $60 million to $100 million in sales in 2009,
according to industry sources.
liz earle naturally active
skincare’s lineup runs the gamut
from foot scrub to fragrance. the brand is particularly known for its cleanse & Polish hot cloth
cleanser, which retails in the U.s. at $40 for a 6.7-oz. tube. other products include the superskin
line, which includes superskin moisturiser.
“We are very excited to be joining forces with an iconic global beauty brand like avon,” stated
earle, a former beauty journalist who has written 30 books on beauty, health and lifestyle. “We
believe the liz earle naturally active skincare philosophy and extraordinary brand loyalty we
have built in the U.k., when combined with avon’s presence in more than 100 countries around the
world, will create an outstanding opportunity for international expansion for our company.”
the brand is sold via mail order, online, QVc and in stores, including studio Beautymix in
the U.s. and John lewis in the U.k. it also has a boutique with treatment rooms located close to
london’s storied king’s road as well as a door on the isle of Wight. avon’s last stab at retail was
called Becoming, sold in J.c. Penney, but the direct seller abandoned the effort in 2003.
— With contributions from M.P., New York
SNIPPETS
NICOLE NAILS MASS: OPI Products Inc.’s mass line, Nicole by
OPI, is gaining momentum. A little more than a year after its
launch, Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI executive vice president
and artistic director, said the brand this month expanded its
presence in Target by around 50 percent and in Wal-Mart
by around 100 percent. For the first time this spring, WeissFischmann created 14 exclusive Nicole by OPI shades for
Wal-Mart and 12 exclusive Nicole by OPI shades for Target.
“Wal-Mart and Target want to make it an experience in their
beauty sections,” said Weiss-Fischmann of the rationale
behind the exclusive shades. “They want shoppers to stay
there and really look for something.” At both retailers, Nicole
by OPI is priced at $7.99 per polish.
KINERASE DIRECT: After three rounds
of testing, Valeant Pharmaceuticals
International-owned skin care brand,
Kinerase, is planning to officially launch
an infomercial centered on C8 Peptide
Intensive Treatment next month. According
to Kinerase product manager Kelcy Heringer,
the two-minute and 60-second spots
produced by Caudill & Associates Inc. are
intended to draw customers that might pass
on C8 Peptide Intensive Treatment’s $98
retail price with a 30-day trial offer for $15.
She emphasized the infomercials, which
mention that C8 Peptide Intensive Treatment
is a bestseller at Sephora, are expected to
drive traffic to stores, where Kinerase is
working to help customers understand the
brand better by segmenting it into categories
that include pigment and wrinkle control. To
piggyback on the infomercial campaign for
C8 Peptide Intensive Treatment, Kinerase
will also release a new eye product for $68
called C8 Peptide Under Eye Treatment in
June at Sephora.
WWD.COM
Killing Wrinkles With Kindness
By Molly Prior
Wrinkled foreheads don’t scream kindness,
apparently.
allergan inc., the maker of Botox cosmetic, launched its philanthropic effort, my expressions of kindness, with a panel discussion tuesday, where the topic veered from the good deeds of three
charitable organizations to certain panelists’ efforts to eradicate
their “elevens,” insider speak for smoothing frown lines between
the brows with an injection of Botox.
Panel moderator and
celebrity journalist laurin
sydney told of the time
George clooney approached
her after an interview to
ask, “Why don’t you believe
me.…i always give it to you
straight,” she recounted,
adding her frown lines had
inadvertently given the
oscar-winning actor the
wrong impression. enter
Botox. “now, every time i
bump into mr. clooney he
knows i believe him.”
television personality didiayer snyder, who
serves as a Botox brand
Didiayer Snyder, Dress
and campaign ambassador,
for Success’ Joi Gordon,
told the gathering of jourChildren’s
Action Network’s
nalists she decided to seek
Jennifer Perry and Tom
out Botox after a director
Darden of Make It Right.
asked her, “are you feeling
ok?” the cheerful snyder
said her face looked angry and did not reflect how she felt inside.
“for me to be kind to myself was to take care of my elevens.”
one reporter found it nearly impossible to refrain from staring
at the foreheads of the hosts and attendees, each of whom were
offered free Botox on the spot.
to support the fund-raising effort for my expressions of
kindness, people can visit expresskindnesscampaign.com, where
they will be asked to complete a profile, detailing kind gestures
the respondents have recently experienced. Participants are
asked either when the last time they used Botox or if they are
considering having a treatment. Upon completion, users can direct a $25 donation from allergan to one of the three participating
organizations, namely make it right, which builds eco-conscious
and safe homes in new orleans lower ninth Ward; dress for
success, which provides disadvantaged women with career tools
or children’s action network, which supports and finds homes
for foster children. for every person that links their profile to
facebook or twitter, allergan will make an additional $5 donation
in its aim to raise $250 million, which will be distributed across
the three charities. the campaign runs through June.
MORE SMILES: Go Smile has entered into a partnership with
brand management group Lantz-a-Lot Inc. to help boost sellthrough at retailers that carry the tooth-whitening brand. Nada
Lantz Krasnow, owner of Lantz-a-Lot, plans to focus on stores
in Go Smile’s top 12 markets, which account for 60 to 70
percent of the brand’s business. “The retailers get that this is
viable, and there is room for it,” said Lantz Krasnow of toothwhitening products. “The biggest challenge we have in the
whitening category in prestige [beauty] is that they don’t really
yet have the language for it at the store.” Go Smile is in around
700 doors, including Sephora, Nordstrom, Ulta and Saks Fifth
Avenue. The brand, which is owned by private equity firm JH
Partners, is also developing an infomercial that
could launch as early as this year. President
and chief executive officer, Leslie Faust, said
she anticipated that Go Smile would record
double-digit growth for 2010. “We have huge
expectations,” said Lantz Krasnow.
WEST SIDE STORE: Sephora will open a
5,602-square-foot store at 97th Street and
Columbus Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper
West Side. The doors are scheduled to open
on April 16, according to the company,
adding that a total of 13,000 products will
be stocked and 200 brands featured.
Kinerase
C8 Peptide
Intensive
Treatment
PROFILER: London-based luxury fragrance
house Ormonde Jayne has introduced
a “perfume portrait” service, which is
meant to help the brand’s clients find their
perfect scent. The system works around a
fragrance organ, which comprises ceramic
blotters doused in raw ingredients and
finished scents. The service is available in
Harrods, where Ormonde Jayne was recently
introduced. It will also bow in the brand’s
Royal Arcade boutique starting in mid-April.
THE BREAKFAST CLUB: Percy & Reed has both croissants and
coifs on its menu. The London-based hair salon launched
a Breakfast Blowdry Club earlier this month, meant to be a
time-saving service that allows its clients to snack as they’re
styled. People can preorder their breakfast from a menu
online. The service is priced from 25 pounds to 55 pounds, or
$38 to $83 at current exchange.
TIME FOR TAN: Lee Stafford is branching out into bronzing.
The London-based hairstylist is this month introducing Fake
My T@n, a line of eight sunless tanning products, into Boots
stores in the U.K. “I’ve always liked a sun-kissed look,” said
Stafford, who has a number of eponymous salons. “I felt there
was a gap in the market for something that you can spray
on and wash off.” The line comprises Magic Potion Tanning
Lotion in matte and shimmer versions, Brown My Bits Tanning
Spritz and Just One Use Tanning Mousse. Each product comes
in both light-to-medium and dark versions. Prices range from
$13.54 for a 150-ml. bottle of Tanning Spritz to $15 for a
150-ml. bottle of Tanning Mousse.
BODY OF WORK: Illamasqua, the London-based makeup brand
designed to help people unleash their alter egos via color
cosmetics, will add body products to its lineup in April. They
include two shades of Illumine Oils, tinted shimmering dry
body oils that are priced at 32 pounds, or $48.20 at current
exchange, for a 100-ml. bottle, and Gleam Cream, which may
be used as a face-and-body highlighter, that will retail for
22.50 pounds, or $33.90, for a 36-g. tube.
BUMPS AWAY: Satin Smooth, a professional depilatory product
maker, is launching Res-Q Ingrown Hair Treatment Mousse
and Advanced Ingrown Hair Treatment Pads, both meant
to treat ingrown hair, razor burns, bumps and skin irritation
resulting from waxing, shaving, electrolysis and laser hair
removal. The mousse will sell for $11.99 and the pads will
sell for $14.99, beginning in May. Combined, the items could
generate as much as $1 million in first-year sales.