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PANTHER INNOVATE OR DIE POWER NEW STRETCH AND PERFORMANCE PROPERTIES THE LARGEST EXHIBITION WERE KEY TRENDS AT DENIM BY PV. OF CARTIER JEWELRY IN PAGE 8 YEARS OPENS IN PARIS. PAGE 10 MOBILE SHINES Cyber Monday Climbs But Growth Slows By RACHEL STRUGATZ DIGITAL PURE PLAYS and mobile shopping shined on Cyber Monday, but overall the day lost some steam versus a year ago as merchants focused on the five- day period from Thanksgiving through Monday. Adobe Digital reported Tuesday that online shop- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013 ■ $3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY ping for Cyber Monday set a new record — hitting WWD $2.29 billion, a 16 percent year-over-year increase from 2012, with 18.3 percent of sales, or $419 million, coming from mobile. Pure-play e-tailers came out on top, taking a 42 percent share of all online sales for the day. Retailers overall raked in an estimated 10 percent of their holiday sales during the fi ve-day stretch, with total e-commerce sales of $7.4 billion — up 26 percent year over year. IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark reported that sales were up 20.6 percent from 2012 — that’s solid growth in a total retail market that is seeing single- digit gains. Mobile sales were responsible for more than 17 percent of overall sales. According to Custora Pulse, one in three purchases were completed on a mobile device on Monday, in- Glass cluding smartphones and tablets. Even though Apple still dominates e-commerce orders — its devices pow- ered 80 percent of mobile orders on Cyber Monday — Android devices were responsible for 20 percent of transactions, up from 13 percent last year. Custora Pulse reported that social commerce — sales resulting from social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram — were responsible for less than 1 per- Act cent of e-commerce sales Monday. From Thursday Looking to the fl uid patterns of through Monday, Adobe said that social referral traffi c midcentury Venetian glass, Diane von infl uenced 2 percent of sales, or $148 million. Sales for Cyber Monday peaked between 8 p.m. Furstenberg showed and 9 p.m. EST, a welcome spike in activity after a colorful pre-fall an afternoon that seemed a “little soft,” according collection focused to Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president and principal 2014 analyst at Forrester Research. By the end of the day, on graceful shapes SEE PAGE 7 and prints. Here, PRE-FALL her silk maxidress, COLLECTIONS slim leather clutch China Crackdown and link bracelet. For more pre-fall, see pages 4 and 5. Could Hit Luxury By LARA FARRAR SHANGHAI — In what could be a further blow to luxury consumption in China, the nation’s leadership is deepening its pledge to crack down on corruption and ostentation with the release of new rules outlin- ing how officials should avoid extravagant spending on activities ranging from overseas travel to the pur- chase of new vehicles. With 12 chapters outlining 65 rules on how to man- age funds and employ more transparent spending, the document, released last week, is extensive and is causing analysts to question whether the antigraft campaign that began nearly a year ago under the new administration of President Xi Jinping will continue to have a far-reaching impact on China’s luxury sec- tor. Spending on luxury products has historically been bolstered by the purchase of expensive gifts be- tween offi cials and business associates as bribes. Some say the ongoing campaign, reinforced by the new rules, could portend a slower shopping season over the upcoming January Chinese New Year, a period known for elaborate gifting, particularly between busi- nesses and governments as a form of collateral to ink business deals in the coming year. While it may still be too early to gauge the effect, there are already signs of a slowdown. In recent days, Chinese media have report- ed how companies that make greeting cards, which are used to give presents of cash or gift cards, are reporting steep declines on orders from government offi ces. PHOTO BY KYLE ERICKSEN “Certain companies in certain sectors will continue SEE PAGE 8 2 WWD WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013 WWD.COM A&F Investor Seeks Jeffries’ Ouster THE BRIEFING BOX percentage gain among the U.S. to continuing our dialogue with By ARNOLD J. KARR equities tracked by WWD. shareholders as we execute on IN TODAy’s WWD In a nine-page letter signed our long-term plan.” AN ACTIVIST INVESTOR wants by Glenn Welling, chief invest- Engaged gave Jeffries cred- Michael Jeffries’ current contract ment officer of Engaged, the firm it for reinventing the A&F as chairman and chief executive said it invested in A&F “because brand and for building a com- Behind the scenes officer of Abercrombie & Fitch we believed that ANF was deep- pany that led its teen peers at Altuzarra Co. to be his last. ly undervalued despite owning — American Eagle Outfitters pre-fall. For more, Engaged Capital urged the two of the strongest brands in Inc., Aéropostale Inc. and see WWD.com. board to “immediately commence teen apparel.” Urban Outfitters Inc. — in gross a ceo search for candidates with Discussions with manage- margin, international sales, relevant retail apparel and turn- ment, the board and industry direct-to-consumer sales and around experience.” While giving observers, coupled with its own Facebook likes. But it noted credit to Jeffries, 69, for much of research and analysis, “have led that returns to shareholders A&F’s success, it said the pres- us to the conclusion that ANF’s lagged other teen stores and ence of the controversial ceo perennial underperformance is a members of its peer group. “represents a major stumbling result of a failure of leadership,” Engaged also pointed out block to a transaction,” such as a the letter said. that, when talk about a possible IANNACCONE sale that “may represent the best Responding to the let- buyout of Aéropostale began to option for shareholders.” ter, the company said, “The swirl, several analysts identified HOMAS T Jeffries’ employment agree- Abercrombie & Fitch board and A&F as a more attractive take- BY ment at A&F, signed at the end of management team are commit- over candidate. 2008, expires on Feb. 1. Engaged ted to creating value, and we “We agree,” Engaged said. PHOTO said it owns 400,000 shares of the welcome input from all share- It quoted CNBC’s Jim Cramer company’s stock, or about 0.5 per- holders. The company has had as saying, “This used to be the cent of those outstanding. extensive discussions with many hottest teen brand in the world. The shareholder initiative lift- of its shareholders, including Yet, under Jeffries’ recent lead- Cyber Monday lost some steam versus a year ago as ed shares of A&F $1.97, or 5.8 per- Engaged Capital, over the past ership, Abercrombie & Fitch has merchants focused on the five-day period from Thanksgiving cent, to $35.99 Tuesday, the largest several months. We look forward become practically irrelevant.” through Monday. PAGE 1 China’s leadership is deepening its pledge to crack down on corruption and ostentation with new rules outlining how officials should avoid extravagant spending. PAGE 1 H&M Sport to Compete in Activewear Fairchild Fashion Media editorial director Peter Kaplan was remembered Tuesday as a father, editor, mentor, prankster and By JOELLE DIDERICH Looks confidante. PAGE 6 from the PARIS — Hennes & Mauritz H&M Sport Donna Karan is opening a charitable pop-up marketplace at AB is competing harder in the collection. the Stephen Weiss Studio for the holiday season. PAGE 6 sports arena. The Swedish high-street retailer News of Denim by Première Vision’s move to Barcelona as of will reveal today that it is launch- spring 2014 didn’t overshadow innovations’ starring role at the ing H&M Sport, an expanded con- cept with a new visual identity, on fair, which was held in Paris last month. PAGE 8 Jan. 2 in all its markets worldwide. Dedicated areas in selected Condé Nast is eager to scoop up more digital dollars, tapping stores will feature activewear David DeRobbio for the newly created role of senior executive and accessories including wind- director of digital sales. PAGE 9 proof and water-repellent run- ning jackets; warm-up tops and A legal representative for stylist Marie-Amélie Sauvé on trousers for working out; com- Tuesday filed defenses in the face of a lawsuit brought by fortable garments for yoga; ten- Balenciaga against her and Nicolas Ghesquière. PAGE 9 nis shorts, and protective fleece jackets for outdoor activities. François Kress, most recently president and chief operating H&M signaled its intention to officer of The Row, has been named global president of deepen its sportswear offering Stuart Weitzman Holdings LLC. PAGE 9 earlier this year when it said it would dress Sweden’s athletes Kate Middleton’s wedding tiara and Grace Kelly’s engagement for the Winter Olympics and ring are among the star pieces of an exhibition on Cartier Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, opening in Paris today. PAGE 10 next year and the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio Those counting down to next May’s “Charles James: Beyond de Janeiro in 2016. The new H&M Sport collec- Fashion” exhibition at the Costume Institute will get their first tion for women, men and children preview today. PAGE 11 has been designed with input from members of the Swedish Olympic ON WWD.COM team and will feature “fashionable” products with a “focus on fit and performance,” the retailer said. RUNWAY: See the latest reviews and runs of show for the “Sport and fitness is becoming who have provided feedback on special collection for men and pre-fall 2014 collections, including Altuzarra, Alexander Wang an increasingly important part of the collection.