TOP TEN STORIES WWD MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013 Q $3.00 Q WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY 1 SAKS IS BOUGHT BY RICHARD BAKER’S HBC. THE HEDI SLIMANE DEBATE. 6 PHOTO BY STÉPHANE FEUGÈRE PHOTO BY PHOTO BY KYLE ERICKSEN KYLE PHOTO BY 2 2013 THE YEAR IN FASHION 7 ON THE TECH FRONT: OMNICHANNEL, BIG CHANGES AMAZON, TWITTER AT LOUIS VUITTON. AND MORE. PHOTO BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI GIOVANNI PHOTO BY PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES PHOTO BY 3 8 THE GLOBAL NEIMAN MARCUS ECONOMY’S RUSTY SELLS FOR $6 BILLION. RECOVERY. PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES PHOTO BY 4 9 MYRON E. “MIKE” NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR ULLMAN 3RD RETURNS TO A STRUGGLING RACE RELATIONS J.C. PENNEY. THE HEAT UP AT RETAIL. PHOTO BY STEVE EICHNER PHOTO BY PHOTO BY STEPHEN SULLIVAN PHOTO BY 5 BANGLADESHI 10 WORKER THE FASHION WORLD SUFFERED A MAJOR BLACK EYE THIS YEAR WHEN TRAGEDIES IN THE BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY CLAIMED THE LIVES OF MORE THAN A THOUSAND PEOPLE. A GLOBAL OUTCRY ENSUED, STIRRING A DEBATE OVER THE HUMAN PRICE OF CHEAP CLOTHING AND INCREASING PRESSURE ON BANGLADESH TO IMPROVE FACTORY CONDITIONS IN ITS THE RUNWAY: APPAREL INDUSTRY, WHERE 85 PERCENT OF THE WORKERS ARE PUSHING FASHION’S WOMEN EARNING A MINIMUM WAGE OF $68 A MONTH. THE BATTLE FOR LIMITS. PHOTO BY EMDAD ISLAM BITU MEN’S WEARHOUSE. PHOTO BY ROBERT MITRA ROBERT PHOTO BY PHOTO BY STÉPHANE FEUGÈRE PHOTO BY PLUS: ĊBEST PARTIES ĊFASHION TICKER ĊMEDIA MOMENTS ĊTHEY SAID IT 2 WWD MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013 WWD.COM Crestview Partners Buys NYDJ THE BRIEFING BOX IN TODAY’S WWD EXCLUSIVE Helena Christensen in NYDJ’s fall ad campaign. By ARNOLD J. KARR Roberto Cavalli with models at the Manhattan Just Cavalli store. For IN THE LATEST in a continuing more, see page 26 and WWD.com. series of acquisitions of premium denim companies this year, Crestview Partners has agreed to buy NYDJ Apparel LLC and has reportedly enlisted former VF Corp. chief ex- ecutive officer Mackey McDonald to serve as the brand’s chairman. Edwin Lewis, who has served as chairman and ceo of the com- pany since its 2008 acquisition by New York-based private equity firm Falconhead Capital LLC, will re- portedly leave the firm upon the close of the deal. North Face, Vans, Seven For All Mankind, Nautica and, most recently, Timberland. Lewis also has a stake in NYDJ that will be sold STEVE EICHNER PHOTO BY to Crestview and its partner in the transaction, Since he retired, McDonald has served as a di- Maybrook Capital Partners. rector of Wachovia Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and The parties declined comment on either the pur- Tyco International Ltd. in addition to numerous Crestview Partners has agreed to buy NYDJ Apparel LLC and chase or McDonald’s involvement. However, market civic and philanthropic commitments. has reportedly enlisted former VF Corp. chief executive officer sources told WWD that McDonald, who’s been a se- Based in Vernon, Calif., NYDJ, originally known Mackey McDonald to serve as the brand’s chairman. PAGE 2 nior adviser to Crestview since retiring from VF in as Not Your Daughter’s Jeans before a re-branding 2008, was the choice for the post. The identity of the effort overseen by Lewis, has carved out a lucra- The CFDA will work with Ruth Finley and the Fashion Calendar new ceo is expected to be revealed upon the closing tive niche among women generally aged 35 and on the New York Fashion Week schedule, starting with the round of the transaction. up who’ve sought the sexiness of the skinny jeans of fall shows in February. PAGE 2 Financial details of the transaction weren’t dis- favored by teens and young adults without the fit closed, although reports from Moody’s Investors constraints. The company has boasted that its “Lift Service and Standard & Poor’s Rating Services said Tuck Technology” helps women look and feel a size The Bangladeshi worker, the focus of the industry following a $150 million term loan and $50 million second- smaller and enlisted Helena Christensen for a fall tragedies that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, PAGE 4 lien term loan were secured to finance the arrange- 2013 ad campaign, its first on television, dubbed was chosen as the 2013 Newsmaker of the Year. ment, which would also include equity investments “Walk in Beauty.” from Crestview and Maybrook. Acquisition activity has been heated in the The top 10 stories of the year — including the sale of Saks, Falconhead reportedly paid about $100 million premium denim market for the entire year. Last the changes at Louis Vuitton and Myron E. “Mike” Ullman 3rd’s for the company five years ago, when its sales were week, Fifth & Pacific Co.’s Inc. sold Lucky Brand return to J.C. Penney — are profiled. PAGES 6-22 about $80 million, and had attempted to sell it at to Leonard Green Partners for $225 million, while auction in 2011 for more than $300 million. Sales this Joe’s Jeans Inc. acquired its City of Industry, Calif., The year was filled with media stories, including changes at year are estimated to be about $200 million, accord- neighbor, Hudson Jeans, for $97 million in October. Time Inc., Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos buying The Washington ing to market sources and a report from Moody’s. Earlier in the year, TowerBrook Capital Partners Post and the death of Peter W. Kaplan. PAGE 23 The deal would be the first for Crestview in the bought True Religion Apparel Inc. for $835 mil- fashion sector. lion and Silver Jeans parent Western Glove Works There was quite a jam-packed party docket in 2013, and the McDonald had a 12-year run as ceo of VF dur- acquired Simply Blue, marketers of Jag Jeans and Eye takes a look at the best bashes of the year. PAGE 24 ing which it was transformed from a manufacturer Christopher Blue denim, from W Diamond Group. of Wrangler and Lee Jeans and several innerwear And denim acquisitions — outside the premi- Burberry Beauty Box, a new retail concept that sells the labels into a brand portfolio powerhouse that this um area — might not be done for the year. The brand’s makeup, fragrance and accessories, has landed in year is expected to hit $11.5 billion in sales, rank- Jones Group Inc.’s jeans brands, including Gloria London’s Covent Garden. PAGE 26 ing it as the largest U.S.-based apparel firm. Brands Vanderbilt and L.E.I., might be close to being brought in during McDonald’s tenure and since sold to Sycamore Partners along with the rest of under his successor, Eric Wiseman, include The the company. Rick Owens on Saturday opened a 2,150-square-foot flagship in Miami’s Design District. PAGE 26 Shop Hers, a resale site geared for designer labels, has secured its Series A financing with the help of Bono. PAGE 26 CFDA Links Up With’’ Fashion Calendar Self Magazine is the next in line to get its own digital channel early next year as part of Condé Nast Entertainment’s push to “Fashion week is complex,” Kolb said. “It’s eight expand the digital strategy for the publishing company. PAGE 27 By MARC KARIMZADEH days, maybe nine, if you count the Wednesday be- fore. The more people that can help navigate this, Myron E. “Mike” Ullman 3rd, chief executive officer of J.C. NEW YORK — There’s been talk recently of im- the better the experience, both on the front end in Penney Co. Inc., was named chairman of the Dallas Federal proving the overall New York Fashion Week ex- the scheduling so there is some rhyme and reason Reserve Bank. PAGE 27 perience. Now the Council of Fashion Designers to the very full calendar, but also, equally as impor- of America is making a significant move to aid tant, for the users of fashion week.” ON WWD.COM those efforts. Among CFDA’s contributions will be increased The CFDA is taking a more active role in the technology. For example, cfda.com, as part of the EYE: Miranda Kerr, Heather Graham, Caitlin Fitzgerald planning of shows and presentations, and will collaboration, will feature its own version of the and Sofía Sanchez Barrenechea joined Roberto Cavalli at work with Ruth Finley and fashion week calendar that the opening of the new Just Cavalli store in Manhattan. the Fashion Calendar, start- will be user-friendly and ac- For more, see WWD.com. ing with the round of fall cessible to CFDA members shows in February. The ap- This is an evolution and the press who can sort proach ranges from the events via specific catego- TO E-MAIL REPORTERS AND EDITORS AT WWD, THE ADDRESS IS [email protected], USING THE INDIVIDUAL’S NAME. scheduling of shows to ser- of what we have been ries, i.e. women’s or men’s WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. vicing editors and buyers wear, accessories, venue lo- COPYRIGHT ©2013 FAIRCHILD FASHION MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. with better ways to organize cations or runway shows ver- VOLUME 206, NO. 123. MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, doing, but in a more Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in March, May, June, August, October and December, and two their week. sus presentations. additional issues in February, April, September and November) by Fairchild Fashion Media, which is a division of Advance “Over the past couple of The Fashion Calendar will Magazine Publishers Inc.