GIRLS, GIRLS, OSCAR’S NEW BLUE GIRLS MATRIMONY INSPIRES DE LA RENTA’S LENA DUNHAM LATEST FRAGRANCE. PAGE 6 AND CREW FETE THE PREMIERE OF THEIR HBO SHOW’S SECOND SEASON. PAGE 10 COLLECTIONS PRE-FALL 2013 WWDFRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY ■ $3.00 RETAIL’S UNEASY FEELING Spate of Warnings Paints Grim Picture Last week, Kohl’s Corp., Macy’s By EVAN CLARK Inc. and Target Corp. all issued earnings guidance that fell short THE FOURTH-QUARTER outlook of analyst projections. isn’t getting any prettier. Investors took the day to reas- Tiffany & Co., Aéropostale Inc. sess and retail stocks rallied into and Ascena Retail Group Inc. all positive territory late in the day. The cut profit projections Thursday, sector is still near its all-time high. weighing on retail stocks and re- The S&P 500 Retailing Industry confirming the generally blah Group rose 0.4 percent, or 2.41 reading of the holiday season. points, to 666.52. The sector is up Tiffany said its comparable-store 1.9 percent so far this year. sales were fl at for November and The Dow Jones Industrial December and that comps at its Average rose 0.6 percent, or 80.71 New York fl agship fell 2 percent. points, to 13,471.22 for the day. Michael Kowalski, chairman Shares of Ascena dropped 7 percent and chief executive offi cer of the to $16.86, as Tiffany declined 4.5 luxe jeweler, said, “Holiday pe- percent to $60.40 and Aéropostale riod sales growth was at the low slipped 1 percent to $13.24. end of our expectations, and we American Eagle Outfi tters Inc. said now expect that net earnings for its fourth-quarter comps through the year ending Jan. 31 will be at Jan. 8 increased 5 percent and re- the lower end of the forecast that iterated its profi t guidance, but saw we issued on Nov. 29 of $3.20 to its stock drop 3.3 percent to $19.94. $3.40 per diluted share.” SEE PAGE 3 Wal-Mart Scrutiny Mounts and Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) By KRISTI ELLIS sent a letter to Duke and released alleged internal Wal-Mart e-mails WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmak- on Thursday that they claim show ers probing the Wal-Mart Stores the ceo was informed of the brib- Inc. Mexican bribery scandal said ery allegations in Mexico in 2005. Thursday they have internal docu- In addition to the Congressional ments that appear to indicate presi- probe, Wal-Mart is also under in- dent and chief executive offi cer Mike vestigation by the Securities and Duke and senior executives had Exchange Commission and U.S. knowledge of the bribery allegations Department of Justice into wheth- involving a store in Teotihuacan, er it violated the Foreign Corrupt Mexico, as early as 2005, despite Practices Act. Neither the SEC claims to the contrary by the retail nor DOJ would comment on the giant that senior U.S. offi cials were lawmakers’ letter or newly re- unaware of the allegations. leased documents. DIOR Reps. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) SEE PAGE 3 First Look: Raf’s Pre-Fall PARIS — Since pre-fall is Raf Simons’ fi rst collection for Dior that’s not runway-bound, the designer set out to defi ne his “new classics” with a dose of reality, one that’s hinged on more relaxed fi ts “for a lot of different body types,” he said. Another theme: demonstrative plays on men’s wear fabrics. Here, photographed at the house’s couture atelier, Dior’s wool knit top and wool tweed skirt. For more, see page 4. PHOTO BY DOMINIQUE MAITRE 2 WWD FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013 WWD.COM Burberry Taps Heppe President of Americas THE BRIEFING BOX 2010, she has been chief oper- Eugenia for her amazing part- By LISA LOCKWOOD ating officer for the Americas. nership, the wonderful team IN TODAY’S WWD During her tenure, she has been and relationships that she has BURBERRY HAS named Jan instrumental in developing the built. We wish her well in her Heppe president of the Americas. Americas business and strategi- retirement. We are [pleased] She succeeds Eugenia Ulasewicz, cally aligning its global position- that she will continue to remain Behind the scenes with Alexander Lewis, with who served in the role for 15 ing across all channels. a non-executive director of the a model in a look from his pre-fall collection. years. Ulasewicz will continue as Angela Ahrendts, chief ex- Burberry Foundation.” a non-executive director of the ecutive officer of Burberry, said, Prior to joining Burberry Burberry Foundation. “Jan is an outstanding leader in 1998, Ulasewicz was senior As one of Burberry’s three with deep operational expertise, vice president of Saks Inc. global presidents (Europe, Asia, and has played a key role in the Earlier, she was president and Americas), Heppe will oversee successful transformation of the ceo of Galeries Lafayette in all sales channels, including Burberry business in the region New York, where she opened online, for all global products over the past decade. As an es- the first and only branch of the in the Americas. The region, tablished member of our global French department store group which accounts for 25 percent senior executive team, Jan is in America. She began her ca- of Burberry’s global business ideally placed to drive further reer in the training program covers the U.S., Canada and growth in the Americas, as we at Bloomingdale’s, where she Latin America. continue to realize the potential spent 14 years in various mer- JENKINS Heppe joined Burberry in of existing channels and new chandising and store assign- TIM 2001 as vice president of stores markets in the region.” ments, rising to regional vice BY for Burberry USA. Since March Ahrendts added, “We thank president/stores. PHOTO Tiffany & Co., Aéropostale Inc. and Ascena Retail Group Inc. all cut profit projections Thursday, reconfirming the Industry Gets Set for NRF’s ‘Big Show’ generally blah reading of the holiday season. PAGE 1 Sandy, the presidential election, big solution, we could be up 3 or 4 By U.S. lawmakers said they have internal documents that DAVID MOIN Washington’s inability to resolve percent. We really didn’t go over the appear to indicate Wal-Mart ceo Mike Duke and senior fiscal issues and the tragedy in cliff, but there wasn’t the big solu- executives had knowledge of the bribery allegations AFTER A TRICKY Christmas sea- Newtown, Conn. Europe’s shaky tion either.” That leaves the indus- involving a store in Mexico, as early as 2005. PAGE 1 son, the spotlight shifts to retailing economy also sapped much of the try “still in that kind of gray area.” again next week when more than will of consumers to spend. Though Spending cuts, the debt ceiling, Oscar de la Renta on Thursday will launch his new 27,000 store executives, suppliers, people are generally in better finan- reforming entitlement programs, ·· women’s scent, Something Blue. PAGE 6 techies, consultants and prognos- cial shape than a couple of years the corporate tax code, tax loop- ticators converge on Manhattan’s ago, you wouldn’t know it from their holes and the government’s bud- Jacob K. Javits Convention Center tentative spending recently. get remain unresolved. “We feel Donald J. Loftus will retire on April 1 as president and chief for the National Retail Federation’s The NRF will give its final ver- we’re poised to move from a rather executive officer of P&G Prestige, North America and will be annual convention and expo called dict on the holiday season either modest economy to a stronger and succeeded by Dennis Curran. PAGE 6 “Retail’s Big Show.” during the convention or soon more robust economy if we can The convention — the industry’s thereafter. For now, the trade or- begin to address some of the bigger Make Up For Ever is determined to make 2013 a year to largest — will be filled with demos ganization is sticking to its forecast issues that thus far the administra- enhance and underline brand equity. PAGE 8 and discussions on the latest tech- for a 4 percent gain, which seems tion or Congress have not found a nologies from mobile platforms to optimistic considering how erratic way to address,” Shay said. “There Target has partnered with the upcoming play “Truman RFID, and case studies on every- sales and traffic in the malls were are lots of things that we can do Capote’s ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’” to provide the makeup and thing from sustainability to going until the very last minute. “From that we just haven’t done yet.” hair looks for Holly Golightly. PAGE 8 global and the convergence be- Regarding retailing’s own tween brick-and-mortar and online. set of challenges, “They get a The stars of HBO’s “Girls” — Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet, With uncertainty the order of We [the retail lot easier to deal with when the Jemima Kirke and Lena Dunham —turned up in New York for the day, retailers crave insights into economy is growing at 4, 4.5 or the premiere of the show’s second season. PAGE 9 the future and on best practices to industry] feel 5 percent, rather than limping help them plan their buys and or- along at 1.8 to 2 percent,” Shay Rosamund Pike, the British stage and screen actress who chestrate strategies. With any luck, said. Unemployment, lingering at is currently starring alongside Tom Cruise in the film “Jack they’ll get a dose of inspiration we are in a good 7.8 percent, doesn’t help.