What It Takes in Today's World
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HOT MARKET NEWER BRANDS ARE WWD INTIMATES GAINING TRACTION IN FROM WHAT’S SELLING NOW TO DESIGNER FOOTWEAR. PAGE 4 SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES. SECTION II CONSUMERS GLOBAL FINANCE WWD MOBILE TECH MONDAY, JULY 23, 2012 Q $3.00 Q WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY VISION FACEBOOK THE NEW CEO LOGISTICS CULTURE WHAT IT PINTEREST TAKES IN MARKETING TODAY’S TWITTER WORLD CHINA PRODUCT LEADERSHIP By LISA LOCKWOOD E-COMMERCE WANTED: A CHIEF Fashion companies in executive officer who is particular and retailing financially astute and tech- in general are character- savvy and possesses strong ized by a highly entrepre- leadership skills, vision and inter- neurial spirit, and, for a typi- national experience. cal founder, a company is not only Today’s leadership role is in flux as retailers a creative release and a source of wealth, morph into omnichannel organizations and consum- it’s a way of life. Handing off the baton doesn’t enter ers dramatically alter their shopping habits. The require- into the conversation all that often. ments for the ceo are changing, too. And yet board members are required to be actively engaged According to management psychologists, executive re- in succession planning, homing in on a short list of candidates cruiters and consultants, ceo’s need to be as well versed in the screened and ready should their ceo’s retire. profit and loss and balance sheet as they are in merchandising, Consequently, discreet searches constantly go on in the industry. marketing, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and mobile technology. Still, this past year has seen quite a lot of activity in the c-level suites. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to find top talent Ralph Lauren, 72, signed a five-year contract June 26 keeping that not only has the vision, leadership, execution and interper- him at the helm until 2017. And industry observers continue to watch sonal skills but also the technological, supply chain logistics and with fascination Giorgio Armani, 78, who maintains a breakneck pace international know-how to successfully lead a global organization. with his solely owned company. Asked in May about recent specula- As a generation of founder-entrepreneurs begins thinking about tion about the company’s future and succession plans, Armani said that succession and Baby Boomers reach retirement age, boards are forming a foundation is one possibility, and that his family is equipped seeking ceo candidates who possess skills that are very different to carry on. “The foundation is only one of the possibilities; there is from those of the company founders. These founder-entrepreneurs nothing substantial there. The continuity of the company is already well are focused, appropriately, on the very vision that continues to defined. I’ve had close collaborators for some time now that bring forward drive their success. Succession planning is low on the priority list. my work in the best of ways. The family, in addition, is integrated in the SEE PAGE 6 PHOTO BY RICHARD LAIRD/GETTY IMAGES 2 WWD MONDAY, JULY 23, 2012 Coach Wins $44M in Fakes Case the Briefing Box multimillion-dollar judgment, the defendants had also sold in Today’s WWd By ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD she granted Coach a perma- counterfeit bags on eBay. nent injunction, shutting down “Linda Allen plainly re- COACH INC. SCORED a $44 mil- the defendants’ infringing Web quires substantial deterrence lion judgment against a U.S.- sites, Bellafashions.net and because she has not been de- based mother-and-daughter duo MyClassyFashion.com. terred by prior judgments,” operating Web sites advertising “I know nothing about this,” explained the judge. “She per- and selling counterfeit Coach said a testy Linda Allen, who re- sists in her contumacious be- handbags. turned calls for comment regard- havior. This award may be crip- The case, which was filed ing the judgment. pling, but it is plainly needed in Manhattan federal court, When pressed further, she to prevent Allen from going stands out from similar repeatedly said, “it’s not valid,” back once again into the busi- Internet counterfeiting suits but finally admitted that while ness of counterfeiting.” because the defendants, Linda she did indeed know she had To back up her decision, and Courtney Allen, reside in been sued by Coach, she had not Judge McMahon said the Allens “willfully” infringed Coach’s trademark because they admit- Benjamin Millepied’s “Framework” ted on their Web sites that the performed at MOCA. goods they were selling were “not This decision should also serve as original” and that they were “in no way affiliated with the authen- The chief executive officer role is in flux as retailers notice to all who traffic in counterfeit tic manufacturers.” morph into omnichannel organizations and consumers She added that when the de- dramatically alter their shopping habits. PAGE 1 fendants finally turned in a re- goods that Coach will vigorously sponse to Coach’s allegations in Value fashion chain Max has been designated as the June, the paperwork was “utterly licensee for the Cherokee brand in several Middle Eastern pursue you, and will win. devoid of substance.” and north African markets. PAGE 3 “Coach is exceedingly — NaNcy axilrod pleased with the court’s ruling,” RetailMeNot.com, one of the largest coupon Web sites, said Nancy Axilrod, Coach’s has 400 million unique visits a year and offers 500,000 deputy general counsel. “The coupons for 100,000 stores. PAGE 3 Syosset, N.Y. Typically, these yet received word of a verdict decision in Coach v. Linda Allen, cases involve foreign-based against her. et al. should serve as a warn- Alan Sebastian Greco, 62, a longtime beauty executive Web operators who are difficult A repeat offender, Allen had ing to defendants in all pending and founder of Paul Sebastian Inc., died July 14. PAGE 3 to track down. been sued by French fashion Coach lawsuits that courts con- In her decision, presiding house Chanel Inc. for trademark sider counterfeiting a serious Designer shoe floors are getting crowded, with a group of Judge Colleen McMahon said counterfeiting and infringement issue and are prepared to order high-end brands, including Charlotte Olympia and Nicholas Thursday that the defendants in 2007 for the “same exact ille- defendants to pay large sums of Kirkwood, entering the sector’s retail space. PAGE 4 had violated Coach’s trade- gal conduct” with the operation money. This decision should also marks on 11 types of goods for of MyClassyFashion.com and serve as notice to all who traffic Swiss watch exports, bolstered by robust sales of gold a total of 22 separate infringe- UltimateDesignersHandbags.com, in counterfeit goods that Coach timepieces, increased 21.7 percent in June. PAGE 8 ments. In addition to award- according to Judge McMahon, will vigorously pursue you, and ing the handbag maker a hefty who noted that in the Coach case, will win.” Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin, which opened its first U.S. boutique on Madison Avenue in New York in September, is ramping up its U.S. expansion efforts. PAGE 8 Alexia Landeau discusses her latest project, “2 Days Progress Made in Port Negotiations in New York,” which she cowrote with fellow actress Julie Delpy and in which she stars. PAGE 9 sides fail to reach an agreement chairman and chief executive By KRISTI ELLIS on the contract. officer James A. Capo said in Do not look for American Apparel on the medal stand in “We are pleased to see the a joint statement from Delray 2014 in Sochi; the company will not produce any uniforms WASHINGTON — The progress made by the ILA and Beach. “We’re pleased that we for Russia’s Olympic team after all. PAGE 9 International Longshoremen’s USMX from this latest round of were able to resolve some impor- Association and the U.S. Maritime negotiations,” said Jonathan Gold, tant issues and look forward to Nicole Richie has begun releasing sketches of looks Alliance, representing ocean car- vice president of supply chain and continuing bargaining to reach she’s designing for her collection for Macy’s Impulse riers, said they made “significant customs policy at the National agreement on the remaining is- department, which will launch in September. PAGE 11 progress” this week on several Retail Federation. “We are hopeful sues in the current negotiations.” key issues pertaining to a bar- they will be able to come to a final They also acknowledged the gaining contract covering ports agreement on the remaining issues importance of East and Gulf on WWD.CoM from Maine to Texas and affecting and ratify a new contract before Coast ports to global commerce roughly 20 percent of all apparel, the current contract expires.” and vowed to “reach an agree- EYE: “Framework,” a new series of three site-specific dance textiles and footwear trade, as the The two sides said they ment without any disruption in performances by L.A. Dance Project/Benjamin Millepied two sides wrapped up a round of reached an “agreement in prin- the supply chain and operation in collaboration with Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford, talks in Florida on Friday. ciple” on issues involving the of 14 ports.” premiered at Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art. An ILA spokesman said the introduction of new technology The two sides said they have For more photos, see WWD.com/eye. two sides will continue in the and automation, as well as on successfully negotiated nine new “coming weeks” negotiations to- maintenance and repair of chas- master contracts since 1977 with- ward reaching an agreement on sis with marine terminals and out any disruption in port opera- CorreCtion a new contract. at off-pier facilities in the East tions.