WALL STREET’S LUXE FALLOUT/2 VIA SPIGA RELAUNCHES BAGS/9 WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’MONDAY Daily Newspaper • March 24, 2008 • $2.00 Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear Chain Reaction Patterned hosiery in luxe textures easily kicks up the style quotient on the season’s most casual looks. And the tights are making an impact all over. Here, Custo Barcelona’s nylon and silk velvet chain version with Diesel’s sweater and shirt and shorts from DKNY Jeans. Scarf from Converse by John Varvatos; Cesare Paciotti shoes. For more, see pages 6 and 7. As Designer Sales Lag, Retailers Fret Fashion In Need of Some Fixing By Marc Karimzadeh SENTS; STYLED BY COURT WILLIAMS COURT SENTS; STYLED BY nother season of shows ended Aearlier this month, during which retailers and editors had the chance to see thousands of looks come down the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris. Enough, one would think, to find something to whet consumer appetites. Not so fast. Many fashion executives are increasingly frustrated, claiming the designer business, particularly this past fall, failed to live up to their expectations as consumers shunned the latest trends. There is a rising chorus among See What’s, Page10 PHOTO BY GEORGE CHINSEE; MODEL: LEAH HIGHT/FUSION; HAIR BY DARIA WRIGHT/DARIAWRIGHT.COM; MAKEUP BY BRYAN LYNDE/RJ BENNETT REPRE LYNDE/RJ BRYAN MAKEUP BY DARIA WRIGHT/DARIAWRIGHT.COM; GEORGE CHINSEE; MODEL: LEAH HIGHT/FUSION; HAIR BY PHOTO BY 2 WWD, MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008 WWD.COM Wall St. Cutbacks Could Weigh on Luxe By Evan Clark tion of that is in the form of bonuses. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world,” said Van WWDMONDAY Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear he wave of pink slips about to hit Wall Street Wagner, noting people at Bear Stearns who keep Tshould be a warning to New York’s luxury re- their jobs will hold onto their salaries. But in tailers, although the ripples of Bear Stearns’ fall many cases salary makes up only a small percent- GENERAL last week might not be fully felt until bonus sea- age of wages for top executives at fi nancial fi rms, son next winter. with the vast majority coming through bonuses. Many retailers have become frustrated over the designer business that The New York City comptroller’s offi ce is guessing Last year, Wall Street bonuses slipped from 1 particularly this past fall failed to deliver looks that entice consumers. that the investor run on Bear Stearns and proposed record levels in 2006, but not as much as some EYE: Talking to Anna Mouglalis, who in “I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster” acquisition by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, which is still feared. The comptroller’s offi ce estimated that 4 sheds her Chanel suit to play a waitress who dreams of pulling a heist. subject to approval by share- the securities industry paid out holders, will cost the city $33.2 billion in bonuses to its Japan Fashion Week showcased just about every runway antic imagin- about 5,000 jobs. Other Wall New York City employees, a 2 5 able, but the fall shows also offered some wearable clothes. Street heavyweights, such as percent drop. FASHION: Hosiery manufacturers have come up with some wild cre- Lehman Brothers, Goldman Still, much of the economic 6 ations for fall, from eye-popping prints to tweaked-out openwork. Sachs and Citigroup, also well-being of New York City de- have either laid off workers pends on Wall Street. FINANCIAL: The marriage of Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. and the or are said to be considering “The combination of a bad 12 Disney Store chain is coming to an end after more than three years. payroll cuts. year on Wall Street and a na- “Clearly, it’s not good news tional recession is when we re- Classifi ed Advertisements.............................................................14-15 for the luxury retailers,” said ally start to feel pain,” said Van Marcia Van Wagner, deputy Wagner. To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is fi rstname. controller for the budget, Overall, the New York City [email protected], using the individual’s name. New York City comptroller’s economy is expected to grow by offi ce. “There’s going to be a about 1 percent this year and add WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT lot of retrenchment in that 13,000 jobs, though both fi gures are ©2008 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 195, NO. 63. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with area of spending.” subject to downward revisions. one additional issue in January, October and December, two additional issues in March, April, May, June, August and Finance professionals For now, weakness in the lux- November, and three additional issues in February and September) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division of losing their jobs, though, ury market Stateside is being Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services provided by Condé Nast Publications: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, are expected to largely land delayed by an infl ux of foreign Executive Vice President/COO; Debi Chirichella Sabino, Senior Vice President/CFO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/ on their feet. shoppers. Human Resources. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offi ces. Canada Post Publications “A lot of hedge funds and “It’s definitely being offset Mail Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. Canada Post: return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6 POSTMASTER: private equity fi rms are hir- to some extent…by the fact that SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA ing,” said Marisa DiNatale, the dollar’s so weak and there’s 91615–5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE senior economist at Moody’s Bear Stearns could lay off 5,000 New York been so much international visi- INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008, call 800-289-0273, or visit City employees. www.subnow.com/wd. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. First copy of new Economy.com, who stud- tation to the U.S., and especially subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production ies the New York market. New York,” said DiNatale. As correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions and reprint requests, “Some people might not fi nd a job for a while, but stores look out over the horizon, perhaps seeing please call 212-630-4274 or fax requests to 212-630-4280. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list certainly others will fi nd one right away.” the storm clouds of more declines, they might available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. “It’s too soon to tell,” said Michael Gould, choose to pull back on their orders. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA Bloomingdale’s chairman and chief executive offi - “The fallout from the macro climate defi nitely 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, cer, of any impact from Wall Street layoffs. “This mo- is going to impact wholesale because stores are BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED ment, the business in Manhattan is phenomenal.” looking at it and they’re going to plan their bud- MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR Overall, the luxury market has lost some steam, gets,” said Jeffry Aronsson, former ceo of Donna CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY with sales decreasing 2.2 percent in February, the Karan International and Marc Jacobs, who now A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE. third consecutive month of year-over-year de- runs his own luxury investment fi rm. “If it’s a big clines, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, company that in effect has been betting on its fu- which uses credit card and other data to estimate ture or has analysts on the Street that they have to MONDAY: Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. and Tiffany & Co. the total market. please, they’re going to be under pressure.” report fourth-quarter and year-end sales and earnings. New York’s securities industry employed almost Companies that don’t depend on continuous and 186,000 people as of January, said Van Wagner, cit- consistent growth, but can swim with the ebbs and TUESDAY: Montreal Fashion Week (through Thursday). ing government fi gures. While that is only about 5 fl ows of the market, will fare better, said Aronsson. The Conference Board releases the Consumer percent of all New York City jobs, it accounted for “It may be a hard day, but it’s just another day,” Confi dence Index for March.