Ruffled up NEW YORK — in a Season That’S Long on Pretty, Feminine Looks, Marc Jacobs’ Beautiful Spring Collection Had Plenty to Offer
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ITALY IN DEPTH/19-30 JILTED BY J.LO/9 Suzy’s Back! WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’WEDN Daily Newspaper • SeptemberESDAY 17, 2003 Vol. 186, No. 58 $1.75 Sportswear Ruffled Up NEW YORK — In a season that’s long on pretty, feminine looks, Marc Jacobs’ beautiful spring collection had plenty to offer. But that wasn’t all — he showed a tomboy side, too. There were touches of Theda Bara, prairie looks, and lots and lots of dresses, many of them ruffled, played off against such pieces as washed linen jackets, shorts and pants. Here, one of Jacobs’ stunning fluffy dresses. For more on the season, see pages 6 to 13. The New King of Textiles: Wilbur Ross Plans to Add Cone Mills to His Empire By Scott Malone NEW YORK — The one-man campaign of Wilbur Ross to restructure the U.S. textile industry took a dramatic turn on Tuesday. The bankruptcy baron said he had agreed to purchase denim maker Cone Mills Corp., which he would then merge into Burlington Industries, once he closes on his acquisition of that firm. The deal, which follows a similar strategy to the one the financier took in See Wilbur, Page41 The Move to the Middle/16 The Space Crunch in Better/34 PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO PHOTO BY 974 Madison Avenue New York, 5-3-18 Minami Aoyama Minato-Ku Tokyo 4 WWD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003 WWDWEDNESDAY Sportswear Bon-Ton Wins Elder-Beerman Chase GENERAL As New York sashayed on, the news of the day came from Calvin Klein, Badgley Mischka, Marc Jacobs, Miguel Adrover and many others. By Vicki M. Young Wright and Bon-Ton have been Elder-Beerman would become a 6 trading barbs and bids since subsidiary of Bon-Ton. Wilbur Ross’ campaign to restructure the U.S. textile industry rolled on, as NEW YORK — The third time’s Bon-Ton entered the bidding for Tim Grumbacher, Bon-Ton’s 1 he said he’d buy Cone Mills and merge it into Burlington Industries. the charm for The Bon-Ton the Dayton, Ohio-based depart- chairman and chief executive of- Stores Inc. ment store group in July. ficer, said in a statement, “We are The retail landscape has shifted and stores are competing for customers Perseverance paid off as the Bon-Ton said that the merger very pleased to have the opportu- 16 within their own price level, but also higher and lower. retailer said Tuesday that it en- has been approved by the nity to merge these two strong re- WEST: Wal-Mart has a plan to open 40 Supercenters in California, but it’s tered into a “definitive merger boards of directors of both com- tail companies. The strategic and 4 met some roadblocks in the form of lawsuits filed to keep it from coming. agreement” providing for its panies. The retailer said it will operational potential of this busi- purchase of The Elder-Beerman promptly commence a cash ten- ness combination is exceptional Suzy’s back! And she’s got tales of royals, serenes, and the odd movie star, Stores Corp. for $92.8 million. der offer for all outstanding and the ability to add value to our 14 plus fireworks over Central Park and lots of galas. The assumption of about $110 shares of Elder-Beerman, fol- shareholders is very compelling. WWDItaly In Depth, a special report, appears on pages 19-30. million in debt puts the deal lowed by a second step merger “The companies have a simi- just over the $200 million mark. of Elder-Beerman by a Bon-Ton lar customer base and compara- Classified Advertisements ..................................................................43-47 In its third attempt to buy its subsidiary. Completion of the ble merchandise offerings, as To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is fellow regional department offer is contingent on the tender well as little or no geographic [email protected], using the individual's name. store, York, Pa.-based Bon-Ton on of at least two-thirds of the out- overlap. We look forward to ex- SUBSCRIPTION RATES Monday provided the winning standing Elder-Beerman shares panding our partnerships with U.S. and possessions, Retailer, daily one year, $99; Manufacturer, daily one year, $135. All others U.S., daily one year $195. Canada/Mexico, daily one year, $295. All other foreign (Air Speed), daily one year $595. bid when, as reported, it upped on a fully diluted basis, avail- the vendor community, banks Please allow 6-8 weeks for service to start. Individual subscription information/Single Copy Sales : (800) 289-0273; outside U.S. (818) 487-4526; new group subscription information 212-630-4196 the ante to $8.00 a share, or a 20 ability of the proceeds of the fi- and other business partners, as Postmaster: Send address changes to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008. cent premium, to Wright Hold- nancing under previously re- we work toward the common WWD (ISSN #0149-5380) is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue every month except July, and two additional issues in April and September and three in August, by Fairchild ings’ $7.80 offer on Friday. While ceived commitment letters and goal of maximizing the potential Publications, Inc. a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc., 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001-8191. an acquisition of Elder-Beerman applicable regulatory approvals. of this acquisition.” WWD is a registered trademark of Fairchild Publications Inc.© 2003 by Fairchild Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc. All rights reserved. has been in the works since May, Under the arrangement, Continued on page 39 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing by the copyright owner. Editorial Reprints: (212) 221-9595 Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and other offices. Canada Post Returns to: P.O.Box 1632, Windsor, ON N9A 7C9 GST # 88654-9096-RM 0001 Canada Publications Agreement # 40032712 Printed in the U.S.A. All signed articles published in the paper represent solely the individual opinion of the writer and not those of Wal-Mart Faces WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY. Dior Unveils Redo Calif. Roadblocks For Web site access, log on and subscribe to www.WWD.com. Of 57th Street Store To Supercenters In Brief By Anamaria Wilson forecast for first-year store ● CHARLOTTE’S NEW MERCHANT: Charlotte Russe Holding said sales, she did say “the store has By Kristin Young its president and chief merchandising officer, Harriet Sustarsic, NEW YORK — John Galliano’s been trending very strongly and would resign. It named Donna Desrosiers to the newly created po- vivid imagination demands per- the company picked up 42 per- LOS ANGELES — California sition of executive vice president and general merchandising man- fection, so it should come as no cent last year, which was compa- might have its quirks — like ager for the CR chain. Desrosiers previously served as general surprise that creating the right rable growth in the U.S. This porn stars running for governor merchandise manager at Canadian companies that operate in jun- backdrop to showcase his wares year we’re trending in the 20s — but the state has never been ior women’s fashion, including Ricki’s, a division of Comark/ARG, for Christian Dior took more again and the New York store is known as antibusiness. and Suzy Shier Inc., a specialty retailer of over 240 locations. The than one try at the company’s very much a part of that trend.” However, as Wal-Mart Stores company said Sustarsic is leaving to spend more time with her flagship here. In a bid to create an environ Inc. gears up to put 40 Super- family. Mark Hoffman, chief executive, said in a statement, “CR is What began as a “facelift” of that mixes modernity and warmth centers in the state within the extremely appreciative of how Harriet’s efforts helped transform the 6,000-square-foot women’s along with the vestiges of Dior’s next three to five years, the retail- the company from a regional operator of 35 stores into a national store at 21 East 57th Street has signature touches, the company er has met stumbling blocks. retailer with more than 300 stores over the past seven years.” morphed instead into an entire combined white lacquer walls, Besides the 130 traditional stores redesign, which will be un- cream-colored limestone floors, it operates in the state, the first ● QUEENS OF QUEENS: Who’s the next face of Queens? The veiled today. textured dove gray rugs in animal Supercenters — units with full- Queens Center will hold an open casting call Friday and Saturday “The old store was very mod- prints and polished nickel fix- line discount stores and super- to find the faces and personalities that best represent the borough. ern, but what was missing was tures. Yet it was careful to re- markets under one roof, ranging Winners will appear in an ad campaign promoting the expanded the soul of what Dior is,” said design antique looks to give them from 109,000 to 230,000 square shopping mall. The ad campaign, “Grow Your Own Way,” aims to Marla Sabo, president and chief a modern feel with updated Louis feet, or roughly twice the size of capture the spirit behind the modernization of the Queens Center, operating officer of Christian XVI chairs and love seats, as well its typical stores — are slated to which will be expanded to nearly 1 million square feet with more Dior Couture for the U.S.