WWDAccessories THE STATE OF THE STATEMENT NECKLACE AND MORE. SECTION II MILAN COLLECTIONS IT WAS A BELLISSIMO WEEKEND ON THE RUNWAYS. PAGES 4 TO 11 BACKING THE FUTURE LVMH Said Investing In Marco de Vincenzo By MILES SOCHA MILAN — Marco de Vincenzo is fashion’s latest young gun to attract investment from a big luxury group. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is to reveal WWD today that it has struck a joint venture with the Rome-based designer to develop his fledgling ready- to-wear brand. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014 Q $3.00 Q WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY De Vincenzo showed his fall collection here Sunday (see review on page 8). According to sources, the agreement gives LVMH a “significant” minority holding in de Vincenzo’s com- pany, with options to tighten the partnership and in- crease its stake down the road. Delphine Arnault — the daughter of LVMH chair- Twisted man and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault and second in command at Louis Vuitton — was said to be instrumental in the de Vincenzo deal. She has emerged as a crucial talent scout for the group as the competition to acquire hot young designers — Beauty and engage and assist them via philanthropic en- deavors — intensifies. Later this week in Paris, Arnault is to welcome the 30 semifinalists competing for the inaugural Architectural meets tribal LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize, her latest meets athletic. Consuelo high-profile initiative. De Vincenzo becomes the fourth designer in Castiglioni merged the the last two years to attract money from LVMH’s notions into one beautifully rich coffers, joining Paris-based Maxime Simoens and London designers J.W. Anderson and Nicholas eccentric collection for Kirkwood on its roster of fashion names, which in- Marni. Complicated and cludes Fendi, Givenchy, Céline, Kenzo and Loewe, for audacious? Of course. which Anderson was appointed creative director. Rival French group Kering has also bagged some Over-the-top chic? Absolutely. buzzy names, last year taking a 51 percent stake in Here, her pileup of furs, London-based Christopher Kane and making a mi- feathers, felts and shine. For nority investment in Altuzarra, the New York-based house of designer Joseph Altuzarra. more from Milan, see pages After launching his collection during Milan Fashion 4 to 11. Week in September 2009, the 34-year-old de Vincenzo won Vogue Italia’s “Who Is on Next?” competition. SEE PAGE 13 FALL 2014 Chinese Fashion Firm MILAN Buys Krizia Brand COLLECTIONS By LUISA ZARGANI MILAN — Krizia, one of Italy’s first ready-to-wear brands that helped build the country’s global fashion identity, is changing hands. And founder Mariuccia Mandelli is passing the baton after six decades in business. Leading Chinese fashion retailer Shenzhen Marisfrolg Fashion Co. Ltd., has taken control of Krizia SpA, WWD has learned. Financial details of the transaction, which is expected to be finalized and operative in late spring, were not disclosed. Shenzhen Marisfrolg Fashion is owned by entre- preneur Zhu Chongyun, who will become chairman and creative director of Krizia. Her first collection for the label will make its debut in February 2015 in Milan. Marisfrolg is based in Shenzhen but Krizia will continue to be based in Milan. At its peak in the Nineties, Mandelli and her hus- band, company chairman Aldo Pinto, had developed Krizia into a $500 million business, leveraging a string of licenses and a global network of stores. The one-time power couple, both in their 80s, have been battling health issues for years. Without a sec- ond generation to helm the brand, Krizia’s volume is now believed to be miniscule and its assets include the Milan store and the brand’s stately palazzo where the shows are held. Zhu is expected to revamp the brand and, over the next five years, to open Krizia flagships in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, and PHOTO BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI SEE PAGE 13 2 WWD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014 WWD.COM Pinault: Slow Road for Kering’s Reinvention “We project 6 percent organic growth by 2015, 7 THE BRIEFING BOX By PAULINA SZMYDKE percent by 2016,” specified Norris. Meanwhile, Saint Laurent’s revenues surged IN TODAY’S WWD PARIS — When Kering, then PPR, started shedding 17.8 percent last year, giving Kering’s luxury divi- its retail holdings in 2006 to become a luxury-to- sion a healthy boost. “It’s a stellar number and defi- lifestyle conglomerate, it probably didn’t expect it nitely higher than we expected,” enthused Norris. to be this slow and this painful. “The transition of the artistic direction to Hedi Milan Fashion Week Still, François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chairman Slimane was a huge success,” according to Pinault. street style. For more, and chief executive officer, considers the group “in “Men’s and women’s ready-to-wear were particularly see WWD.com. an excellent position” for future growth, following well received, up 53 percent,” said the executive, while a year of “deep-seeded transformation.” leather goods and shoes accounted for the lion’s share “It’s been a hard path, but we have established of revenues, 66 percent, driven by the brand’s new a robust foundation to go ahead with our strategy,” styles such as the Sac du Jour handbag and Paris shoes. Pinault told a press conference on Friday following Kering said the new ysl.com Web site, rede- the publication of the group’s 2013 results, which signed at the end of 2012 and now serving 60 coun- showed a 95.2 percent drop in net profit, heavily tries, fueled the brand’s e-commerce, while brick- impacted by Kering’s ongoing reconstruction ef- and-mortar business, which comprises a retail forts. In 2013, recurring operating income fell 2.3 network of 115 directly operated boutiques, was percent to 1.75 billion euros, or $2.32 billion. well balanced in geographic terms. The company, whose stable of brands includes Revenues at Bottega Veneta rose 7.5 percent last Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Christopher Kane and Puma, year to surpass the billion-euro threshold. They to- is simultaneously developing on different fronts, and taled 1.02 billion euros, or $1.35 billion, led by “a solid progression” in leather goods, up 15 percent, as Pinault showed no signs of losing patience with any DABROWSKI KUBA PHOTO BY of them, most notably the group’s lagging cash cow well as an “outstanding performance” of men’s wear, Gucci, and Puma, the underper- now accounting for more than 30 forming core of its nascent sport/ percent of sales. François-Henri LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is to reveal today that lifestyle business division. As reported, Puma’s net loss it has struck a joint venture with Marco de Vincenzo to develop At Gucci, which accounts for Pinault widened to 115.2 million euros, his fledgling ready-to-wear brand. PAGE 1 more than half the group’s total or $156.8 million, in the three business, sales slipped 5.5 percent months ended Dec. 31, with the in the fourth quarter, with a slim brand citing mostly a lack of a Krizia, one of Italy’s first ready-to-wear brands that helped build the country’s global fashion identity, has been sold to Chinese 0.2 percent improvement at com- clear message and problems with PAGE 1 parable exchange rates. distribution as negative factors. fashion retailer Shenzhen Marisfrolg Fashion Co. Ltd. The Italian brand has taken a Pinault was upbeat about the hit during its ongoing luxury up- sporting and lifestyle category, François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chairman and chief grade, the objective being to shift saying “2014 will see an ambi- executive officer, considers the group “in an excellent the focus to products with high- tious relaunch of Puma. We are position” for future growth. PAGE 2 er average value. According to very content with the new pro- chief financial officer Jean-Marc gram.” He cautioned not to ex- Felipe Oliveira Baptista is suspending his ready-to-wear Duplaix, smaller tourist flows to pect any fast results, given that line for an undetermined period of time. PAGE 2 Europe in the fourth quarter also Puma’s new image campaign is dented Gucci’s fortunes. DOMINIQUE MAÎTRE PHOTO BY to be launched in August and Indian designer Rahul Mishra was named winner of the Fielding questions about the a new package of products for 2014 International Woolmark Prize. PAGE 12 brand’s slow road back to the top, Pinault said, “In spring 2015 is still down the road. the U.S., in Japan and in Europe, this strategy has Kering warned in November that the group’s net Claire’s, which targets three- to 18-year-olds, is launching already been implemented with success, which profits would be sharply down due to one-off charg- the Katy Perry Prism collection of jewelry and accessories shows that tangible benefits to the sales trend are es at Puma and nonrecurring impacts from discon- globally in more than 3,000 stores. PAGE 12 feasible.” tinued operations. Exiting its last remaining retail He added that even in China, where luxury businesses, the group suffered a net loss of 256 mil- The Cut, growth has slowed in general, it was “progressing lion euros, or $339 million, related to the disposal of a new, recurring six-page fashion spread, is part of New York magazine’s inaugural biweekly issue, which a lot.…We are working city by city to enhance our shares in its books, music and electronics chain Fnac, PAGE 12 network of distribution there.” and a net expense of 562 million euros, or $746 mil- hits newsstands today.