A Fine Romance
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BRAD ART NO.5 SCHOOL CHANEL’S NEW MARY-KATE OLSEN AND OLIVIER FRAGRANCE SARKOZY WERE AMONG THE CAMPAIGN WITH REVELERS AT AGNES GUND’S BRAD PITT. PAGE 7 ARTS CHARITY EVENT. PAGE 9 DIMINISHING CROWD Sept. Comps Mixed As Relevance Wanes By ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD ARE COMPS KAPUT? Coming off blazing August comparable-store sales results, 20 retailers on Thursday reported a slate of tepid September numbers. But the sluggish results FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2012 ■ $3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY were overshadowed by news that Target Corp. is pull- ing out of the monthly reporting regimen starting next WWD month. The retail giant’s departure has essentially plucked $70 billion in annual sales out of the comp- store base — and now leaves only 19 retailers report- ing comps, down from 32 just two years ago and 50 fi ve years ago. The decline has made it increasingly diffi cult to get a read on the health of the industry from monthly updates. A Fine Target’s move isn’t a complete surprise. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. stopped reporting three years ago, fol- lowed by a slew of teen retailers and, most recently, a handful of department stores, including Saks Inc., Romance Neiman Marcus Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. At a luncheon at the New York Hilton on Tuesday, Penney’s chief executive offi cer Ron Johnson ac- Riccardo Tisci’s priestess of high knowledged that the road to reinvention of his com- style walked the runways for pany has been rocky, but he noted that looking at monthly comps is “irrelevant if you’re looking for- Givenchy in a softer take on Sixties ward” instead of back. couture. Looking to the house Then there is the specialty apparel market, archives, the designer offered a new where only 10 companies tracked by WWD still re- port comps, and half of them are owned by either take on sculptural ruffl es for his Gap Inc. or Limited Brands Inc. Specialty retail- lineup of modern glamour. For more, ers such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co., J. Crew Group see pages 4 and 5. Inc., Aéropostale Inc., American Eagle Outfitters Inc., Urban Outfi tters Inc., Ann Inc., The Talbots Inc. Chico’s FAS Inc. and Pacifi c Sunwear of California Inc. are all out of the game. When asked about the health of the specialty chan- nel based on the monthly results, Michael Brown, a partner in the retail practice at A .T. Kearney, didn’t even feign an opinion. “I think if you look at the companies reporting, it’s hard to get a handle of what’s going on,” he admitted. SEE PAGE 8 PPR’s Developing Future By MILES SOCHA and JOELLE DIDERICH PARIS — For the past 50 years, the fashion business directed most of its efforts towards some 800 million consumers in the wealthiest regions of the world: the U.S., Western Europe and Japan. Training its sights on the next half a century, PPR spies a broader world as demographics and economic development promise to deliver some 3 billion young and affl uent consumers from such emerging nations as China, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Russia. SPRING 2013 So says PPR chairman and chief executive offi - COLLECTIONS cer François-Henri Pinault, who hosted a press day on Thursday with his top managers to elaborate on the French group’s transformation from a retail-to- TRENDS luxury conglomerate to an integrated fi rm focused on apparel and accessories in the luxury and sport-and- lifestyle segments. “What is at stake in the longer-term, that is to say over the next 50 years or so, is absolutely huge and without precedent in human history,” Pinault said. This means that PPR has plenty of potential to grow sales, even without acquisitions. In 2011 as a whole, PPR recorded sales of 12.23 billion euros, or $17.03 billion, up 11.1 percent on the previous year. Pinault hopes to triple the size of its core luxury and sport & lifestyle divisions by 2020 and increase revenues to 24 billion euros, or $31.1 billion at current exchange. He reiterated that the group would look to buy mainly small and medium-sized fi rms with strong growth potential, saying that one of the areas it was interested in expanding was the outdoor segment. PHOTO BY STEPHANE FEUGERE SEE PAGE 12 2 WWD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2012 WWD.COM Li & Fung Said Buying N.Y. Sourcing Firm THE BRIEFING BOX beyond China as labor costs rise concentrated in Pakistan, India IN TODAY’S WWD By ARTHUR FRIEDMAN in the country and manufactur- and Bangladesh, and this week ers there look to produce more for the company opened an office NEW YORK — Li & Fung Ltd. is domestic consumption. “Li & Fung in Sri Lanka. Synergies manag- said to be finalizing a deal to pur- is looking at more low-cost, Asia- es $300 million in international chase Synergies Worldwide, a New specific sourcing.” trade for about 75 clients around York-based sourcing firm that spe- It was unclear what role the world. cializes in South Asia. Synergies founder and presi- Li & Fung has a global net- It is that expertise that is said dent Munir Mashooqullah would work covering more than 40 to have attracted the Hong Kong- have once the deal in completed. economies in the Americas, based sourcing giant, which has Mashooqullah, who was unavail- Europe, Africa and Asia, with its manufacturing base in China, able for comment on Thursday, more than 300 offices and distri- to Synergies, according to a started Synergies in 1987 and bution centers. Li & Fung’s sales source with knowledge of the has focused his company’s ef- for the first half ended June 30 transaction. forts on providing fast fashion grew 3.7 percent to $9.13 billion, “It’s likely Li & Fung’s response and discount apparel, accesso- as net profits increased 32.6 per- Mayor Michael to developing a China Plus One ries, footwear and home textiles cent to $312.3 million. The com- Bloomberg, strategy,” said the source, refer- to companies in the U.S. and pany did not respond to a request Barbara Walters EICHNER ring to companies diversifying Europe. Synergies’ sourcing is for comment on the acquisition. and Barry Diller at the Breguet event STEVE at Carnegie Hall. BY PHOTO Christopher Colfer Analysts pondered the importance of comp sales reports with Target Corp. set to drop the monthly routine. PAGE 1 Exits Post at Dunhill PPR spies a broader world as demographics and economic development promise to deliver some 3 billion young and By SAMANTHA CONTI affluent consumers from emerging nations. PAGE 1 LONDON — Christopher Colfer has stepped down as Christopher Colfer has stepped down as chief executive officer of Alfred Dunhill to take up a group role at chief executive officer of Alfred Dunhill to take up a PAGE 2 group role at Compagnie Financière Richemont. Compagnie Financière Richemont. Colfer served as Dunhill’s ceo for seven years, and Evelyn Lauder’s legacy lives on as her Breast Cancer the company said he was responsible for the brand’s PAGE 6 “exponential growth” and commercial development. Awareness campaign marks its 20th anniversary. Richemont said it would name his successor in the coming weeks. Armed with a new ad campaign featuring brand spokesperson Bill Rancic and a new look, Rogaine is hoping In the 2011-12 fiscal year, Dunhill was one of the top PAGE 6 performers in Richemont’s growing fashion and acces- to grow more than just hair. sories division. Overall sales in fashion and accessories grew 18 percent in the year ended March 31. Chanel later this month will do a global unveiling of its first project with Brad Pitt, whom it signed in May: a commercial Colfer succeeded Simon Critchell in 2005, taking PAGE 7 over at a time when Dunhill, one of the group’s largest and print ad for the iconic Chanel No.5. brands, was struggling to carve out a stronger design image in men’s wear and accessories. Ulta Beauty will provide the grand prize on the reality TV Colfer was formerly a marketing executive at the show “The Face,” where models will compete to be the face of its fall and holiday 2013 national ad campaigns. PAGE 7 Looks from Alfred Dunhill. group who had also been overseeing Richemont’s ven- ture capital and development investments. The 35th anniversary gala for Studio in a School on Tuesday evening in New York brought out a mix of bold- faced arts patrons. PAGE 9 Refinery29 Teams With DKNY for Line W magazine publisher Nina Lawrence said she would be departing to become The Wall Street Journal’s new vice and London. Each of the bags, which retail from PAGE 9 By RACHEL STRUGATZ $195 to $395, keeps the local demographic in mind. president of global marketing, advertising sales. The New York City is a $395 streamlined nude A.P.C.’s 25th birthday party Wednesday night, at the end of NEW YORK — Beyond Refinery29’s expansions leather backpack with black bordering, and the PAGE 10 on the editorial front — its first international San Francisco, also $395, is a Paris Fashion Week, drew an eclectic, cool crowd. edition in London is slated for launch in early Refinery29 + DKNY’s raffia satchel with coral ac- Fendi’s celebration of the Baguette’s 15th birthday is December — the digital fashion destination Los Angeles box clutch. cents and black leather PAGE 11 will unveil its first collection of accessories, top handles. Then there’s reaching its zenith in the online world.