Sunrise, Sunset Sunrise, Sunset

BEN KLEIN DEAD AT 91/14 L’OREAL SHUTTING RUBINSTEIN/3 WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • TheWEDNESDAY Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • July 16, 2003 Vol. 186, No. 11 $2.00 Sunrise, Sportswear Sunset PARIS — The notion of getting back to basics is all the rage these days, and some designers have their own idiosyncratic definitions of that idea. Donatella Versace, for example, showed her stance on that concept in her Versace fall couture presentation — a small, tightly edited group of looks displayed on mannequins at the Ritz. It focused on the basics of the house: dramatic, gorgeous red-carpet looks, from wood-nymph exotica to Madame Bovary grandeur, in a palette of the delicate shades of sunrise or sunset. Here, one of Versace’s stunning wrapped and tied evening beauties. For more night stars, see pages 4 and 5. Focusing on Retail, Sears Sells Credit Op To Citigroup for $32B By Evan Clark NEW YORK — Sears is finally swearing off the plastic, leaving its struggling retail operations in plain view for all to see. Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears, Roebuck & Co. said Tuesday it inked a definitive agreement with Citigroup to sell its credit and financial products business for approximately $32 billion. See Sears, Page16 Marketing to Hispanics: A Hidden Opportunity/10 PHOTO BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI GIOVANNI PHOTO BY 2 Patrick Thomas WWDWEDNESDAY Nautica Trims Loss Sportswear Back to Hermès GENERAL On Solid Revenues PARIS — Patrick Thomas has Couturiers showed a wide variety of dramatic, vibrant fall looks that could rejoined Hermès International 4 brave any volley of flashbulbs. Here are some of the top looks. By Vicki M. Young as the luxury firm’s number two Sears is selling its lucrative credit card business, the nation’s sixth largest, executive. 1 to Citigroup for about $32 billion. NEW YORK — Nautica Enter- Thomas, who had been man- prises Inc., which said a week aging director at Hermès from MARKETING: The fashion industry is missing a big opportunity in ago it would be acquired by VF 1989 to 1997, will succeed Fabrice 10 marketing to Hispanics. Here, an update. Corp., on Tuesday posted nar- Boe-Dreyfus, a former L’Oréal ex- WWD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2003 JULY WWD, WEDNESDAY, OBITUARY: Ben Klein, the first husband of Anne Klein and co-founder of rower first-quarter losses than it ecutive who recently exited the 14 Junior Sophisticates with her, is dead at 91. did a year ago. company after 15 months, as re- For the three months ended ported. In a separate release SUZY: Nancy Reagan commissions the USS Ronald Reagan, the world’s May 31, the loss was $1.6 million, Tuesday, Hermès confirmed Boe- 6 most powerful carrier; The Kochs’ party for Southampton Hospital. or 5 cents a diluted share, ver- Dreyfus’ departure, but declined Classified Advertisements ..................................................................20-23 sus a loss of $2.6 million, or 8 to elaborate. cents, in the year-ago period. Thomas, 56, took his new post To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is The company’s improved opera- Tuesday. He rejoins Hermès from [email protected], using the individual's name. tions also nearly halved its oper- William Grant & Sons Ltd., the SUBSCRIPTION RATES U.S. and possessions, Retailer, daily one year, $99; Manufacturer, daily one year, $135. ating loss to $2.4 million from manufacturer of Glenfiddich All others U.S., daily one year $195. Canada/Mexico, daily one year, $295. All other foreign (Air Speed), daily one year $595. $4.6 million last year. whisky, where he has been chief 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 Sales for the quarter gained executive since April 2000. He Postmaster: Send address changes to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008. 10.6 percent to $139.2 million left Hermès in 1997 to join 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 August, by Fairchild Publications, Inc. from $125.9 million. The compa- Lancaster Group as president a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc., 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001-8191. and executive vice president of WWD is a registered trademark of Fairchild Publications Inc.© 2003 by Fairchild Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc. All rights reserved. its parent, Coty Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, This is an exciting time for the Nautica including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be Thomas had come to Hermès expressly permitted in writing by the copyright owner. Editorial Reprints: (212) 221-9595 “ originally from the Pernod Ricard Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and other offices. business as we move towards completing Mailed under Publications Mail Sales Agreement No. 517054. Canada Post Returns to: P.O.Box 1632, Windsor, ON N9A 7C9 spirits group. He returns to the GST # 88654-9096-RM 0001 Canada Publications Agreement # 40032712 fashion fold at a rough period for Printed in the U.S.A. the previously announced plans to merge All signed articles published in the paper represent solely the individual opinion of the writer and not those of the luxury sector, but at an excit- WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY. with VF Corp. ing moment for Hermès, which unveils the first ready-to-wear For Web site access, log on and subscribe to www.WWD.com. —” Harvey Sanders, Nautica Enterprises Inc. line designed by Jean Paul Gaultier next spring. ny’s wholesale segment grew ble-store sales in the Nautica Hurt by negative currency ef- 12.4 percent to $107.1 million outlet division were down 3.3 fects, sales at Hermès fell 3.2 In Brief from $95.3 million, boosted in percent. The company operates percent to $336.4 million in the part by increases in Nautica seven full-priced retail stores first quarter versus $347.6 mil- ● BURMA BAN: All imports from the military dictatorship of men’s jeans, Nautica women’s and 114 outlets. lion a year ago, as reported, but Myanmar, which are mostly garments, would be banned from the sleepwear and Nautica under- Royalty income jumped 19.3 organic growth amounted to 5.5 U.S. under a House bill that passed 418-2 on Tuesday. Strong bi- wear. Retail sales increased 5 percent to $2.8 million from $2.4 percent in the period. Hermès is partisan support was garnered after last month’s violent crack- percent to $32.1 million from million, with gains coming from slated to report second-quarter downs on pro-democracy leaders in Myanmar, formerly known as $30.6 million, although compara- Continued on page 14 sales Aug. 13. Burma. GOP Reps Jeff Flake of Arizona and Ron Paul of Texas cast the only no votes. Senate support for the measure is also strong. The action also would freeze Myanmar assets in the U.S., and calls on neighbors China and Thailand to follow suit. Several U.S. firms have already stopped Myanmar imports, citing human rights concerns and military investments in its garment industry. ● MATERNAL MOVE: Marnie Omanoff has joined Liz Lange Maternity as director of brand development, a new post. She oversees the advertising, public relations, events and partner- ships for the brand. Most recently, Omanoff spent four years at the small business division of American Express, where she managed advertising, brand and advocacy initiatives. Before that, she worked at Foot Locker Inc., where she managed the brand advertising and vendor partner programs for Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker and Champs Sports for five years. ● COLE GOES SWIMMING: Maxine Swim Group Inc. has signed a licensing deal with Kenneth Cole Productions to produce swimwear under the Kenneth Cole New York and Reaction Kenneth Cole labels. Both collections debut this weekend at the Miami swim show and ship to stores in January. KCNY’s sepa- rates will range from $18 to $30 wholesale and one-piece suits will wholesale for $33 to $44. Reaction swimwear will be more color- ful, with such sportswear-inspired styles like boy shorts, tankinis, halter tops and cover-ups, wholesaling for $18 to $26. Based in Los Angeles, Maxine Swim Group produces swimwear for Surfside, Hobie, VM Sport, Via Marina, Maxine of Hollywood, Liz Claiborne and Hot Kiss. Correction After its official launch at Henri Bendel in September, Diane Von Furstenberg Beauty will be sold in 35 doors nationwide, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. The company produces its lingerie line and a small group of swimwear in-house. This information was incorrect in a story on page 9, July 8. WWDStock Market Index for July 15 Composite: 113.15 Broadline Stores: 114.03 Softline Stores: 111.66 0.54 1.18 -0.91 Vendors: 110.61 Textiles: 123.72 Index base of 100 is keyed to closing prices of Dec. 31, 2002. -0.34 1.47 3 L’Oréal Shutting Rubinstein Latest YSL Rive Gauche Unit 16, 2003 JULY WWD, WEDNESDAY, NEW YORK — A four-year strug- 8,000-square-foot spa and store at gle to reestablish the venerable 135 Prince Street in New York’s Helena Rubinstein cosmetics SoHo district. Distribution gradu- Bows Today in Beverly Hills brand in the U.S. has ended ally inched ahead, first to with parent L’Oréal deciding to Bergdorf Goodman, then Saks By Rose Apodaca Jones invest its resources elsewhere.

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