TILLMAN BUYS JAEGER/2 FCBID: ZONING OUT/10 WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’TUESDAY Daily Newspaper • March 11, 2003 Vol. 185, No. 50 $2.00 Ready-to-Wear/Textiles Nicole Kidman at the SAGs, page 24. In Heat PARISPARIS — Talk about steam heat. Tom Ford’s fall Yves Saint Laurent collection, inspired by Diana Ross, whose greatest hits played on the soundtrack, was full of sexy style. In this, his second stellar collection of the season, he voluptuously revisited the Studio 54 of Ross’ heyday, with lingerie looks, leather pants and some terrific coats, among them one that might be the coat of the season. Here, one of his ultra-racy lingerie numbers. For more on the shows, see pages 4 to 9. Wal-Mart’s Weak Link: Sam’s Club Refocuses To Close Costco Gap By Katherine Bowers BOSTON — In his autobiography, Sam Walton fondly recalled the founding of Sam’s Club in 1983 as a “second childhood.” Lately, though, Wal-Mart’s $31 billion warehouse club division has hit an awkward and somewhat listless adolescence, characterized by ebbing profits and a fuzzy corporate focus. Operating profits declined by 2.4 and 0.7 percent in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Overall, the business IANNONI G failed to grow its operating income NNI A See Trying, Page20 IOV G Y B PHOTO 2 2003 Rodriguez, Bergdorf Goodman 11, WWDTUESDAY Ready-to-Wear/Textiles MARCH Team Up for Early Trunk Show PARIS COLLECTIONS , Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano and Valentino were among the key collections as the Paris runways hit the home stretch. By Eric Wilson By moving up the trunk show 4 schedule, which normally kicks NEW YORK — TUESDAY Even before the off for the fall season in late last of the fall collections wrap April, designers also will have GENERAL up this week in Paris, Bergdorf the opportunity to respond to Sam’s Club is strategizing to stay in the race with such rivals as Costco and its own sibling, Wal-Mart Supercenters. WWD, Goodman is getting behind some the reactions of actual shoppers, 1 of the clear stars of the season rather than buyers or the press, RTW: The Fashion Center BID is recommending that the city lift a zoning with an accelerated trunk show Burke said. 10 rule that side street buildings set aside half their space for manufacturing. schedule, including a personal “This will give them an imme- appearance with Narciso Rod- diate read on the collection and TEXTILES: Swiss silk king Gustav Zumsteg reflects on the closing of riguez on April 2. an opportunity to tweak the col- 12 Abraham, which he built into one of the 20th century’s greatest couture mills. The store will host events to lection if they need to,” he said. EYE: Who wore what to the Screen Actors Guild awards; Canadian twin showcase several fall lines in the Rodriguez’s appearance will rockers Tegan and Sara get set to break through. coming weeks, a few weeks ahead include a three-day trunk show 24 of the normal trunk show sched- through April 4, while BG is also Classified Advertisements ..................................................................22-23 ule, in an effort to create a more in talks with other designers experimental atmosphere where about staging similarly early To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is designers can gain immediate events. [email protected], using the individual's name. customer reaction to their work, “It’s great to do a trunk show SUBSCRIPTION RATES said Robert Burke, vice president so close to having shown,” Rod- 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. and senior fashion director. The riguez said. “The reaction you Please allow 6-8 weeks for service to start. Individual subscription information: (800) 289-0273; strategy is also designed to rein- get from the press and retailers outside U.S. (856) 786-2140; group subscription information (856) 786-0963. force the image of Bergdorf generates a lot of excitement, Postmaster: Send address changes to WWD, P.O. Box 10531, Riverton, N.J. 08076-0531. WWD (ISSN #0149-5380) is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional Goodman as a retailer willing to but the most important reaction issue every month except July, and two additional issues in April and August, by Fairchild Publications, Inc. quickly put its resources behind a you get is from your customers. a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc., 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001-8191. designer of the moment. When it’s so fresh, it will make WWD is a registered trademark of Fairchild Publications Inc.© 2003 by Fairchild Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc. All rights reserved. “We have a very demanding for a good experiment.” No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, customer who is extremely fash- Trunk show sales are also an 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 ion savvy and aware of the collec- important ingredient in his esti- Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and other offices. tions,” said Ron Frasch, chair- mated $20 million in annual Mailed under Publications Mail Sales Agreement No. 517054. Canada Post Returns to: P.O.Box 1632, Windsor, ON N9A 7C9 man and chief executive officer wholesale volume. GST # 88654-9096-RM 0001 Canada Publications Agreement # 40032712 Printed in the U.S.A. of the store. “Narciso’s was truly Narciso Rodriguez’s fall collection is As for any tweaking that might All signed articles published in the paper represent solely the individual opinion of the writer and not those of one of the best collections we had headed to Bergdorf Goodman. come out of the event, that might WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY. seen and we are very anxious to not fare as well. If a customer For Web site access, log on to www.WWD.com present it to our customers as the marketplace as a store that asked to change a look from red soon as possible. This also con- takes a quick and decisive lead to purple, for instance, Rodriguez tinues to enhance our position in on getting collections first.” said the answer would be, “No.” In Brief ● BERGDORF’S ITALIAN WINDOWS: Bergdorf Goodman and the Italian Trade Commission have collaborated on the retail- er’s latest windows. In a tribute to Italy’s culture and design, be- Tillman Acquires Jaeger ginning last Friday, the women’s and men’s windows on Fifth Avenue feature such Italian vendors as Giorgio Armani, Roberto By Samantha Conti Cavalli, Moschino, Pucci, Marni, Alberta Ferretti and Valentino set against backdrops of the country’s maps, vintage movie LONDON — Harold Tillman, the posters and pieces of art. The windows will be in until March 20. British clothing and textile en- trepreneur, has purchased Jaeger ● GOIN’ TO THE GINZA: Barneys New York will make its first move for an undisclosed sum, confirm- into the Ginza. The retailer’s Japanese venture will open a five- ing reports in these columns story store in the heart of the district in October 2004. Barneys’ Monday. third Tokyo unit will have 29,000 square feet of selling space, with A statement was issued Mon- two floors underground, and will be bigger than its Shinjuku unit. A day saying that Tillman had pur- company statement said Barneys Japan selected Ginza because “of chased Jaeger Holdings from its mixture of classic and modern image as well as its forward-look- Richard Thompson of River- ing sense of the market.” The new store, the design of which will be hawk Investments. As reported, based on Barneys’ flagship on Madison Avenue, is expected to gen- Thompson had bought Jaeger erate sales of $42.4 million dollars in its first year. Barneys Japan and Viyella from Coats PLC in opened its first store in Shinjuku in 1990 and the second store in January and was preparing to Yokohama in 1993. The company, which is a wholly owned sub- flip both companies. sidiary of Isetan Department Store, projects sales of $92.4 million A Jaeger spokeswoman de- A JJaegeraeger store in Dallas. for the fiscal year ending March 31. In the first half ended August clined to comment. Adding a 2002, the Shinjuku unit generated $27.7 million, up 2.4 percent from dash of intrigue, however, was an iconic brand in the Six- cense for Jaeger Menswear. a year ago, while its Yokohama unit generated sales of $14.7 mil- sources close to Jaeger insisted ties and Seventies and we are As reported, its is unclear lion, a decline of 1.9 percent from a year earlier. that the company had not been confident that, through a fresh whether Bella Freud, who de- sold, and was still under Thomp- approach backed by significant signs a capsule collection for ● SHIPS ALLOY: A shareholder lawsuit seeking class-action status son’s ownership. investment, we can exploit its Jaeger, would continue working was filed against Alloy Inc. and three of its executives in Monday’s statement specified true potential and restore the with the brand. Freud, whose Manhattan federal court last week. Matthew Diamond, chief exec- that Tillman, chairman of suit company to its former glory,” contract expires in June, could utive officer; James Johnson Jr., president and chief operating offi- manufacturer BMB, and a 10 Tillman said in the statement.