ADIDAS KENDALL’S STEPS UP CALVINS KENDALL JENNER IS THE TOKYO TALES THE STRUGGLING GERMAN FACE OF THE LATEST AD MIUCCIA PRADA MINGLED WITH REI KAWAKUBO, ACTIVEWEAR BRAND OUTLINES AN CAMPAIGN FOR CALVIN RAF SIMONS AND MORE AT A MIU MIU EVENT AGGRESSIVE FIVE-YEAR PLAN TO KLEIN JEANS. PAGE 4 IN THE JAPANESE CAPITAL. PAGE 11 GET BACK TO GROWTH. PAGE 2 FROM DOV TO SEC No End To The Woes At American Apparel By EVAN CLARK AMERICAN APPAREL INC. is teetering on the edge of chaos. And if that in itself is nothing new, this time around the retailer’s facing an unusually thorny set of challenges on multiple fronts: ■ Ousted founder Dov Charney continues to stir up FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015 ■ $3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY trouble, from agitating an already disgruntled work- WWD force to seeking a backer to buy the fi rm, moving ahead with arbitration and, tonight, appearing on ABC’s “20/20.” ■ Fourth-quarter losses widened as sales fell more than 9 percent and workers are being furloughed at the Los Angeles factory. ■ The brand is being reimagined with more of a social emphasis and some of the scantily clad sales associates long featured in its ads will be replaced with models. ■ Shareholders have sued the company, claiming it failed to maintain control of its colorful founder. Under Charney, American Apparel honed contro- versy to a high art and lurched from one loan with a sky- high interest rate to the next — always keeping just a step ahead of both the debt collector and Miss Manners. But this time it’s not Charney who’s courting lend- ers, pumping up the brand and generally keeping the plates spinning at one of the most prominent U.S. ap- parel producers. That job now falls to chief executive offi cer Paula Schneider, who has a fashion-packed résumé but fi nds herself facing a very unusual set of problems trying to change a seat-of-the-pants (or un- derpants) culture. The indefatigable Charney still looms large, al- though admittedly more in the background than ever. He is said to be devoting all of his time to devising ways to retake the company he founded. Since being fired in December, Charney has largely been out of the limelight, smarting from his SEE PAGE 12 BATTLE OF THE APPS Banana’s New Flagship Beauty-booking apps are quickly overpopulating the rapidly expanding mobile universe in cyberspace. Each beauty-booking company strives to deliver a Latest Makeover Move growing list of beauty services whenever and wherever consumers want them. As new entries enter the market, the question being asked: Do consumers want By DAVID MOIN 10 beauty-booking apps on their mobile? For more, see pages 6 and 7. NEW YORK — At Banana Republic, it’s about light- ening up — both the color palette and the attitude. The fl agship opening today on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan’s Flatiron neighborhood is the latest ex- pression of the brand’s makeover, led by the wispy creative director, Marissa Webb. The $2.9 billion, 700- unit division of Gap Inc. has been stalled over the past few years due to increasing competition and a collection that got stale, so it’s seeking to increase its relevance and growth rate. The two-level, 27,892-square-foot fl agship here, with 14,338 square feet for selling, breaks from the brand’s monochromatic, all-too-serious careerwear image with an infusion of color and a greater variety of casual clothes intermixed with some of the longer- standing looks suitable for work. Bing Crosby-style straw fedoras, Superga sneakers and blush moto jack- ets, as well as Banana’s “Heritage” cargo jackets and linen sweaters, bring a broader appeal and a touch of playfulness. In men’s, softer, less-constructed blazers are styled with linen sweaters, scarves and T-shirts, and paired with chinos or denim. For Banana Republic, a palette that was predominantly black and white has been invigorated this season with peaches, teals and mustard yellows. Located at 105 Fifth Avenue near 18th Street, the fl agship showcases men’s and women’s styles under one roof, and replaces the separate men’s and wom- en’s stores that had been on Fifth Avenue two blocks SEE PAGE 5 2 WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015 WWD.COM Adidas Pressing on the Accelerator DIGITAL BRIEFING BOX care (5 percent), he remarked: “This is very good FOR MORE COVERAGE, FIND US ON WWD.COM, SOCIAL AND MOBILE. By PAULINA SZMYDKE news for us.” Adidas has been particularly struggling to step “Whoever moves the fastest wins,” predicted up its game in America, which represents 30 per- Herbert Hainer, chief executive officer of Adidas, cent of the global sporting goods market and where ON INSTAGRAM adding that the Herzogenaurach, Germany-based it lost to rival Nike, whose offering is considered sporting goods giant was on its way to become “the cooler and more desirable. first fast sports company” in the world. As Mark King, president of Adidas for North He wasn’t kidding. America put it: “We don’t own the hearts and minds Speaking during an eight-hour marathon on the of athletes and consumers in America.” group’s Investors Day, during which he was joined He admitted Adidas has relied too much on its by the entire senior management staff, Hainer said strength in soccer, which generates more than 2 Adidas was to reduce production lead times signifi - billion euros per year in sales, making Adidas the cantly by bringing manufacturing back from Asia global leader in the category, but has failed to cap- and speed up in-season creation, based on trends ture “the unique mind-set” of the U.S. consumer. and bestsellers. “If you want to be strong in America, you can’t The company is taking cues from its young fast- just dominate soccer. An average U.S. high school #15SECONDSWITHALEXBADIA fashion label NEO in the matter, able to serve up has 15 team sports. A college has 35 team sports. In new products within 45 days versus 12 to 18 months, other countries one sport dominates, here it’s many. the industry’s standard. Sports defi ne society.” Future Adidas stores would be directly linked to To start a grassroots movement and increase vis- production facilities, possibly employing robots, the ibility on the fi eld, Adidas plans to focus more on group said, allowing customers to have a personal- basketball, baseball, volleyball, lacrosse and, most ized pair of sneakers ready in 15 minutes while’’ importantly, U.S. football, which boasts the largest they are enjoying a cup of cappuccino. fan base. “They don’t drive much revenue,” said “This is going to rock the industry,” forecasted King, “but they get into the heart of the consumer. ON WWD.COM Barbour Roland Auschel, in charge of Adidas’ global sales, not- And we need to get into that locker room. Adidas is ing the sporting goods maker would become the fi rst cool — that’s the message we are after.” company in the fi eld to apply this new business model, King cited Adidas’ recent collaboration with Valentino which is expected to increase full-price sell-through by Eastbay catalogue “where every serious high school 20 percent, while keeping low the risk of overbuying. athlete buys its gear” as a positive example. “Since “We will deliver products faster [and] we will de- it launched, our U.S. football cleat became the best- liver them better through premium presentations selling item,” ahead of Nike and other competitors. across our unrivaled controlled space network, “So if you ask: ‘Can we make a difference?’ I say which we want to represent more than 60 percent of ‘yes, we can.’ We just have to go get it, it’s right in total sales by 2020. All this is going to happen across front of us,” he cheered. a [25 percent] tighter product portfolio, while in- In addition, Adidas would sponsor individual creasing our marketing spend [and] the per product athletes rather than whole teams, following the Balmain investment,” added Hainer. expiration of its NBA part- But speed is not the only nership, and rethink its re- pillar of the ambitious fi ve- If we want to be strong tail model. “Today we have year growth plan that Adidas 30 stores spread across the presented on Thursday. U.S. with 25 different for- Hardy The group said it would in America, we need a mats and they don’t tell one Amies focus on six relevant me- story,” King lamented. tropolises — Los Angeles, strong franchise in the Another problem New York, London, Paris, Stateside is the price point. Shanghai and Tokyo — not- mid-price point between “If we want to be strong in ing that its business in those America, we need a strong key cities is larger than in franchise in the mid-price Men’s Fall 2015 some countries. “If we win $70 and $100. point between $70 and Accessories: Fur accents, running in New York and Los $100,” said King, singling out chunky statement shoes, Christopher Angeles, we will win running — MARK KING, ADIDAS “Bounce,” which has been a graphic elements and Raeburn in the U.S.,” Auschel gave as an example, adding that success for the brand and whose sales jumped from humorous conversational 50 percent of the global population lives in key cities, zero to seven million pairs in two years. designs are some of the and together they generate 80 percent of global GDP. The running category, which the group plans to leading trends within the “These are the incubators for the new,” he rallied.