FENDI BACK IN FRAGRANCE/5 NORDSTROM IN BOSTON/10 Women’sWWD Wear Daily • The Retailers’FRIDAY Daily Newspaper • July 20, 2007 • $2.00 Beauty Fusion Play MILAN — Prada has tapped the root of the iris pallida fl ower for what it hopes will be its biggest-selling fragrance. Called Infusion d’Iris, the scent will be launched this fall in 40 countries and it could generate as much as $50 million in global retail sales. For more, see page 4. Explosion’s Aftermath: Dramatic Retail Falloff In N.Y.’s Midtown Area By Sharon Edelson and Rosemary Feitelberg NEW YORK — Retail activity in the Grand Central Terminal district slowed to barely a trickle Thursday in the aftermath of an underground steam- pipe explosion that restricted access to the area and left asbestos-coated debris. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during a news conference that, in a “best-case scenario,” it would take “several days” for the neighborhood to return to normalcy. “Safety is our number-one priority and we’re not going to compromise that,” he said. The landmark terminal on Manhattan’s See Retailers, Page3 PHOTO BY ROBERT MITRA; STYLED BY DANILO MATZ DANILO MITRA; STYLED BY ROBERT PHOTO BY 2 WWD, FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2007 WWD.COM VF Earnings Slip, Revenues Up By Ross Tucker tic revenues rose 10 percent. Jeanswear, the company’s largest and oldest seg- WWDFRIDAY F Corp. posted another quarter of record rev- ment, saw revenues increase 2.7 percent to $655.4 mil- Beauty Venue growth despite completing the sale of its lion from $638.2 million. International revenues spiked intimate apparel business, which deflated second- 14 percent, led by the Lee brand and developing GENERAL quarter earnings. markets such as China, Russia and India. Revenues Retail activity in the Grand Central Terminal district slowed to barely a For the three months ended June 30, the in the domestic market were fl at year-to-year. trickle Thursday in the aftermath of an underground steam-pipe explosion. Greensboro, N.C.-based company reported that Eric Wiseman, president and chief operating 1 earnings slid 17.5 percent to $81.7 million, or 74 offi cer, said India and China represented some The sale of its intimate apparel unit defl ated second-quarter profi ts at VF cents a diluted share, compared with $99 million, of the greatest near-term opportunities for jeans- 2 Corp., but couldn’t keep it from another quarter of record sales growth. or 90 cents, in the same period a year ago. wear. Wiseman said the company will fi nish the BEAUTY: With a new scent called Infusion d’Iris, Prada is betting one of The decline stemmed from the sale of the inti- year with about 140 stores in India, double the perfumery’s key ingredients will yield its best-selling fragrance to date. mates division, which had a negative impact on re- unit count from the beginning of the year. 4 sults of more than $24 million during the quarter. VF In addition, Wiseman said: “While still a rela- After lying low for nearly two decades, Fendi’s fragrance division is set announced in January that it had reached a deal to tively small business for us, our jeanswear busi- 5 to unleash a new women’s scent called Fendi Palazzo. sell the intimates segment, which includes the Vanity ness [in China] continues to grow at an annual Even though its fi rst store in Boston doesn’t open until September, Fair, Lily of France, Vassarette and Bestform brands, rate of more than 40 percent.” Nordstrom already has 3,000 credit card holders in the area. to Fruit of the Loom for $350 million. The company VF’s sportswear segment saw revenues increase 10 said the labels were no longer in keeping with the 8.8 percent to $153.7 million from $141.2 million, Brazil’s two major fashion events offered retailers strikingly different strategy of developing a portfolio of lifestyle brands. spurred by gains of more than 25 percent in the 12 choices in terms of style and price, and price often won out. Earnings from continuing operations rose 18 Kipling and John Varvatos brands. During the con- A Congressional conference committee approved 100 percent scanning percent to $105.8 million compared with $89.6 mil- ference call, Wiseman added that Varvatos sales lion in the year-ago period. were up 50 percent during the quarter. Nautica also 14 of U.S.-bound cargo containers at all foreign ports within fi ve years. Revenues reached record levels for the quar- experienced an increase of 6 percent, although the Classifi ed Advertisements............................................................15 ter, expanding 12.3 percent to $1.52 billion, driven company expects that building the women’s busi- by gains across all the company’s business seg- ness will be a “slow and steady” process. To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is fi rstname. ments. Sales rose 12.6 percent to $1.5 billion from The March acquisition of Majestic Athletic re- [email protected], using the individual’s name. $1.33 billion, while royalty income fell 7.9 percent sulted in a 22 percent rise in revenues for the com- WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT to $17 million from $18.4 million. pany’s imagewear segment, reaching $229.9 million ©2007 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 194, NO. 14. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one “Within our industry, there does appear to be from $188.5 million. Majestic is a global provider of additional issue in January and November, two additional issues in March, May, June, August and December, and three a fair amount of restructuring and positioning authentic sports licensed apparel and branded team additional issues in February, April, September and October) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division of Advance under way,” Mackey McDonald, chairman and uniforms for Major League Baseball, and added an Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services provided by chief executive offi cer, said during a conference additional $45 million to second-quarter results. Condé Nast Publications: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, Executive Vice President/COO; Debi Chirichella Sabino, Senior Vice President/CFO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/Human call with analysts. “Fortunately, the strategy that For the fi rst six months, earnings slid 3.2 percent Resources. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offi ces. Canada Post Publications Mail we initially launched in 2004 has proven to be ex- to $220 million, or $1.93 a share, from $227.2 mil- Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. Canada Post: return actly the right one for those changing times.” lion, or $2.02 a share. Earnings from continuing op- undeliverable Canadian addresses to: P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6 POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA Strong growth in domestic and international erations rose 15 percent to $239.9 million compared 91615–5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE markets resulted in the company’s outdoor segment with $207.7 million a year ago. Revenues rose 13.7 INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008, call 800-289-0273, or visit posting a 20.4 percent revenue increase to reach percent to $3.19 billion from $2.81 billion. Sales in- www.subnow.com/wd. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production $446.7 million from $371 million. The Reef and creased 13.9 percent to $3.15 billion from $2.77 bil- correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions and reprint requests, North Face brands each posted double-digit do- lion. Royalty revenues fell 1 percent to $37 million. please call 212-630-4274 or fax requests to 212-630-4280. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other mestic sales gains during the quarter, but it was the The outdoor segment led gains, jumping 30.2 Fairchild magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. growth in international markets that drove home percent to $985.5 million from $756.7 million a If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA the strength of VF’s growing portfolio of lifestyle year ago. Jeanswear revenues rose 5.5 percent to 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, brands. The North Face, Vans, Kipling, Napapijri, $1.41 billion from $1.34 billion, and imagewear OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED Eastpak and Reef all achieved growth of more than revenues were up 16 percent to $443.6 million MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR 35 percent during the quarter.