SHINING IN THE ROUGH BRIGHT BUBBA WATSON MAY THE MEN’S HAVE WON THE MASTERS, UNDERWEAR MARKET BUT HIS DRESS SENSE IS THRIVING, DRIVEN NEEDS SOME WORK. BY BOLD COLORS. PAGE MW8 WWDPAGE MW1 THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012 Q $3.00 Q WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY Bubblicious PARIS — Full of delicate intricacies, Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons collections are always worthy of closer inspection. Enter the Musée Galliera’s “White Drama” exhibit, a show that features Kawakubo’s entire spring 2012 MAITRE collection — with each of the 33 looks encased in clear plastic bubbles, per the designer’s request. Opening on Friday, the exhibition runs in tandem with “Cristóbal Balenciaga: Collectionneur de Modes.” For more, see page 4. DOMINIQUE BY PHOTO China’s E-commerce Upswing PLUM JOB ing to the study, titled “China’s Digital By LARA FARRAR Generations 3.0: The Online Empire.” Bergdorf’s Names Schulman President By around that time, the report projects SHANGHAI — Brands will have no China will become the largest online business for 20 years and although he choice but to have an e-commerce pres- retail market globally, with nearly 10 By DAVID MOIN has been on the wholesale side, he has ence in China or face being left out of percent of retail sales occurring online. worked with department stores his what will soon become the largest on- China already has more online shop- NEW YORK — For Joshua Schulman, be- whole career and gained an intimate line retail market in the world, accord- pers than the U.S., the study said. By coming president of Bergdorf Goodman knowledge of what it takes for a large ing to a Boston Consulting Group study 2015, the country will have 700 million after tackling top jobs at Jimmy Choo and store to work,” said Jim Gold, president released Thursday. Internet users, which is 200 million the Gucci Group is not such a stretch. of specialty retail for the Neiman Marcus An expanding population of Internet more than the country has now and Though he’s never run a department Group, which operates Bergdorf ’s. users combined with more wide- twice the online population of Japan store before, Schulman told WWD, “I’ve Domenico De Sole, former chairman spread consumer acceptance of buy- and the U.S. combined. been a vendor of Bergdorf Goodman and of Tom Ford International and former ing products online will spur China’s Online buying and selling is the a vendor of the Neiman Marcus Group president and ceo of Gucci Group, de- e-commerce market to triple in size to second fastest growing activity on the in my career over the last 20 years. I’ve scribed Schulman as “a very capable and more than $360 billion by 2015, accord- SEE PAGE 6 always had an enormous appreciation intelligent merchant who has proven to for the culture of Bergdorf Goodman and be a strong ceo. He understands luxury. the Neiman Marcus Group and for their He expanded ladies ready-to-wear at focus on excellence in luxury retail.” Gucci and then at Yves Saint Laurent Schulman, formerly Jimmy Choo’s did an excellent job. He’s a very thought- chief executive officer and earlier, execu- ful boss and always promoting his own tive vice president at the Gucci Group, people” and prone to crediting his team. was already on the scene at Bergdorf ’s “He says ‘we’ not ‘I,’” De Sole noted. on Wednesday, even though he doesn’t of- Schulman was also once president of ficially start until May 7. “My first order Kenneth Cole New York, Gap Inc.’s man- of business at Bergdorf ’s is really to get aging director of international strategic al- to know the team and the business,” he liances, and at Gucci, oversaw worldwide said. “Although I’ve been a vendor, I’m not merchandising and wholesale for Yves coming in with any preconceived notions. Saint Laurent, and served as worldwide I will be working on a new strategic plan.” director of Gucci women’s ready-to-wear. “Josh has been around the luxury SEE PAGE 6 2 WWD THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012 WWD.COM Commerce Report·· Puts Focus on IP THE BRIEFING BOX Agency, which could bring cases against countries IN TODAY’S WWD BY KRISTI ELLIS where counterfeiting and digital piracy is ram- pant, according to Deputy Commerce Secretary WASHINGTON — Outlining the importance of in- Rebecca Blank. A view of the Balenciaga exhibition. tellectual property, or IP, protections, the Obama The segments of the fashion industry were administration released a report on Wednesday among a group of 75 intellectual property-intensive that also emphasized the job and export contribu- industries reviewed by Commerce in the report. tions made by clothing stores, cosmetics companies It divided intellectual property into three catego- and apparel and textile manufacturers, and ways ries: trademarks, patents and copyrights. In the to protect their trademarks entire trademark category, and other rights. the area with the highest “This first-of-its-kind re- concentration of fashion in- port shows that IP-intensive This first-of-its-kind dustry brands and retailers, industries have a direct and employment was six times significant impact on our as high as that of patent- nation’s economy and the report shows that IP- intensive industries, and MAITRE creation of American jobs,” stood at 22.6 million of the said Commerce Secretary intensive industries 40 million across all indus- John Bryson. “When tries in 2010, according to DOMINIQUE Americans know that their have a direct and the report. BY ideas will be protected, The report said clothing PHOTO they have greater incen- significant impact on stores employed 1.11 mil- tive to pursue advances and lion people in 2010, while Becoming president of Bergdorf Goodman after tackling technologies that help keep the soap, cleaning and toi- top jobs at Jimmy Choo and the Gucci Group is not such us competitive, and our our nation’s economy letries industry employed a stretch for Joshua Schulman. PAGE 1 businesses have the con- 104,200 and footwear manu- fidence they need to hire and the creation of facturing employed 13,500. Brands will have no choice but to have an e-commerce more workers. That is why Highlighting the signifi- presence in China or face being left out of what will this administration’s efforts American jobs. cance of protecting fashion become the largest online retail market in the world, to protect intellectual prop- industry trademarks, the according to a Boston Consulting Group study. PAGE 1 erty, and modernize the pat- report ranked the number — COMMERCE SECRETARY ent and trademark system, of trademark registrations JOHN BRYSON Outlining the importance of intellectual property are so crucial to a 21st cen- by class. It showed that tury economy.” clothing stores filed 91,923 protections, the Obama administration released a report on The report, which found trademark registrations, or Wednesday that emphasized ways to protect trademarks PAGE 2 that “intellectual property-intensive industries” 5.1 percent of all such registrations, and ranked and other rights. support at least 40 million jobs and contribute seventh among 49 trademark classes from 2000 more than $5 trillion, or 34.8 percent, of U.S. gross to 2009. Cosmetics and “cleaning preparations” Bankrupt Connaught Group has been sold in a domestic product, was compiled by Commerce and companies filed for 51,940 trademarks, represent- bankruptcy court auction as a going concern to a joint the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, ing 2.9 percent of the total, and ranked 10th, while venture called Forty-Three Eighty Co., whose winning bid merchandise exports of IP-intensive industries to- jewelry companies ranked 26th and filed for 21,422 is valued at more than $22 million. PAGE 4 taled $775 billion in 2010, accounting for 60.7 per- trademark registrations, or 1.2 percent of the total. cent of total U.S. merchandise exports. Leather goods companies, which ranked 27th, filed The Musée Galliera, as part of its ongoing series of off- The report will be used as a tool to help press 20,843 trademark registrations, or 1.2 percent of site exhibitions, is exhibiting the collections of Comme for intellectual protections in trade negotiations the total, and fabric companies, ranking 34th, filed des Garçons and Balenciaga. PAGE 4 and provide supporting data for the adminis- for 12,233·· trademark registrations, or 0.7 percent tration’s new International Trade Enforcement of the total. Rag & Bone’s uptown flagship — the label’s sixth store in Manhattan, and ninth overall — officially opens Saturday. PAGE 5 Marc Fisher Testimony Wraps Up Trinity Limited, the Hong Kong-based retailer of luxury men’s wear brands and part of the Li & Fung Group, said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase the British men’s stitch” copies of its rivals’ shoes. PAGE MW1 By ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD “We do reference and use vintage designs quite tailoring label Gieves & Hawkes. a bit in our industry,” Fisher said, adding that in NEW YORK — Marc Fisher spent three more hours certain cases, the allegedly infringing shoes were The surging demand for fashion, color and performance Wednesday rebutting allegations that his company derived from looks Fisher had produced long before. is creating a new level of sex appeal in the men’s infringed on Gucci’s trademarks when designing “So, Jimmy Choo knocked you off and then you underwear arena. PAGE MW8 shoes for Guess Inc. knocked Jimmy Choo off?” Ederer said sarcastically. The trial, which began two weeks ago in federal Fisher explained that over a “50-year period ON WWD.COM court here, pits Gucci against Guess and its exclu- of time,” many shoes turn out to be “tremendous- sive licensee for footwear, Marc Fisher Footwear.