KNIT PICK WWD SHINE ON SURFACE INTEREST PLAYS Special Report WWD ACCESSORIES A BIG ROLE AMONG KEY LOOKS AT COLORFUL PIECES INNERWEAR TRENDS. WOMEN’S JEWELRY ASSOCIATION AND CUSTOM SPECS. WWD INTIMATES, CELEBRATES 30 YEARS. WWDSECTION II SECTION III PAGES 4 THROUGH 8 MONDAY, JULY 29, 2013 Q $3.00 Q WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY The cover image from “Applause,” Lady Gaga’s first single from her new album ARTPOP. Shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Gaga: ‘I’m Every Icon’ By JESSICA IREDALE “I WANT TO KNOW. WHAT DO YOU SEE?” asks Lady Gaga, her voice carrying a combination of genuine curiosity, press-savvy flirtation and inherent provocation. The image in question, debuted to WWD, is the cover of Gaga’s new single “Applause,” the first from her forthcoming third studio album ARTPOP, to be released Nov. 11 through Interscope records. Shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, the photograph is colorful, emotional and theatrical, capturing Gaga with a Pierrot-esque face, her rainbow of makeup artfully smeared and her hair covered under a head wrap. Asked to explain SEE PAGE 12 2 WWD MONDAY, JULY 29, 2013 WWD.COM Hudson’s Bay Likely Saks Buyer THE BRIEFING BOX IN TODAY’S WWD cludes Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay, and By DAVID MOIN because Saks has valuable real estate and a luxury image. A DEAL FOR the sale of Saks Fifth Avenue It’s possible an 11th-hour offer changes the could happen early this week, with Hudson’s outcome, but sources believe HBC is the front- Bay Co. emerging as the most likely taker, ac- runner. A sovereign wealth fund from Qatar, cording to sources. which already owns Harrods and Printemps, Richard Baker, chairman of Hudson’s Bay, and Starwood Capital are also interested in has reportedly informed close associates purchasing Saks, and various private equity that he is confident he’s got the winning bid. firms have also shown interest. The New York Baker has long been interested in buying Post reported Saturday that Starwood dropped Saks to beef up his retail portfolio, which in- out of the bidding. Investments to Weigh on LVMH EICHNER comparison with the first half of 2012, when it Laura Love and Atlanta de Cadenet, both STEVE By BY JOELLE DIDERICH earned an exceptional dividend on its shares in in M Missoni. For more, see WWD.com. Hermès International. Excluding this effect, net PHOTO PARIS — LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is profits would have risen 1 percent, Guiony said. paying the price for future growth. LVMH raised its stake in the maker of Birkin The luxury conglomerate said margins in its fash- bags and silk scarves to 23.1 percent as of June 30, ion and leather goods division came under pressure from 22.6 percent as of Dec. 30. “It was an oppor- Lady Gaga unveils the cover of her new single, “Applause,” in the first half as a slight improvement in the profit- tunistic move. It doesn’t say anything about our at- shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, to WWD, ability of its cash-cow Louis Vuitton brand was out- titude in the future, so you cannot extrapolate that and talks (sort of) about her upcoming album, ARTPOP. PAGE 1 weighed by ongoing investments in smaller for the rest of the year,” Guiony said. brands such as Céline, Fendi and Berluti. The move will likely stoke the ongoing battle WWD talks with two leaders of the Women’s Jewelry And Jean-Jacques Guiony, chief finan- between the luxury powerhouses, who are em- Association about the organization, this year’s gala and cial officer of LVMH, warned the situa- broiled in a series of court cases. the state of the industry. PAGE 4 tion would last for another 18 months. LVMH surprised markets in October 2010 by Louis “The bulk of this year and next year announcing it had bought a 17.1 percent stake in Building a sprawling retail chain, extending the breadth will be devoted to significant investments Vuitton’s Hermès in 2010 via cash-settled equity swaps that Speedy of merchandise and cultivating industry relationships has in these brands, which means higher allowed it to circumvent market regulations re- earned Candy Udell a place in WJA’s Hall of Fame. PAGE 6 capital and a little bit of pressure on Bandoulière quiring firms to declare share purchases. handbag. profitability, as you’ve seen in the first France’s stock market regulator, AMF, earli- Over the course of her three-decade career, Tryna half of this year,” he said in a confer- er this month slapped a record fine on LVMH Kochanek, the outgoing president of the WJA, has ence call with analysts on Friday. over its initial share acquisition. LVMH has devoted resources to helping women in business. PAGE 8 LVMH — whose stable of brands appealed the ruling. also includes Bulgari, Givenchy, Executives at the family-controlled Dom Perignon, Sephora and Hermès have repeatedly urged LVMH to At Studio 323 New York, Jonathan Chánduví and his employees take on restoration projects ranging from refurbishing Guerlain — reported that net prof- reduce its shareholding. Bernard Arnault, PAGE 14 its fell 6.2 percent in the first half to the conglomerate’s chairman and chief 18th-century pieces to working on contemporary art. 1.58 billion euros, or $2.07 billion, on executive officer, earlier this year said sales that rose 5.6 percent to 13.70 LVMH had acquired its Hermès stake “un- Milan’s courthouse has rejected Prada Group’s request billion euros, or $17.98 billion. expectedly” and reiterated that his inten- to sequester the Cova brand, the parent of which LVMH LVMH shares rose 3.6 percent to tions were peaceful. owns a stake in. PAGE 15 135.05 euros, or $178.46, on the Paris Guiony said LVMH had no intention of stock exchange on Friday following the release of the selling its Hermès shares. “There is no particular Clique Media is giving beauty a new perch online with figures after Thursday’s close. need on our side to monetize this shareholding in Byrdie, a Web site launching today with an eye toward Analysts cheered the improved performance of order to fuel the growth of our other business, and trends and celebrity beauty. PAGE 15 the fashion and leather goods division, which posted to be frank, we are pretty pleased with the perfor- sales growth of 2 percent in the second quarter, com- mance of the Hermès business,” he said. AT PVH, Fred Gehring and Tom Murry have signed new pared with an increase of 0.4 percent in the first three LVMH said operating profits in the six months im- contracts detailing how they will begin transitioning into months of the year. proved 5.3 percent to 2.67 billion euros, or $3.51 billion. part-time capacities as executive chairmen. PAGE 16 Guiony said the overall picture remained broadly The group’s operating margin fell to 20 percent from 21 unchanged from the first quarter, with flat sales in percent during the same period a year earlier, reflect- Former Tiffany & Co. executive Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun Asia, mid-single-digit growth in the U.S. and double- ing the dilutive effect of the integration since the end pled guilty on Friday to stealing more than $2.1 million digit increases in Japan and Europe. of 2012 of three major Hong Kong airport concessions. worth of jewelry from the upscale jeweler. PAGE 16 The group has undertaken a wide-ranging effort Their contribution boosted selective retailing’s to upgrade the perception of Louis Vuitton, famed for share of group revenues in the first half to 31 per- its monogram canvas, by opening fewer stores and in- cent, up three points. Meanwhile, fashion and leather Nanette Lepore is moving closer to a final decision troducing more leather bags into its product mix. goods decreased its stake by two points to 34 percent. on an investor, possibly within the next month or two, PAGE 16 LVMH reported that while Louis Vuitton grew The selective retailing segment saw sales jump financial sources said. below the average rate for the fashion and leather 18.4 percent in the second quarter, boosted by con- goods division in the first half, Céline, Kenzo, Givenchy tinued revenue growth at Sephora worldwide and ON WWD.COM and Berluti generated double-digit increases. a strong performance by travel retailer DFS, as Guiony said the group was “more or less happy” Chinese tourism boosted business, particularly at with the price architecture at Louis Vuitton, noting its stores in Hong Kong and Macao. EYE: M Missoni pulled out all the stops — and all the that the brand had implemented “very significant” With revenues up 5.3 percent in the second quar- models — for a summer music soiree at Le Bain and price increases in Japan to compensate for the con- ter, the perfumes and cosmetics group benefited Rooftop at The Standard hotel. For more, see WWD.com. tinued weakness of the yen, which depreciated by 18 from “considerable” revenue growth in the U.S. and percent against the euro in the first six months of 2013. Asia, particularly in China, and a strong showing by The operating margin in the fashion and leather its Guerlain and Benefit brands. TO E-MAIL REPORTERS AND EDITORS AT WWD, THE ADDRESS IS [email protected], USING THE INDIVIDUAL’S NAME. goods segment fell to 32 percent in the first half from However, sales of watches and jewelry were WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC.