PHARRELL’S THE FASHION NEXT PROJECT NOMINEES ARE… PHARRELL WILLIAMS LINKS THE CFDA REVEALS THE WITH COMME DES GARÇONS NOMINEES AND HONOREES FOR L.A. TIME TO LAUNCH A FRAGRANCE. ITS FASHION AWARDS. PAGE 2 PAGE 2 LOS ANGELES FASHION WEEK KICKS OFF. PAGE 6 $1.8 BILLION DEAL Men’s Wearhouse Lands Jos. A. Bank By ARNOLD J. KARR and JEAN E. PALMIERI IN THE END, Goliath prevailed. Ending a back-and-forth bidding war that start- ed last fall, The Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. on Tuesday reached an agreement for the larger Men’s Wearhouse to acquire the smaller WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 ■ $3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY Jos. A. Bank for $65 a share, or about $1.8 billion. WWD Together, the two men’s wear giants will have more than 1,700 stores in the U.S. and about 23,000 employ- ees — creating the fourth-largest men’s apparel re- tailer in the country with combined annual sales of about $3.5 billion. It will lag only Macy’s, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney in men’s wear volume. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Jos. A. Bank, which we believe will deliver substantial benefi ts to our respective shareholders, The Big employees and customers,” said Doug Ewert, presi- dent and chief executive offi cer of Men’s Wearhouse. “Together, Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank will have increased scale and breadth, and Jos. A. Bank’s strong brand and complementary business model will broaden our customer reach. We expect the transac- Sweep tion will be accretive to Men’s Wearhouse’s earnings in the fi rst full year.” Ewert declined further comment. In a season stocked with great Robert Wildrick, chairman of Jos. A. Bank, said outerwear, the cape was a standout as the deal will generate “tremendous value” for the designers showed it in company’s shareholders and “create a men’s wear powerhouse.” countless chic ways. “We feel very positive that they will continue to Ralph Lauren grow Jos. A. Bank and keep the top executives — good people are hard to get,” said Wildrick, who added that made a grand he does not plan to be part of the combined company, FALL 2014 gesture with but is hopeful that Neal Black, ceo of Jos. A. Bank, this long and will be retained. “They have not asked me to be in- TREND volved, and I don’t plan to be,” he said. “But Neal is languid style in COLLECTIONS one of the very best merchants in America.” pink shearling. Men’s Wearhouse said that management of the For more, see SEE PAGE 8 pages 4 and 5. Brendan Hoffman to Exit As Bon-Ton Stores CEO By DAVID MOIN AFTER A ROLLER-COASTER YEAR confronting several headwinds, The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. faces an- other hurdle — finding a new chief executive officer. Bon-Ton’s current president and ceo Brendan Hoffman has decided not to renew his contract when it expires in February 2015. He’s leaving the strug- gling regional chain in the middle of turnaround efforts he initiated. Hoffman joined the retailer in January 2012. Hoffman told WWD that he resigned because he was away from his family too much, commuting every week from New York, where his family lives, to Milwaukee, where Bon-Ton is based. “I underes- timated the toll it would take on my family with the commuting, especially with my kids being the age they are,” Hoffman said. “I am very focused on the business and what we need to accomplish. Because we are a public company, this needed to be disclosed when it did.” He has a 12-year-old son and a 10-year- old daughter. Sources said he wife did not want to re- locate the family. Hoffman has time to continue to implement changes to strengthen the business, which has been struggling for years under the weight of more than $800 million in debt and operating dated stores in economically challenged markets, but a turnaround under his watch seems remote now. Bon-Ton operates 270 department stores in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, PHOTO BY STEVE EICHNER SEE PAGE 12 2 WWD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 CFDA Award Nominees Set THE BRIEFING BOX By MARC KARIMZADEH IN TODAY’S WWD NEW YORK — The nominees and honorees for the 2014 CFDA A view of Chalk Point Kitchen. For more, see WWD.com. Fashion Awards have been set. Marc Jacobs, Joseph Altuzarra of Altuzarra and Alexander DABROWSKI Wang are nominated for the KUBA Womenswear Designer of the BY Year award. Thom Browne, Rag & Bone’s Marcus Wainwright SIMONS and David Neville and Public School’s Maxwell Osborne and BOYE; Dao-Yi Chow are up for Menswear TYLER BY Designer of the Year. The GREENE Accessories Designer of the Year PHOTO award, meanwhile, will be decided JENNA BY between Wang, Mary-Kate Olsen FORD and Ashley Olsen for The Row Tom Ford will receive the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award and PHOTO and Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Raf Simons will receive the International Award. Hernandez and Jack McCollough. As in past years, the Swarovski cided between Marc Alary, Irene Award in Honor of Eleanor The Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. on award will honor a crop of emerg- Neuwirth and Jennifer Fisher. Lambert will go to Bethann Tuesday reached an agreement for the former to acquire the ing talent. In women’s wear, the As for the special honor- Hardison. Ruth Finley of latter for $65 a share, or about $1.8 billion. PAGE 1 nominees are Rosie Assoulin, ees, Tom Ford will take home Fashion Calendar will receive Wes Gordon and Creatures of the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime the 2014 Board of Director’s Brendan Hoffman, president and chief executive officer of the Wind’s Shane Gabier and Achievement Award, while Tribute nod. The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., has decided not to renew his contract Christopher Peters. In men’s Raf Simons is to receive the The awards will take place when it expires in February 2015. PAGE 1 wear, they are Hood by Air’s International Award. Paul on June 2 at Alice Tully Hall, Shayne Oliver, Tim Coppens and Cavaco is being given the Media with Swarovski’s support. John Todd Snyder, while in accessory Award in Honor of Eugenia Waters will serve as host of this Italian luxury goods maker Tod’s SpA said net profits in 2013 PAGE 3 design, the award will be de- Sheppard, while the Founder’s year’s awards. decreased by 8 percent to 133.8 million euros. Salvatore Ferragamo SpA saw net profits rise 43 percent and Williams, Comme des Garçons in Scent Deal revenues jump 9 percent in 2013. PAGE 3 Kawakubo has teamed with a mu- up a handful of Grammys in American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said fourth-quarter profits fell By MILES SOCHA sician to create a fragrance. January — and which he re- 89 percent to $10.5 million, or 5 cents a diluted share. PAGE 3 Adrian Joffe, chief executive prised at the Academy Awards — PARIS — Will Pharrell Williams’ officer of Comme des Garçons has his own clothing lines under COS has set its West Coast debut by signing a lease for an string of hits continue at the fra- Parfums SA, said Williams “knew the Billionaire Boys Club and Ice estimated 13,000-square-foot unit in Beverly Hills. PAGE 6 grance counter? exactly what he wanted the per- Cream labels, and has unfurled The “Get Lucky” and “Happy” fume to smell like right from the a number of designer collabora- E-commerce and a rebounding women’s apparel business singer is teaming with Comme des beginning. It has been an honor tions in recent years. were on the lips of retail executives at the Bank of America Garçons to launch a scent for men to work with such a creative art- He’s done eyewear and down Merrill Lynch Consumer & Retail Conference. PAGE 7 and women, WWD has learned. ist with a great vision.” jackets for Moncler, fine jewelry Called Girl — echoing the title Williams, who created a sen- and sunglasses for Louis Vuitton The Australian Fashion Chamber has been established to of Williams’ new album — it marks sation with the oversize Vivienne and most recently unveiled a further the growth of Australian fashion. PAGE 9 the first time fashion maverick Rei Westwood hat he wore to scoop denim collaboration between G-Star Raw and Bionic Yarn, where Kate Upton has been tapped as the brand ambassador for Pharrell Williams Williams is creative director. Ye t he considers the Comme Express, the first celebrity spokeswoman to appear in the tie-up a new zenith in his fash- brand’s campaigns in the past decade. PAGE 9 ion career. “As one of my favorite designers Highlights from the South by Southwest Festival included the once said, ‘Comme des Garçons is premiere of Mike Judge’s “Silicon Valley” and a party honoring your favorite designers’ favorite xoJane’s Most Shameless People on the Web. PAGE 10 designer…the top of the top, the best of the best,’” Williams said. “I Troubled Italian fashion manufacturer Ittierre SpA has a new am so honored to be working with suitor in Gruppo Colella. PAGE 11 Comme des Garçons and cherish the education that I’ve experi- Susan Sokol has opened her own consultancy, Susan Sokol MORELAND enced in this collaboration.” Consultancy LLC.