▲ RETAIL: ▲ MARKETING: A new study FASHION: European fi nds consumers willing to Yves Saint retailers live with less, page 8. Laurent’s upbeat New Vintage despite FINANCIAL: Profi ts climb at line, page 3. ▲ downturn, Net-a-porter, page 2. page 4. ▲ Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • June 10, 2009 • $3.00 WWDWEDNESDAYSportswear Sugar Rush Isaac Mizrahi took a trip to the candy store for resort. Keeping the collection fresh and young, he opted for confectionery tweeds, neon mixed prints and plenty of accessories, from scarves with playful prints to belts with romantic oversize fl owers. Here, Mizrahi’s sweet tweed suit. For more, see pages 6 and 7. All Change at the Top: Versace and Jil Sander Name Chief Executives By Alessandra Ilari MILAN — The game of executive musical chairs at Versace SpA and Jil Sander AG has finally stopped. As expected, Gian Giacomo Ferraris has been named chief executive officer of Versace, while Alessandro Cremonesi, chief financial officer at Jil Sander AG, will succeed Ferraris as ceo there. The appointments confirm a WWD.com story Monday. Ferraris will join Versace and become a board member on July 15. The low-profile executive succeeds Giancarlo Di Risio, who resigned last week after a four-year stint during which he implemented a cost-cutting program that brought the fashion house back into the black. On Tuesday, Ferraris declined to reveal See New, Page13 PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO PHOTO BY 2 WWD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2009 WWD.COM Objections in Filene’s Bidding By Vicki M. Young million associated with potential litigation revolv- ing around Filene’s lease at the currently inactive WWDWEDNESSportswearDAY THE LOSING BIDDERS FOR Filene’s Downtown Crossing project. After bidding $22 mil- FASHION Basement aren’t going away quietly. lion for Filene’s last month, Crown was designated In an unusual turn of events, both Crown the stalking horse for the off-pricer. s 6 Resort is shaping up to have something for Acquisitions and Syms Corp. filed objections to Syms said in its filing Tuesday that certain everyone from Isaac Mizrahi’s sweet looks to the bankruptcy auction sale of Filene’s Basement bid procedures, including the requirement of a Alberta Ferretti’s urban safari theme. in which an affiliate of The Men’s Wearhouse Inc. commitment to close promptly after the date of was deemed the winning bidder at $67 million. the sale, were not followed. It pointed out the GENERAL Their grievances will be considered during a Men’s Wearhouse bid has a proposed effective The game of executive musical chairs at Versace hearing on the sale set for today in a Delaware date of Sept. 26. Syms said that at a certain point 1 SpA and Jil Sander AG has finally stopped. bankruptcy court. of the auction, its bid was deemed the highest In court papers filed with the court Tuesday, and best bid, and that it continued bidding even 3 YSL designer Stefano Pilati makes a definitive Crown called the auction a “travesty.” It had though procedures were not adhered to because statement about the speed of fashion trends with been expected to file an objection since the con- it “risked being illegally excluded by the [un- New Vintage, which bowed Monday at Barneys. clusion of the auction late Friday, claiming it re- secured creditors’] committee and the debtors 4 Despite some good signs, it’s too soon to expect fused to bid because the debtor wasn’t adhering from the auction if it did not bid.” bolstered earnings and sales across Europe, as to court-approved bid procedures. In a court document, Marcy Syms, president the bankruptcy of Germany’s Arcandor attests. Crown complained Men’s Wearhouse failed to and chief executive officer of the off-price retail submit an offer by the bid deadline, as required, group that bears her family name, said, “The cav- 8 MARKETING: The view of American consumers because the retailer intended to buy the assets alier attitude towards contractual obligations and about what they require, compared with what they pursuant to a plan of reorganization. the meaning of a court order taken by the estate desire, is undergoing a fundamental shift. Crown also claimed Syms doesn’t have the fi- professionals in this case is extremely disconcert- 12 WEST: The Shops at The Bravern in Bellevue, nancial wherewithal to close on a deal for the ing to an outsider participating in the bankruptcy Wash., is set to open in September with the bankrupt off-pricer, and that its partner in the system. The inability to rely on the rules estab- Pacific Northwest’s first Neiman Marcus store. bidding process, Vornado Realty Trust, is in “de- lished by this court will leave me, and I suspect fault for millions of dollars of obligations owed others, less willing to invest the time, resources A day after The Talbots Inc. said it was selling J. to the debtors.” Vornado is the landlord of the and money in a similar endeavor in the future.” 14 Jill, the firm said it was reducing the workforce in troubled Downtown Crossing development in Bob Carbonell, executive vice president and its Hingham, Mass., headquarters. downtown Boston, where Filene’s Basement chief credit officer at Bernard Sands Credit The House Appropriations Committee approved a planned to open a store. It’s been paying Filene’s Consultants, said, “In my 40 years in credit, I 14 $500,000 a month since January as compensation have never seen such a vociferous objection to $64.4 billion spending bill that boosts the budgets for not delivering the store on schedule. a Chapter 11 bid. It must have been a heck of of the nation’s two top trade agencies. The winning $67 million bid by Men’s Wearhouse [an auction and the hearing to approve the sale] Alberta Ferretti affiliate K&G Acquisition Corp. includes about $5 should be worth selling tickets to.” Classified Advertisements.................................................................................................15 TO E-MAIL REPORTERS AND EDITORS AT WWD, THE ADDRESS IS [email protected], USING THE INDIVIDUAL’s NAME. WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2009 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 197, NO. 120. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with Net-a-porter Records Higher Profits one additional issue in January, May, October, November and December, two additional issues in March, April, June and August, and three additional issues in February and September) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division aged around 1.8 million visitors a month and 3.3 of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services By Cate T. Corcoran provided by Condé Nast Publications: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. million page views a day. Because the company Bellando, Executive Vice President/COO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/Human Resources. Periodicals postage WHILE OTHER LUXURY REtaILERS CON- is based in the U.K. and ships to about 170 coun- paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. 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