ADIDAS TEAMS WITH DIESEL/2 ICSC PREVIEW/SECTION II WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’MONDAY Daily Newspaper • November 26, 2007 • $2.00 Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear Forces of Nature Designers are going earthy for spring, using ikats, tie-dyes and pops of color on woven natural materials. Here, Dooney & Bourke’s cotton and patent leather tote, Dianora Salviati’s hand-painted hemp and silk scarf at Greg Mills Ltd., Celestina’s cotton and wood minaudières and Proenza Schouler’s linen canvas and leather shoe. Holiday Surprise: A Winning Weekend Overcomes Gloom – for Now By David Moin angst and uncertainty. a sharp temperature drop into the old your breath. This is But in the aftermath of Black 30s, a battery of new marketing Hgoing to be a hairy holiday Friday weekend, there’s a sense of techniques and discount ploys season for retailers, one marked relief in the air. and the frenzy of media coverage. by see-sawing sales, market share The weekend got retailers off Strong sales were particularly the warfare, profit concerns amid to a better-than-expected start case at big tourist-driven flagships steep price promotions and a lot of — fueled by presunrise openings, See Promotional, Page 6 PHOTO BY ROBERT MITRA; STYLED BY SHOSHANNA FISCHHOFF MITRA; STYLED BY ROBERT PHOTO BY 2 WWD, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007 WWD.COM Gap, A&F Post Double-Digit Net Gains By Arthur Zaczkiewicz around, it is diffi cult to predict Comparable-store sales at name- how product will be accepted. sake stores increased 3 percent. WWDMONDAY Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear fter posting robust third- And the macroeconomic envi- Net sales for the Hollister stores Aquarter results, Gap Inc. and ronment warrants caution.” increased 14 percent, to $414.5 Abercrombie & Fitch Co. face a Glenn Murphy, chairman and million and same-store sales de- GENERAL tough holiday shopping season. chief executive offi cer of Gap, said creased 1 percent. Ruehl had an Crowds were better than expected throughout Black Friday weekend, Abercrombie said on a con- the company made progress in the increase of 55 percent in sales to though shoppers were spending less. ference call last week that it is third quarter in regard to inven- $12.6 million. Comparable-store 1 well-positioned for holiday, and tory and reducing expenses. sales were down 7 percent. Sales Gap Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch posted strong third-quarter earnings, is driving on with its expansion, On the conference call, for the company’s Abercrombie 2 but Gap saw fl at sales while A&F’s revenue gained 5.8 percent. especially overseas. Murphy said, “we also feel this is kids brand were up 17 percent EYE: Thanksgiving is the traditional kickoff of holiday shopping for some, For Gap Inc., a cautious out- going to be a tough economic en- to $127.6 million. Same-store but for ballet fans it marks the start of the New York City Ballet’s season. look for the fourth quarter re- vironment in this upcoming holi- sales there were up 3 percent. 4 minded Wall Street that the hol- day selling season. We feel good The company reaffi rmed its INNERWEAR: The November spring-summer market in New York turned iday shopping season could be that we’ve been disciplined on the outlook and said it expects earn- 11 out to be an early holiday treat for many lingerie companies. particularly challenging for the inventory front….The consumer ings for the second half of 2007 Seeking to reestablish itself in the U.S. market, Esprit Holdings Ltd. has specialty retail channel, which will ultimately be the judge, but to be between $3.63 and $3.67 opened a fl agship in Rockefeller Center at Fifth Avenue in New York. is already locked into a competi- we feel we are well-positioned for a diluted share. The lower end 15 tive market share battle. the holiday season and we’re also of guidance would refl ect fl at Louis Vuitton and artist Vanessa Beecroft have apologized to a Dutch In an example of the cautious very clearly aware this is going to same-store sales for the fourth 17 graphic designer for copying a design in a 2005 logo collaboration. climate, Hot Topic Inc. reported be a tougher environment than quarter, the company said. in-line earnings per share last we faced last year.” Michael W. Kramer, execu- ICSC Preview is included as a Section II in this issue. week of 15 cents, but Citigroup Murphy added on the call that tive vice president and chief fi - Classifi ed Advertisements.............................................................18-19 nancial offi cer at Abercrombie, The consumer will ultimately be the said on a conference call with To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is fi rstname. “ analysts that the company is “cur- [email protected], using the individual’s name. rently assessing opportunities for judge, but we feel we are well-positioned WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT Abercrombie & Fitch in Milan, ©2007 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Copenhagen, parts of China; VOLUME 194, NO. 111. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one for the holiday season and we’re also very and for Hollister, a location in additional issue in January and December, two additional issues in March, May, June, August, October and, November, and three additional issues in February, April, and September) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division of Advance clearly aware this is going to be a tougher London. We hope to announce an- Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services provided by other major Abercrombie & Fitch Condé Nast Publications: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, Executive European location imminently.” Vice President/COO; Debi Chirichella Sabino, Senior Vice President/CFO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/Human environment than we faced last year. Resources. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offi ces. Canada Post Publications Mail Kramer said in addition to Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. Canada Post: return — Glenn Murphy, Gap” Inc. pursuing growth initiatives, “we undeliverable Canadian addresses to: P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6 POSTMASTER: are working hard to improve effi - SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615–5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE analyst Kimberly Greenberger the Gap and Banana Republic ciencies in both our sourcing and INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008, call 800-289-0273, or visit slapped the company’s stock with brands have “made positive supply chain, so that we can cre- www.subnow.com/wd. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. First copy of new a downgrade to “hold,” saying it strides in their product offering ate more operational leverage.” subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions and reprint requests, would be prudent to wait for the for the holiday season.” He said Mike Nuzzo, vice president of please call 212-630-4274 or fax requests to 212-630-4280. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other retailer to deliver improved sales. the Gap brand is all about color fi nance, said on the call that as the Fairchild magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list At Gap, net earnings for the and the theme this year includes company enters the holiday shop- available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA quarter ended Nov. 3 swelled offering “crazy stripes.” ping season, it is well-positioned 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, 26 percent to $238 million, or 30 For Banana Republic, the in the market. “Our focus remains OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, cents a share, from $189 million, theme is ‘“sharing the gift of long-term, and most importantly we BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR or 23 cents, in the previous year color’ and [the management are making strategic investments CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY WOMEN’S WEAR on sales of $3.9 billion. Same- team is] really focused on in stores, merchandise develop- DAILY IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY store sales fell 5 percent during bringing better gift ideas that ment and administrative support A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE. the quarter. Gap’s online sales are brand appropriate to what infrastructure to match our fi ve rose 36 percent to $247 million Banana Republic stands for in and even 10-year growth plan.” TUESDAY: The Conference Board releases the from $182 million last year. the marketplace,” he said. Elsewhere in the specialty Consumer Confidence Index for November. The company revised its 2007 At Abercrombie & Fitch, the channel last week, Charming American Eagle Outfi tters Inc., Finlay Enterprises EPS guidance to a range 99 cents specialty retailer reported earn- Shoppes posted a third quarter Inc.