PRADA’S $42 MILLION CHINA PLAN/2 GYMBOREE GROWS UP/3 WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’MONDAY Daily Newspaper • May 3, 2004 • $2.00 Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear Diamonds In the Cuff GENEVA — Ladylike looks are back in fashion, so it isn’t surprising that watch designers are going for elegance. Distinctive, streamlined designs — featuring, say, a cuff or a scarf instead of a standard band — were all the rage at Baselworld and the Salon International de la Haute Horlogorie. Here, two examples: Piaget’s watch in gold, diamonds and leather and Movado’s in stainless steel and silk. For more on the shows, see pages 8 and 10. Expanding Net: Neiman Marcus Online Sales to Top $200M By Holly Haber the e-commerce and catalogue neimanmarcus.com. The division IRVING, Tex. — Neiman Marcus Group division of Neiman Marcus, which also operates two additional Web Y CARMEN BORGONOVO is weaving a bigger Web, driven by expects to see online sales this and catalogue businesses — neimanmarcus.com. year pass $200 million, compared Chef’s Catalog of cooking tools The four-year-old neiman- with $150 million in 2003. The bulk and the Horchow Collection of lush marcus.com is part of NM Direct, of that growth will come from See Neiman’s, Page 20 PHOTO BY DAVID TURNER; STYLED B DAVID PHOTO BY 2 WWD, MONDAY, MAY 3, 2004 WWDMONDAY Prada’s Expanding in China Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear GENERAL By Amanda Kaiser FASHION: Not since the height of the Swinging Sixties has legwear been as MILAN — Prada last week inau- 6 important to fashion as it is now. gurated its Hong Kong flagship Neimanmarcus.com is the driving force behind NM Direct, the e-commerce and said it plans to roll out an- 1 and catalogue division of Neiman Marcus Group. Here’s an update. other 13 stores in China by the end of next year, investing more Los Angeles retailers said sales appeared to be rebounding this weekend than $41.94 million, or 35 mil- 23 after Thursday’s threat advisory of a terrorist attack at a mall there. lion euros, in the country. EYE: Sharing diet tips and looking kissable at benefits…Braving The Italian luxury group said 4 breakdancing…Swinging through Milan and London. the Hong Kong store, a two-level space measuring about 9,700 Classified Advertisements ..................................................................22-23 square feet, will be the compa- To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is ny’s second-largest unit in Asia [email protected], using the individual’s name. after its Tokyo Epicenter con- cept store, opened in June 2003. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF FAIRCHILD PUBLICATIONS, INC. COPYRIGHT ©2004 FAIRCHILD PUBLICATIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. “Hong Kong is no longer just VOLUME 187, NO. 92. WWD (ISSN # 0149-5380) is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional the international platform for issue in January, May, June and November; two additional issues in February, April, September, October and December; and three the Far East; it increasingly rep- additional issues in March and August, by Fairchild Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Advance Publications, Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. Shared Services provided by Advance Magazine Publishers Inc.: S.I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; resents a launch pad into the Steven T. Florio, Vice Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, C.O.O.; John W. Bellando, Executive Vice-President and C.F.O.; Jill Bright, Chinese market,” Miuccia Prada Executive Vice-President_Human Resources; John Buese, Executive Vice-President_ Chief Information Officer; David Orlin, Senior said in a statement. “It creates Vice-President_Strategic Sourcing; Robert Bennis, Senior Vice-President_Real Estate; David B. Chemidlin, Senior Vice- President_General Manager, Advance Magazine Group Shared Services Center. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at the trends and acts as a show- additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40032712. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration case for this market.” No. 88654-9096-RM0001. Canada post return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: P.O. Box 1632, Station A, Windsor, ON N9A7C9. The Prada Elsewhere, Prada denied a The Prada POSTMASTER: 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 INQUIRIES: Please write to WOMEN’S WEAR local press report that it’s aim- flagshipflagship inin Hong Kong. DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008; Call 800-289-0273; or visit www.subnow.com/wd . Four weeks is ing for its long-awaited initial Hong Kong. required for change of address. Please give both new and old address as printed on most recent label. First copy of new public offering in October. Prada subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. For permissions and reprint requests, said in a press release that al- wide. It said revenue from spring-summer collection the please call 212-221-9595 or fax requests to 212-221-9195. Visit us online: www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild though “it can confirm the China grew 80 percent in the year before. magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully strong improvement of its finan- first four months of the year, Architect Roberto Baciocchi 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 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. cial figures, there are no plans while that from Hong Kong designed the Hong Kong store, WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS, DAMAGE, OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO UNSOLICITED for a public listing in 2004.” grew 25 percent. Prada said it located in the Alexandra House MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND Prada has said it wants to go expects to double its revenues Building on the corner of Ice TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED public before June 2005, when in China this year compared to House Street and Charter Road. TO DO SO BY WWD IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE it must repay $838.81 million, 2003 figures. It features a black glass facade, ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED OVERNIGHT-DELIVERY RETURN ENVELOPE, POSTAGE PREPAID. or 700 million euros, worth of The Asia-Pacific region gen- a black marble suspended stair- convertible bonds. The compa- erates about 10 percent of case and Prada’s signature pale ny accumulated debt through Prada’s consolidated revenue, green walls. MONDAY: Intimate Apparel and Accessories Market past acquisitions of labels like which came to $1.63 billion, or The ground floor is dedicated Week, New York. Helmut Lang, Jil Sander and 1.36 billion euros, in 2003. Prada to women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, Mercedes Australian Fashion Week, Sydney Church’s. said sales of the spring/summer bags and accessories, while the (through Saturday). Prada said that China is its collection are up 20 percent this second floor features men’s wear Citymeals-On-Wheels 20th Annual Fashion/Beauty fastest-growing market world- year compared with those of the and the Prada Sport line. Industry Benefit, New York. AAFA American Image Awards, New York. WEDNESDAY: Reebok annual meeting, Canton, Mass. Sara Lee Taps Barnes, Chaden Burberry Said THURSDAY: Major retailers report April same-store sales. Madison Avenue BID’s “Where Fashion Meets Art” Naming Blake exhibition, New York. For Key Executive Positions Avon annual meeting, New York By Dan Burrows sible for Sara Lee’s global mar- As President FRIDAY: The Labor Department releases the April em- keting and sales efforts. He will ployment report. NEW YORK — Sara Lee Corp. report to Barnes once she LONDON — Brian Blake, part COMING THIS WEEK Mido eyewear show, Milan (through Sunday). promoted Lee Chaden to chief comes on board, and will gradu- of Domenico De Sole’s turn- executive officer of its branded ally cede the marketing and around team at Gucci, is ex- apparel business, succeeding sales functions to her. pected to join Burberry next Cary McMillan, who has re- Chaden joined Sara Lee in month as its president world- signed from the company’s 1991 and was named ceo of Sara wide, according to industry In Brief board and is leaving Sara Lee, Lee Intimates in 1994. Before sources. the company said Sunday. his current position, he was ceo Blake, formerly an execu- Additionally, the firm appoint- of the company’s European tive vice president at Gucci ● CHECK THE FINE PRINT: Pinault-Printemps-Redoute and the ed Brenda Barnes to the position branded apparel business from Group and president and Italian securities commission may have had a failure to communi- of president and chief operating 1999 to May 2003. chief executive officer of cate. PPR said late last week that it received a notice from market officer. She will begin in her new “Lee not only brings a strong Boucheron, was among the regulator Consob to suspend its tender offer to Gucci sharehold- role July 1, reporting to Sara Lee strategic vision to Sara Lee top managers to leave Gucci ers who are residents of Italy, citing a violation of that country’s Corp.’s chairman, president and Branded Apparel, but he also has after the news that the con- securities laws.