SPANX SHIFTER BACALL SPANX CHIEF EXECUTIVE NEW GUY OFFICER JAN SINGER IS STYLE ADAM ANDRASCIK OUT TO EVOLVE THE BRAND THE MUSEUM AT FIT GETS SET TO BEYOND OCCASION-WEAR MOUNTS AN EXHIBITION MAKE HIS DEBUT DEVOTED TO THE FASHION TO EVERYDAY WEAR. AT GUY LAROCHE. OF THE LATE LAUREN PAGE 6 PAGE 9 BACALL. PAGE 6 VALUES CHAIN AT $1B Italian Retailer OVS Raises $463M in IPO By LUISA ZARGANI MILAN — The world’s publicly listed retailers have a new billion-dollar baby: Italy’s OVS SpA. The fashion retailer, Italy’s largest, on Monday debuted on the Italian Stock Exchange, the country’s fi rst fashion initial public offering since Moncler’s in TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015 Q $3.00 Q WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY December 2013. OVS shares closed fl at at the end of WWD trading at 4.10 euros, or $4.58 at current exchange, after dipping 1.5 percent in midmorning. But the IPO is perhaps a sign of increasing confi dence that things in Italy are on the upswing, with the fi rst signs of growth in industrial production in years. The IPO was expected to take place by the end of 2014, but in November, citing market volatility, the group postponed the listing to the fi rst half of 2015. The listing will raise about 414 million euros, or $463.3 million, gross of fees and costs related to the transaction. OVS is fl oating 45.4 percent of its shares, or 101 million shares. This does not include the As Simple greenshoe option. The IPO will give the retailer a market capitaliza- tion of about 931 million euros, or $1.04 billion. “We are very pleased to fi nally see an IPO of a rel- As That evant size,” said Raffaele Jerusalmi, chief executive offi cer of the Italian Bourse, at the event organized by Easy, elegant, impeccably the stock exchange Monday morning. tailored — Giorgio Armani “I’ve been asked if I am happy about the listing. Yes, I am, because I don’t think it’s banal [to go pub- has made an art form of lic] in these times and in this country, where we must turning jackets and pants invest and create profi t,” said Stefano Beraldo, ceo into chic uniforms women of the Italian retailer, who was instrumental in the company’s turnaround and rejuvenation. want to wear. For fall, “I suffered in seeing the company’s shortages the master of sartorial and weaknesses,” said Beraldo of OVS, which al- pragmatism offered an most went bankrupt before he joined 10 years ago and went through two leveraged buyouts. “It didn’t understated collection manage to grow, it was a model based on price inspired by a painterly SEE PAGE 12 palette. Here, the rich blue of softly pleated pants and a matching blouse meets the clean lines of a charcoal Mexican Import Rules topper. The print Hit U.S. Fashion Firms cuffs? They’re on the gloves. By KRISTI ELLIS For more COLLECTIONS from Milan WASHINGTON — The U.S. fashion industry is scrambling to interpret new Mexican regulations Fashion MILAN on apparel, textile and footwear imports that could Week, FALL 2015 threaten two-way trade under the North American Free Trade Agreement. see pages Mexican offi cials stress that the new import regula- 4 and 5. tions, which were unveiled in December and were pre- ceded by new imported footwear requirements issued in September, are to counter what the government claims is an onslaught of undervalued imports, primarily from Asia, that are hurting the Mexican domestic industry. According to international trade law fi rm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg and other industry organiza- tions, the Mexican measures will present challenges that include: Q Minimum reference, or floor, prices calculated by the Mexican government on a wide range of imported products. Q A bond guarantee requirement and fi ve-day ad- vance notice rule for imports falling below the mini- mum reference prices. Q A new sectoral apparel and textile registry, forcing ex- porters to register with specifi c paperwork requirements. Q A pilot project with new tariff classifi cations for im- ported goods in those categories. Q Suspension of promised duty reductions on scores of imported products. The new measures are part of a $70 million textile aid package Mexico launched in early December to PHOTO BY KUBA DABROWSKI protect its industry from undervalued Asian imports SEE PAGE 8 2 WWD TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015 WWD.COM Armani Sets New Women’s Line THE BRIEFING BOX collection under the Giorgio were getting ready for the sec- By ALESSANDRA TURRA Armani label. ond show] there is work, which IN TODAY’S WWD With the new collection, very few do.” MILAN — Giorgio Armani is Armani will reinforce an idea he In addition, Armani said planning to launch a new wom- has expressed during his whole he is confi dent that the Expo, en’s line, called “New Normal,” career: That fashion has to be an- opening in Milan in May, will be Aamito Lagum is the which will hit stores in June. chored to real life and can’t just successful. subject of Model Call. “It will show how I think to- be the result of a fl ight of fancy. “If we don’t mess things up For more, see WWD.com. day’s women should dress,” “My goal is always to create now, it can work because we Armani said Monday during his a kind of fashion that you can can show we have balls when regular press conference after renovate without completely we want,” said Armani, who the show for his main collection. changing it. It’s just about small was named Expo ambassador “The idea is to start from classic details,” he said. in December. designs to create a new classic. The designer also strongly On April 30, Armani will It’s a collection meant to last, criticized how journalists often celebrate the opening of the which will be renewed as we tend to focus only on finding Universal Exhibition with an go but will remain rooted in the attention-grabbing headlines, event celebrating the unveiling classic style.” instead of on the hard work of his new Armani/Silos mu- Few details of the line were needed to realize his collec- seum and exhibition space, as available, but a spokesman tions. “Behind this [he pointed well as a runway show feting his said New Normal will be a full to backstage where the models company’s 40th anniversary. PHOTO COURTESY OF DNA MODEL MANAGEMENT MODEL DNA OF COURTESY PHOTO The world’s publicly listed retailers have a new billion dollar baby: Italy’s OVS SpA, which debuted on the Italian Stock Jack Ma Wary of Alibaba’s Future Exchange on Monday. PAGE 1 At the event, which is ex- important for small businesses. The U.S. fashion industry is scrambling to interpret new By CHARLOTTE pected to generate hundreds of And data, to do business without Mexican regulations on apparel, textile and footwear imports MIDDLEHURST millions of dollars for the U.K. data is impossible,” Ma said. that could threaten two-way trade. PAGE 1 economy over the next fi ve years Later, when asked what keeps SHANGHAI — Jack Ma, founder — and attract the likes of Prince him awake at night, he replied, Adam Andrascik said his main goal as Guy Laroche’s new and chief executive officer of William — Ma admitted concerns “I worry about health and happi- creative director will be to successfully bridge the gap between Alibaba, believes the company’s for the future. ness of the nation.” two worlds. PAGE 6 greatest threat is to itself. “I worry about the future. I More immediate and opaque In a 30-minute interview always believe that tomorrow’s are Alibaba’s plans for global ex- It’s been two years since Nordstrom closed Treasure & Bond, with British business magnate [generation] will be better, that pansion, starting with cracking but the company is still fi nding ways to bring altruism into its Sir Martin Sorrell at the Great younger is better….We worry the European market. Festival of Creativity here about the competitors we never “Fifty percent of our rev- business. PAGE 7 Monday night, Ma said: “There see, recognize or respect. The enues should come from outside is no [outside] company we big guys watch each other care- China. At the moment 5 percent The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety said Monday it fear — we fear ourselves. We fully…but when we are watch- of the business is outside. When has appointed a new chief safety offi cer to oversee factory are too young. We are [grow- ing each other, someone else is you are big you have to learn how remediation, fi re safety operations and training. PAGE 8 ing] too fast.” watching us,” he said. to take responsibility globally,” His words were prescient, in On the general slowdown of he said. “[Our] first market is Since joining Spanx in July, Jan Singer, formerly Nike’s light of the current investigation China’s economy, Ma was more Europe. Why Europe? Developed corporate vice president of global apparel, has begun reshaping nations love developing mar- the Atlanta-based fi rm and its identity. PAGE 9 kets. For us [developing coun- tries] we should watch and “The Look” is a series of styled photographs shot in Philip learn. In the next 10 years, Johnson’s Glass House in Connecticut, culled in a book to be China should shift from an released in late March through D.A.P.