THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY ■ $3.00 WWD BIG STEPS J. Crew Sets Timing For Overseas Stores SEE PAGE 3 Caruso’s Golden Grove SEE PAGE 8 By RACHEL BROWN LOS ANGELES — A decade after the nation’s pre- mier lifestyle center, The Grove, opened, Rick Caruso still doesn’t get exactly what a lifestyle center is, but he’s convinced it’s something that’s here to stay. “I don’t really know what the definition is. Some definitions, I hear there is no anchor. Some defini- tions, there is an anchor. Some are not more than 300,000 square feet,” said Caruso, president and chief executive officer of Caruso Affiliated, owner of 13 res- idential and retail properties in Southern California, including The Grove and The Americana at Brand. “We are building what we know the guest responds to, which is an environment that feels more like a street and is architecturally real, has great landscaping and is programmed. Every day there is something hap- pening on the property. I think that if that’s the defini- tion of a lifestyle center, it will be successful forever. It’s natural to the human being — how the human being lives and works and plays.” Caruso has certainly banked the future of his company — even without him at the helm, should he choose to step into the race for mayor of Los Angeles — on lifestyle centers being a permanent fixture of the California shopping landscape. With 10-year leases up at The Grove, the shopping center’s ten- ant mix is shifting to make room for retailers that have track records of recent success. And Caruso Affiliated is pursuing an expansion program de- signed to double its net operating income within the next five years, in part by acquiring properties that By DAVID MOIN NEW YORK — J. Crew Group Inc. is running strong and bringing its business to new markets. “It’s been a nice year so far,” Millard “Mickey” Drexler, chairman and chief executive officer, told WWD. “Every day we get a bit smarter about our business, but you can never let your guard down.” On Wednesday, the company reported a robust second quarter, marked by a return to the black and strong sales and full-price selling across several categories. Executives also cited plans to add more men’s wear stores this year, and divulged the time frame for opening the first J. Crew stores in Europe and Asia, meaning the company is getting close to signing leases. A London store is seen opening in the second half of 2013, and a store in Hong Kong is seen opening in the first half of 2014. Last year, J. Crew crossed borders for the first time by launching international shipping, partner- ing with Net-a-porter, and opening a store in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, marking the first brick-and-mortar move in its international ex- pansion plan. Last March J. Crew expanded its in- ternational shipping to 107 countries, up from 29, and more recently revealed a plan to distribute to Lane Crawford in Asia. J. Crew reported net income of $22 million for the second quarter ended July 28, compared with a $10.5 million loss in the year-ago period. Last year’s loss was due to nonrecurring inventory and litigation costs associated with its acquisition by TPG Capital L.P. and Leonard Green & Partners L.P. in March 2011. In the 2011 period, the amortization of inven- tory from purchase accounting cost the company $22 million, and litigation costs reached $6.5 million. Total revenues in the latest quarter rose 21 per- cent to $525.5 million, while comparable company sales increased 14 percent. Gross margin increased to 45.1 percent from 36.5 percent, reflecting healthy full-price selling. Operating income increased to $62.1 million, When asked to describe his upcoming spring collection, Oscar de la Renta offered two words: “High definition.” How does that relate to his sketch and photo composition, shown here, that appears to represent a fanciful Highland fling? “With patterns and colors that are strong and graphic,” he said. For more Designer Inspirations, see pages 4 and 5. INSPIRATIONS SPRING 2013 NEW YORK Scot On CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN OPENS A MEN’S SHOE STORE IN NEW YORK. PAGE 3 MEN’S QUARTERS WIDER NET ESTEBAN CORTAZAR RETURNS WITH HELP FROM NET-A-PORTER. PAGE 6
Transcript
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY ■ $3.00
WWDBIG STEPS
J. Crew Sets TimingFor Overseas Stores
SEE PAGE 3
Caruso’s Golden Grove
SEE PAGE 8
By RACHEL BROWN
LOS ANGELES — A decade after the nation’s pre-mier lifestyle center, The Grove, opened, Rick Caruso still doesn’t get exactly what a lifestyle center is, but he’s convinced it’s something that’s here to stay.
“I don’t really know what the defi nition is. Some defi nitions, I hear there is no anchor. Some defi ni-tions, there is an anchor. Some are not more than 300,000 square feet,” said Caruso, president and chief executive offi cer of Caruso Affi liated, owner of 13 res-idential and retail properties in Southern California, including The Grove and The Americana at Brand. “We are building what we know the guest responds to, which is an environment that feels more like a street and is architecturally real, has great landscaping and is programmed. Every day there is something hap-pening on the property. I think that if that’s the defi ni-tion of a lifestyle center, it will be successful forever. It’s natural to the human being — how the human being lives and works and plays.”
Caruso has certainly banked the future of his company — even without him at the helm, should he choose to step into the race for mayor of Los Angeles — on lifestyle centers being a permanent fi xture of the California shopping landscape. With 10-year leases up at The Grove, the shopping center’s ten-ant mix is shifting to make room for retailers that have track records of recent success. And Caruso Affi liated is pursuing an expansion program de-signed to double its net operating income within the next fi ve years, in part by acquiring properties that
By DAVID MOIN
NEW YORK — J. Crew Group Inc. is running strong and bringing its business to new markets.
“It’s been a nice year so far,” Millard “Mickey” Drexler, chairman and chief executive offi cer, told WWD. “Every day we get a bit smarter about our business, but you can never let your guard down.”
On Wednesday, the company reported a robust second quarter, marked by a return to the black and strong sales and full-price selling across several categories. Executives also cited plans to add more men’s wear stores this year, and divulged the time frame for opening the fi rst J. Crew stores in Europe and Asia, meaning the company is getting close to signing leases. A London store is seen opening in the second half of 2013, and a store in Hong Kong is seen opening in the fi rst half of 2014.
Last year, J. Crew crossed borders for the fi rst time by launching international shipping, partner-ing with Net-a-porter, and opening a store in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, marking the fi rst brick-and-mortar move in its international ex-pansion plan. Last March J. Crew expanded its in-ternational shipping to 107 countries, up from 29, and more recently revealed a plan to distribute to Lane Crawford in Asia.
J. Crew reported net income of $22 million for the second quarter ended July 28, compared with a $10.5 million loss in the year-ago period. Last year’s loss was due to nonrecurring inventory and litigation costs associated with its acquisition by TPG Capital L.P. and Leonard Green & Partners L.P. in March 2011. In the 2011 period, the amortization of inven-tory from purchase accounting cost the company $22 million, and litigation costs reached $6.5 million.
Total revenues in the latest quarter rose 21 per-cent to $525.5 million, while comparable company sales increased 14 percent. Gross margin increased to 45.1 percent from 36.5 percent, refl ecting healthy full-price selling.
Operating income increased to $62.1 million,
When asked to describe his upcoming spring collection, Oscar de la Renta offered two words: “High defi nition.” How does that relate to his sketch and photo composition, shown here, that appears to represent a fanciful Highland fl ing? “With patterns and colors that are strong and graphic,” he said. For more Designer Inspirations, see pages 4 and 5.
INSPIRATIONSSPRING 2013
NEW YORK
Scot On
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN OPENS A MEN’S SHOE STORE IN NEW YORK. PAGE 3CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN OPENS A MEN’S
J. Crew Group Inc. on Wednesday reported a robust second quarter, marked by a return to the black and strong sales and full-price selling across several categories. PAGE 1 Rick Caruso of Caruso Affiliated talks expansion, the success of The Grove and The Americana at Brand shopping centers — and running for mayor of Los Angeles. PAGE 1 Christian Louboutin today opens his first U.S. men’s store, in New York’s Meatpacking District. PAGE 3 While Isaac lost its hurricane status on Wednesday afternoon, the redesignated tropical storm continues to wreak havoc along the Gulf Coast. PAGE 3 Anita McBride, former chief of staff for Laura Bush, sat down with WWD on the second day of the Republican National Convention for a discussion on a variety of topics. PAGE 6 Esteban Cortazar will launch a namesake collection during New York Fashion Week, thanks to help from Net-a-porter. PAGE 6 Old Navy and Kim Kardashian have settled a lawsuit alleging that a television commercial titled “Super C-U-T-E” violated her publicity rights by using a look-alike model. PAGE 7 Deborah Needleman, editor of rival WSJ. Magazine, has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Sally Singer at T: The New York Times Style Magazine. PAGE 7 Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc. said second-quarter profits topped expectations and that it was aggressively planning to increase its store count. PAGE MW1 J. Press York Street is the moniker for the new collection designed by Ariel and Shimon Ovadia of Ovadia & Sons for the venerable Ivy League specialty store. PAGE MW2 Men’s sportswear brand Scott James, which is owned by Hampshire Group Ltd., will open a new store in Boston and begin distributing its collection in Canada. PAGE MW4
By Jennifer Weil
PAriS — The beauty industry is not immune to economic woes, which have recently dampened demand for luxury in certain regions.
But the outlook is still bright.“We believe that the cosmetics market should
remain buoyant, even though over the summer we noted some obvious signs of slowdown,” Jean-Paul Agon, l’Oréal chairman and chief executive officer, said Wednesday while addressing financial analysts and journalists the day after the french beauty giant reported that its profit margins con-tracted in the first six months of 2012.
“Our performance during the first half of the year has grown strongly,” he said, even as shares in l’Oréal took a tumble and at least one investment firm downgraded the stock.
Agon acknowledged a slowdown in the luxury market in Asia and the U.S., as well as in the trav-el-retail channel.
Despite that, l’Oréal believes the worldwide cosmetics market should grow by around 4 per-cent over the whole year. And Agon vowed that the company would tackle the second half with “great confidence and determination.”
The assurances didn’t stop l’Oréal stock from closing down 4.4 percent on the Paris Bourse Wednesday to 96.58 euros, or $121.02 at current exchange, following the publication of its first-half profit figures on Tuesday night. Analysts took issue with the french beauty giant’s profit margins, which just missed their estimates.
l’Oréal’s gross profit as a percentage of sales was 71 percent in the six months ended June 30, versus 71.5 percent in the same prior-year period. The company said the variation particularly reflects the euro’s weakening, the consolidation of Clarisonic and a slight increase in promotional offers.
in a research note, Andrew Wood, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said that l’Oréal results “came in below our expectations with generally poor quality.”
He indicated gross margins were down 50 basis points against the consensus of plus 30 basis points
“and had it not been for a [minus] 55-basis-point cut in A&P spending as percent of sales, operating margin growth [of 15 basis points] would have been negative, too, and even further below consensus [of plus 50 basis points].”
Operating profit growth was “well below” con-sensus of plus 14 percent “but was somewhat rescued by nonoperating items, principally a low-er-than-expected tax rate, to give underlying [earn-ings per share] growth [up 9 percent] slightly above consensus expectations but below our estimates,” continued Wood.
Bernstein maintained an underperform rating on l’Oréal, noting its disappointing results and lack of change in full-year guidance “should drive some stock weakness.”
UBS, meanwhile, on Wednesday cut its l’Oréal recommendation to neutral from buy.
“Although we continue to like l’Oréal for the long term, we are downgrading it to neutral with an un-changed price target of 100 euros [or $125.30],” UBS analyst eva Quiroga said in a research note.
As reported, l’Oréal first-half net profits rose 10.8 percent to 1.63 billion euros, or $2.11 billion. Company operating profits increased 11.4 percent to 1.9 billion euros, or $2.46 billion, while its sales gained 10.5 per-cent to 11.21 billion euros, or $14.55 billion.
Dollar figures were converted at average ex-change for the period.
Agon stressed l’Oréal is confident about its second-half business, which will be bolstered by a strong pipeline of new products through year-end. He named projects including lancôme’s la vie est belle and Yves Saint laurent’s Manifesto fragrances, plus Blue Therapy from Biotherm, revitalift laser XS from l’Oréal Paris and idéalia Pro from Vichy in skin care. Agon explained such initiatives would boost brands’ growth over the upcoming 18 months.
Since many of the major projects are set to launch in October and november, Agon expects l’Oréal’s gains to be stronger in the fourth quarter than in the third quarter.
He reiterated that the group’s ambition is “to outperform the market and achieve another year of growth in sales, results and profitability.”
By lUiSA ZArGAni
MilAn — lifted by growth in all markets, particularly China, and a spike in its footwear, handbags and leather accessories and fra-grance divisions, the Salvatore ferragamo Group reported strong gains in profits and sales for the first six months of the year. in the period ended June 30, net profits at the florence-based luxury house rose 22.5 percent to 55.9 million euros, or $72.1 million, compared with 45.7 million euros, or $66.2 mil-lion, in the same period last year.
Sales climbed 22.9 percent to 565.1 million euros, or $729 mil-lion, compared with 459.7 million euros, or $666.5 million, last year.
Dollar amounts were con-verted at average exchange for the periods to which they refer.
in light of the euro zone crisis, weak global economy, a chang-ing consumer and “challeng-ing” comparable results, chief executive officer Michele norsa described the first-half numbers as “remarkable” during a confer-ence call with analysts. norsa pointed to ferragamo’s constant 20 percent growth in revenues for the last nine consecutive quarters. “The luxury industry is still proving to be resilient and still strongly influenced by Asian consumers across differ-ent regions, as they increasingly travel to europe, the West Coast, Australia or Southeast Asia,” said norsa, defining the latter as “a long-term phenomenon.”
in the first half, the Asia-Pacific region remained the group’s main market, showing a
25.8 percent rise in sales, which reached 212.4 million euros, or $274 million, and accounting for 37.6 percent of total revenues.
Growth in Asia was bolstered by ferragamo’s retail opera-tions, which in China recorded a 38 percent increase. While con-tinuing to see signs of growth in the region in first- to third-tier cities, and “substantial” gains in July, norsa conceded a “slow-down in investments in commer-cial real estate” had taken place during the quarter in China, with projects merely “postponed and not canceled.” He anticipat-ed the Chinese would be spend-ing more outside of China.
Sales in europe rose 26.4 percent and 20.6 percent in the U.S. Sales in Japan rose 9 per-cent, thanks to a favorable ex-change rate, while Central and South America posted a 34.1 percent increase.
earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amorti-zation rose 25 percent to 104.7 million euros, or $135 million.
Operating profit grew 24.7 percent to 88.4 million euros, or $114 million.
in light of the performance in the first half, the company said it expected “significant growth also throughout 2012, in the absence of severely unfa-vorable market conditions.”
in the first six months of 2012, by product category, footwear sales gained 24.3 percent; hand-bags and leather accessories rose 25.1 percent, all together account-ing for over 75 percent of total sales. The fragrance division saw a 29.4 percent increase through the launch of ferragamo’s new women’s fragrance, Signorina. responding to an analyst’s ques-tion on smaller growth in ap-parel, which was up 8.8 percent, norsa said the category was “strongly influenced by Japan,” historically a strong ready-to-wear customer for ferragamo, and now “not the best perform-ing market.” The executive ex-plained that “ready-to-wear re-mains an extremely important division in rejuvenating the brand, for its image and celebri-ties, and it is more expensive and more sophisticated than in the past. On the other hand, leather goods is our core business, and i see its growth as positive.”
As of June 30, the group had 327 directly operated stores, up from 323 at the end of December 2011, while the wholesale and travel retail channel included 267 third-party-operated stores, versus 270 at the end of last year.
THEY ARE WEARING: WALL STREET: While dark blue and gray suits still rule in the caverns of downtown Manhattan, some guys are expressing their individual style with bow ties, boutonnieres and updated sport coats. For more, see WWD.com/menswear-news.
Phot
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An image from They Are Wearing: New York City’s Wall Street.
Michele Norsa
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WWD.COM3WWD thursday, august 30, 2012
Louboutin Brings Men’s Only to NYC
J. Crew Profit Vaults Ahead
By JEAN E. PALMIERI
NEW YORK — Christian Louboutin has heard the call from men for his famous red-soled shoes. And he’s answered with today’s opening of his first U.S. men’s store in the Meatpacking District here.
The 1,500-square-foot store at 808 Washington Street is the first of three men’s-only stores to open this year. Units in London and Los Angeles are both expect-ed to debut in November, and a dual-gender store in Chicago, also slated for a fall opening, will have a floor devoted strictly to men’s shoes and accessories.
Louboutin currently operates eight women’s stores in the U.S. and opened its first men’s store on Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau in Paris, across from his original women’s store, last year.
“We sell our men’s col-lection in all our women’s stores, but this is the first rollout of a true men’s store with men’s branding,” said Carla Erice, U.S. retail director.
Alexis Mourot, chief operating officer, added: “The global strategy is to increase the number of dedicated men’s bou-tiques. At the moment, men’s makes up 5 percent of the business globally. Within the next few years, we hope to increase the business by 20 percent.”
Louboutin, a privately owned busi-ness, has sales volume of over $300 mil-lion globally.
The New York City store is located
around the corner from the company’s women’s store at 59 Horatio Street and is designed to pay homage to the industrial heritage of the neighborhood. Exposed piping and utility conduits act as the ceiling and a segment of railroad track from the nearby High Line hangs above the door. The foyer features six skylights, retrofitted with mirrors salvaged from
the Park Avenue Armory. A geometric rawhide border frames the com-pany’s signature red car-pet, while the rest of the store’s flooring features leather panels created especially for the store by Mexican artisans.
A centerpiece of the space is an ornate cap of an advertising column that Louboutin found at a flea market in Paris and reworked as a light fix-ture. It illuminates a dis-play of shoes and bags. Mimicking the Paris store, the boutique also features a diamond-pan-el leather wall embroi-
dered in various shoe patterns by Jean-Philippe Lesage’s atelier in India.
“We were inspired by Christian’s shoes and wanted the architecture to reflect a similar artistry in the crafts and multitude of ways of working with leather; so tapping various experienced artisans-artists, we set out to create a highlighted wall of leather techniques in-cluding embroidered, embossed, pleated and patterned leather,” said store design-er Eric Clough of 212box.
The rear of the store features a neon sign drawing shoppers up a flight of stairs to the “Tattoo Parlor.” Here, cus-
tomers seeking a personalized experi-ence can have a digital photo taken of their own body art, or one designed by Louboutin, that can be embroidered onto their shoes by Lesage’s atelier.
“We have a tattoo parlor in Paris and will have one in L.A. as well,” said Erice. “But not in Chicago, they’re just for the men’s stores.”
Louboutin said: “Tattoo is a modern language today, like a family crest. And this really fits the city of New York.”
The selection of shoes and accessories in the New York store is the largest in the U.S. with 100 stockkeeping units. The as-sortment ranges from a hand-painted py-thon iPad case for $1,595 and the silver spiked Syd Shopper tote bag for $3,695 to a leather and canvas backpack for $1,895. The shoe selection encompasses every-thing from the conservative Daddy flat loafer for $895 to studded Louis Strass sneakers for $2,495 — all with the compa-ny’s trademark red sole. The fall collec-tion includes an assortment tartan and wool flannel bags and shoes.
“Sneakers are where it’s at,” said Erice, adding that men’s styles have seen a high demand in the women’s stores. “Customers come in seeking it out.”
Louboutin got into the men’s business by accident. “I always did a little for me and a few friends,” he said. He soon no-ticed that men were buying some of the women’s loafers for themselves. Then one day, a French woman approached him saying she wanted to buy a pair of his shoes but her feet were quite large. He asked her how big and was greeted with indignation. “You don’t ask a woman her age, and you don’t ask a woman her shoe size,” Louboutin related.
He suggested that she write the size on a piece of paper. It was a 13 1/2. Although he didn’t even have lasts that
large, he made the shoes anyway. When they were finished, he presented them to her proudly. “She tried them on and thanked me. She’d never put on a shoe that was too big before,” he said. “And she walked out. I was ready to kill her.”
But a friend heard the story and bought the loafers as a present for her husband. They were a perfect fit — and Louboutin was in the men’s business. “In every cloud, there is a silver side,” he said.
He now has created separate collec-tions for men for two-and-a-half years. He admits that he expected his men’s designs to appeal primarily to the gay community, but it turns out they are also popular with sports stars and perform-ers, he said. The Garrett lace-up remains the most popular style, but the “superem-bellished” shoes are also strong sellers.
Stores Cope With Storm ImpactBy SHARON EDELSON
WHILE ISAAC LOST its hurricane status on Wednesday afternoon, the redesignated trop-ical storm continues to wreak havoc along the Gulf Coast.
Heavy rainfall, storm surge flooding, strong winds and possible tornadoes are ex-pected to continue through today. Images of overtopped levees, flooding, downed power lines and power outages brought to mind the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina seven years ago.
Retailers with stores that were affected by Katrina remember that it was a long road back to profitability. However, Katrina was a nine-day weather event. While Isaac is mov-ing at a snail’s pace, with its center expected to hover over Louisiana until late Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said Isaac and its remnants should dissipate during Labor Day weekend.
Wal-Mart, which closed 62 stores and Sam’s Clubs, mostly in Louisiana, declined to esti-mate sales losses during Isaac. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates annual retail sales in New Orleans alone to be $10.4 billion.
“We’re pre-staging in Baton Rouge,” a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said Wednesday af-ternoon. “[Isaac] is such a slow moving storm and so big, it hasn’t really arrived here yet. Our crews are strategically placed through-out the Gulf Coast. They’re ready to roll in once they get the say so. Luckily, we’re very fortunate at this point; we have no signifi-cant damages. We closed our stores in Baton Rouge early so our associates could be with their families. Pending the outcome of the storm, we’ll evaluate when we’ll reopen.”
Macy’s closed its five Louisiana stores on Tuesday and Wednesday. The stores are in the Mall of Louisiana and Cortana stores in Baton Rouge, the store in Lafayette is in the Acadiana Mall, and two units in New Orleans are in the Lakeside and Esplanade shopping
centers. Local teams will reassess when it’s safe to reopen those stores, Macy’s said. As of Wednesday, Macy’s had no information as to whether there was any damage to any of the stores.
The storm is expected to move next through to Arkansas, though Macy’s does not operate any stores in that state.
“It’s not like Katrina; nevertheless, this is something we are watching closely,” said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s Inc. chairman, chief executive officer and president. He said that since the storm is moving slowly, there’s time to communicate with stores and make deci-sions on protecting personnel and property.
Target Corp. operates 26 stores in the forecast path of Isaac, 11 of which were closed due to the weather. Many stores around New Orleans opened earlier than usual on Tuesday morning to serve the local community and closed early Tuesday after-noon to allow “team members adequate time to get home safely,” a spokeswoman said.
“We definitely do have some stores that are impacted, approximately 10 full-line Sears stores and 10 Kmart stores,” said a Sears Holdings Corp. spokeswoman. “They closed at various times. We’ve been bringing supplies into the area to help customers get through the storm — bottled water, batter-ies, flashlights, chainsaws and generators. We have additional trucks at the periphery of the storms. Right now, the storm is sitting over us and it hasn’t passed. Once we get the clearance from the National Weather Service that it’s safe to reopen, we’ll open.”
Box retailers and department stores down-played the lost sales while highlighting their community involvement. The Sears spokes-woman said, “We’re much more efficient at it. Katrina was a learning opportunity for us and other retailers in the community. We’ve formed better partnerships with FEMA and other disaster relief organizations.”
— With contributions from DaviD moin
compared with $12.3 million in the second quarter of 2011.
Men’s wear, according to the com-pany, increased at a higher rate than women’s last quarter, and executives cited plans to open two more units this year, including a Ludlow shop in Copley Place in Boston on Sept. 18, and a J. Crew men’s shop in The Grove in Los Angeles on Nov. 21, bringing the total to nine men’s units. J. Crew men’s wear, Drexler said, has become “quite well known as a strong franchise. Our Ludlow suit business is a business unto itself, as is our shirt business.” Ludlow is a J. Crew label.
With the rollout of men’s stores, “We are ramping up, only selective-ly,” Drexler said. “We are not running fast. We are running strategically and appropriately….I don’t think men have had a great choice in the last number of years to buy high quality at prices that are reasonable.”
Overall at the company, “We in-tensified our product offerings from a creative point of view,” Drexler said. “I would characterize the J. Crew product and merchandising as standing out in the marketplace. People voted with their pocketbooks, but we worked hard at it, and we continue to inno-vate and create every day….A lot of design-ers sell primarily ac-cessories. We are in the apparel and ac-cessory business.”
Drexler said that the brand’s pricing
below designer and the fact that J. Crew is not sold at discount in channels other than its own “long-term builds loyalty into the cus-tomer base.” He also said not being a business that designs products flaunting the logo enhances the ap-peal. “We maintain the friendliness of the brand.”
Drexler also said that certain categories were identified for in-
tensification this year, though he declined to specify, and also stressed the marketing ef-forts, including reformulating the catalogue, were in-tensified as well.
Regarding the Madewell brand, Drexler said, “We are expanding it both storewise and onlinewise. We’re very excited. We’re launching our fourth catalogue in September.”
Looks inside the Louboutin men’s shop.
{Continued from page one}
Millard “Mickey” Drexler
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The J. Crew men’s style guide.
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4 WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012
DESIGNER INSPIRATIONS(P
ART
III)
From 1935’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” to 1986’s “Thrashin’,” spring’s influences are as disparate as ever. — Taylor Harris
— RALPH LAUREN
“Collage.”— Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Proenza Schouler
“The eccentric French interior decorator Madeleine Castaing. My colors and
prints are directly inspired by her iconic palette, textiles and wallpapers.”
— Anna Sui ▲
“1935’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ — so ethereal, fantastical and sensuous.”
— James Mischka
and Mark Badgley, Badgley
Mischka
“American prep remix. Classic sportswear with artisanal textures and prints.”— Tory Burch
“Spare and elemental.”— Yeohlee Teng, Yeohlee
“I believe what we wear sometimes disguises who we really are.… I am doing a design study about revealing our true selves through clothing.”
— Norma Kamali
“Techno porcelain.” ▲— Nanette Lepore
▲
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WWD.COM5WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012
“Metamorphosis: The collection acknowledges the prophetic symbolism of the Luna Moth to exhort the evolution and transformation of an ever-intuitive Bibhu woman.”
— Bibhu Mohapatra
“Veruschka for Artisans du Liban et d’Orient, Vogue Paris September 1969.”
— Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, Marchesa
“Geometric shapes placed within an organic form.”
— Serkan Sarier, Brood
“The nomadic spirit of Americana.”
— Babi and Sachin Ahluwalia, Sachin and Babi
“From the androgynous sophisti-cation of Diane Keaton, the ease and elegance of Jane Birkin and the classical cool that is Ali MacGraw.” — Rachel Zoe
“Evasion of the monotony of daily life.”
— Sophie Theallet
“The Galapagos Islands.” — Michael Bastian,
Gant by Michael Bastian
“I came across some photographs of these incredible Japanese wisteria gardens — dense tunnels of beautiful purple blossoms.”
— Gilles Mendel, J.Mendel
“Limoges porcelain and John Donne poetry.” — Lorry Newhouse
“A glamorous evening in the Sixties in Deauville, France.”
— Dennis Basso
“Sunrise and sunset of North Africa.”— Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Elizabeth & James
— Victoria, Victoria Beckham
▲
▲
▲
FOR MORE, SEE
WWD.com/fashion-news.
TAMPA, Fla. — Anita McBride, former chief of staff for Laura Bush and currently an execu-tive in residence at American University, sat down with WWD on the second day of the Republican National Convention here for a discus-sion on a variety of topics, ranging from Ann Romney’s style, the importance of fash-ion and style in politics, the convention’s message to the so-called “war on women,” the shortcomings of the Obama administration and what Mitt Romney needs to touch on in his nomination speech tonight to get the bounce he needs to a White House victory.
— KRISTI ELLIS
WWD: What role does style play in politics, and where does Ann Romney fit in to that?Anita McBride: It’s a reality. We want our first lady, maybe some
day a first spouse, to repre-sent us beautifully. We have certainly seen that with Mrs. Obama and the focus on fash-ion, whether she wanted it or not, because she is a beauti-ful woman and enjoys wearing clothes and is comfortable in her own skin. I think people like that about her. I think Mrs. Romney, too, is comfortable with who she is.
WWD: Do you feel if Mitt Romney wins, she’ll be the same kind of champion that Mrs. Obama has been of young American designers?A.M.: I don’t know. I’m sure the campaign doesn’t want to be presumptive that she will be the first lady. I think she certainly has style. It is a style that fits her. What designer she uses, I’m not sure. I think the thing that is really important is that first la-dies are best when they are true to themselves, when they are authentic, when they don’t try to change to be someone else. She has a style that fits her, and I’m sure that’s what she’ll con-tinue to do. It’s very classic and elegant. I think how she dresses lights her up.
WWD: What did you think of Ann Romney’s red dress? (An Oscar de la Renta she wore during the prime-time speech on Tuesday night.)A.M.: Nancy Reagan really set that tone — the Reagan red. You’ll never be lost in a crowd. She really did radiate a security, a comfort level and a real resil-ience, too.
WWD: There has been talk on the Democratic side of a war against women [by Republicans]. Do you believe there is a war against women, and why are they put-ting that idea forth?A.M.: I don’t think there is. I think it really is something that has become good campaign rhetoric but bad policy to be pushing this kind of fear factor for women. It’s a good sound bite but bad policy. For all of the experience [House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi] has in the government and all the growth she has seen for women and known and presided over, to perpetrate that this war on women exists, we are setting ourselves back. Why are we doing that? It’s very backward looking. It’s not forward look-ing. We fought so hard to have a seat at the table, the economic table, the legislative table and in areas of social issues.
WWD: Do you feel that the convention theme, “A Better Future,” has been delivered successfully, and will it give a bounce to Romney?
A.M.: We’ve just had one day of the convention. We’ve had two critical speeches in prime time…that were really impor-tant for very different reasons. Mrs. Romney’s speech was in-tended to, of course, address Mitt Romney as a man and a leader, and then Gov. [Chris] Christie was intended to address the most critical problem we face and who is in the best posi-tion to do something about it. I thought his line that people will remember is that the Democrats “whistle a happy tune while driving us off the fiscal cliff,” that is really telling the truth about the state our country is in right now.…We need to address the serious problems at hand. It is the budget and deficit, and it is getting people back to work. Those are central to the health of our country and to our stand-ing in the world.
WWD: What does Gov. Romney need to do to bring his message home in his speech on Thursday and hit it out of the ballpark?
A.M.: He has to drive home ex-actly what it is that he would do on Day One and stay focused…that if we don’t protect our economy, there is nothing, first or foremost, more important. I think he has to talk more about the issues he has raised, such as energy independence.…Another priority is to review these regu-lations that have really hurt businesses and why invest-ment in the private sector has stalled, which he really believes is due to overwhelming regula-tion, which he would know as a businessman, and really look at those strongly on Day One. I think those are definitely two big priorities. But the other thing he has to do…is to make Americans believe he can do it. He has to inspire…and that is as impor-tant as knowing how to run a business, having the character to be a leader on the global front.
6 WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012
Q & A
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Ann Romney in Oscar de la Renta.
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Cortazar Links UpWith Net-a-porter
By RACHEL STRUGATZ
NEW YORK — Esteban Cortazar will introduce a namesake col-lection during New York Fashion Week, thanks to a little help from Net-a-porter.
Twenty-eight-year old Cortazar — who exited his post as head designer at Emanuel Ungaro in 2009 upon refusing to work with Lindsay Lohan — will reveal his first solo endeavor Sept. 12 on Net-a-porter.com. The e-tailer worked closely with the designer from his early sketches, to pro-ducing samples, developing a pricing structure and now, mar-keting and p.r. efforts. It’s the first time a pure play online retailer has helped a designer build a brand from the ground up.
Net-a-porter managing direc-tor Alison Loehnis and fashion di-rector Holli Rogers were involved in Cortazar’s new collection from its inception. The Colombian-born designer said the idea was hatched almost two years ago, initially as a small capsule line to be sold on Net-a-porter. It shortly turned into an exclusive relaunch of the entire brand.
“The way we’re buying his brand — our approach is that of the way we would buy into a more established brand,” Loehnis said, declining to reveal the dollar amount the company has pumped into the venture. She calls the investment “siz-able,” adding that Net-a-porter will buy the collection in a “ro-bust” way. Industry experts es-timate that retail sales for the brand have the potential to be a few million in the first year.
For the time being, the brand will be carried exclusively at the e-tailer, but Cortazar expressed a desire to eventually open up dis-tribution to select retailers while having Net-a-porter remain the exclusive online carrier.
Cortazar said the 17-look, 30-piece collection — with a neutral palette done in vary-ing matte and shiny finishes of ivory, blush, nude and baby pink — began as a “white canvas” that he built upon to signify a fresh start. His inspiration was a house in Barcelona designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. The house is also where the look book for the line was shot this summer.
The range of modern, draped-yet-tailored gowns, trousers with hardware on the hem and slits,
shorts, skirts, jackets and tops is fashioned from fabrics such as double-faced duchess satin, cot-ton wool, cadi (a mixed polyester material from Japan), chiffon and leather.
“I didn’t want to do a sports-wear collection. I wanted [to do pieces with] a complexity that is understandable and digestible — high designer looking clothes for high contemporary prices,” Cortazar said of the selection, where a rose gold oversize jersey T-shirt starts at $270, a gown can retail for around $1,800 and the most expensive piece is a $2,700 ivory cotton wool coat with a double-faced duchess satin and goat hair collar.
Cortazar has also created corresponding jewelry — a col-lar, a double-finger ring and a hand bracelet — all 22-karat
gold-plated brass adorned with jagged white quartz. To get the complete look, the de-signer partnered with Nicholas Kirkwood to design a pair of ivory high-heeled sandals with a thick, metallic gold ankle strap that will retail for $860.
Loehnis anticipates the line will resonate with con-sumers because of its ability to transcend sea-sons. This is especially important because of the site’s “buy now, wear now” philosophy, as well as its international reach (it ships to more than 150 countries).
He called the part-nership between Net-a-porter and himself a true collaboration between re-tailer and designer — and he marvels at the ability the e-tailer has to instant-ly transform a collection into a global brand by selling on just one chan-nel: online.
Loehnis said that al-though Net-a-porter has
facilitated Cortazar’s relaunch and has put ample marketing and public relations resources at his disposal, it hasn’t set the designer up with his own house.
“We helped him kick-start the business, and our role is the 21st-century marketing partner,” she said. “We’re broadcasting his brand all over the world to an incredibly affluent luxury con-sumer. It’s a global launch — ex-clusive to us in partnership with him. It’s his design and vision. We consider ourselves his mar-keting partner.”
Esteban Cortazar
Looks from the new collection.
WWD.COM
WHOSE TIME FOR T?: The staff at T: The New York Times Style Magazine was shocked when editor in chief Sally Singer announced on Wednesday that she would be leaving the company by the end of the week. It appears the same could not be said for executives at the Times, who are already talking to a few possible successors.
Deborah Needleman, editor of rival WSJ. Magazine, has been mentioned as a possibility, although many insiders believe she wouldn’t walk away from her current gig, where she oversees the glossy magazine and the Off Duty section in The Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Edition. Needleman, reached on Thursday on a beach in Indiana, far removed from the New York media world, said, “I love my job. I’m focusing on our fall-winter issues right now from the Midwest.”
GQ deputy editor Michael Hainey has also been mentioned by several sources as a possible successor to Singer. He was said to be considered for the job two years ago but was passed over for Singer. He could not be reached for comment. Another name being bandied about is Styles editor Stuart Emmrich, who is known to be a favorite of the Times’ top brass. He declined comment Wednesday. — AMY WICKS
GQ’S NORDSTROM LINK: Nordstrom may be opening its first New York flagship in 2018, but men’s shoppers will get an early chance to sample the retailer’s wares at a pop-up shop it will open with GQ from Sept. 6 to 16. The 5,500-square-foot “GQ & Nordstrom Men’s Shop” will take over the ground floor of Nordstrom’s Treasure & Bond concept store at 350 West Broadway. It will carry fashion, accessories, gadgets and custom-made pieces, selected by GQ creative director Jim Moore and his team, along with Tommy Fazio, men’s fashion director at Nordstrom.
The shop is an extension of the “GQ Selects” integrated marketing program the Condé Nast-owned title launched with Nordstrom in its July issue. Each month, GQ editors highlight key items from the pages of the magazine that can be purchased from the Nordstrom men’s e-commerce site.
“It really brings the men’s shop of Nordstrom to life. No one in New York knows what we do yet,” said Fazio. The shop will carry current Nordstrom brands like Todd Snyder, Billy Reid, Band of Outsiders and Ralph Lauren. Other brands have been introduced to the retailer by GQ, such as Smart Turnout scarves and Hav-A-Hank handkerchiefs. There will also be corners for Warby Parker eyeglasses, Dashwood books, an Other Music listening station, Stumptown Coffee bar and complimentary Freemans Sporting Club shaves. Exclusive product will include custom Miansai bracelets and New Balance sneakers designed by Moore himself.
As with the Treasure & Bond store, all profits from the GQ & Nordstrom Men’s Shop will go toward designated New York City charities, which for this quarter are the National Dance Institute and Girls Write Now. The second floor of the store will remain open with Treasure & Bond merchandise.
The men’s store will kick off with a party on Sept. 6, which coincides with Fashion’s Night Out, followed by a series of nightly events, such as an AG Adriano Goldschmied trunk show, an NFL viewing party, a John Varvatos and Chrysler event and a Bombay Sapphire mixology evening. — DAVID LIPKE
7WWD thursday, august 30, 2012
Fashion scoops KEEPING UP WITH KIM: Old Navy and Kim Kardashian have settled a lawsuit filed by the reality star in July 2011 alleging that a television commercial titled “Super C-U-T-E” violated her publicity rights by using a look-alike model, Canadian singer Melissa Molinaro. “The lawsuit was resolved to mutual satisfaction of both parties, but beyond that it’s the only statement we have,” said Kardashian’s attorney, Gary A. Hecker. No details about the settlement have been filed, but Kardashian was seeking unspecified damages and an order barring the retailer from using a look-alike model again. — MARCY MEDINA
NINE WEST’S NEW CONCEPT: Nine West is about to start an aggressive rollout of three new concepts for its retail stores beginning next week in New York City. The first boutique, “The World According to 9,” will open Tuesday
at 555 Madison Avenue and features merchandised, editorial walls. The brand sees this approach — comprised of trend-driven walls centered around themes such as “rocker glam,” “boho chic” and “wall of pumps” — as an easier way to navigate the store. The unit will also house the brand’s premiere handbag “shop-in-shop,” carrying cosmetic cases, wallets, wristlets, mini tech cross-bodys and iPad sleeves.
The second ship, “Vintage America Collection,” will bow in SoHo the same day, an extension of the six-year-old line that’s being transformed into a fully realized entity with its own store. It will carry exclusive products from collaborations with former Shopbop fashion director Kate Ciepluch (with her own Kate’s Kartel collection), Monica Botkier, Dudine, Cynthia Dugan and Theodora & Callum.
On Sept. 18, Nine West will reopen its Lexington Avenue store with nine merchandised walls.
“The new Nine West stores not only create an amazing new shopping experience, but revolutionize the way footwear shops will be merchandised and marketed in the future,” said Richard Dickson, president and chief executive officer of branded business at The Jones Group Inc. — RACHEL STRUGATZ
SET FOR STYLE: The ninth annual Style Awards, which will take place Sept. 5 on The Stage at New York’s Lincoln Center, is lining up its red-carpet walkers. A slew of designers are expected to attend, despite the event’s proximity to New York Fashion Week, including Carolina Herrera, Reed Krakoff, Vera Wang, Prabal Gurung, Catherine Malandrino, Brian Atwood, Rebecca Minkoff, Stacey Bendet, Lisa Perry, Reem Acra and Timo Weiland, as
well as Karlie Kloss, Iman, Donald Trump and Henrik Lundqvist. The event — which will award style kudos for designer, breakthrough designer, model, celebrity stylist, accessories designer and athlete, is being held by Penske Media Corp., Style Media and IMG Fashion. — AMY WICKS
ANOTHER GAMES: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined Queen Elizabeth II to attend London’s Paralympic Games opening ceremony
Wednesday. The royal couple, who are ambassadors for Paralympics GB, the British team, watched British figures including physicist Stephen Hawking and actor Sir Ian McKellan take part in the high-octane event, which was conceived by co-artistic directors Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings. Kate wore a cream coat dress by Day Birger et Mikkelsen, while the Queen was dressed in a floral, pale blue and cream dress and jacket designed by her dressmaker, Angela Kelly.
This week Kate and William are set to attend Paralympics events including goalball and track cycling today, while Kate is due to watch swimming races later in the day and athletics on Sunday. Prince Harry, who is also an ambassador for Paralympics GB, is due to make an appearance at the games on Monday, to watch swimming events. It will be the first public appearance for the prince since risqué pictures of him partying in Las Vegas appeared in a number of newspapers and were spread across the Internet last week. Presumably he’ll be clothed for the games. — NINA JONES
FULL-COURT PRESS: Andy Hilfiger may know a lot about music, but this week his interest lies in tennis. He has lined up Bethanie Mattek-Sands to sport his Andrew Charles fashion label on and off the court. The 27-year-old American tennis star has a full schedule at the U.S. Open, competing in the singles, doubles and mixed-doubles brackets. Her first-round singles opponent, Venus Williams, proved to be too great a challenge. Mattek-Sands, who was ranked 212th going into the tournament, was knocked out by the seven-time Grand Slammer Tuesday.
Nicknamed the “Lady Gaga of the tennis world” by some media court watchers, Mattek-Sands is known for her offbeat fashion sense. With Andrew Charles, she follows in the footsteps of Steven Tyler, who inspired last fall’s collection. The former “American Idol” judge and his youngest daughter, Chelsea, also appeared in ads. Hilfiger, the brand’s creative director, said Mattek-Sands is in a similar vein. “Bethanie Mattek-Sands embodies the attitude of Andrew Charles. She’s a true rock star on the court,” he said.
— ROSEMARY FEITELBERG
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A rendering of the “Vintage America Collection” store in SoHo.
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ATTENTIONCLASSIFIED ADVERTISERS
In observance of the Labor Day Holiday,WWD will not publish on Monday, 9/3
Fairchild offices also will be closed that day.Deadline for issue of Tuesday, 9/4 will be
Friday, 8/31 at 11am.
Thank you for your cooperation.
8 WWD thursday, august 30, 2012
he believes will prosper by following in The Grove’s footsteps.
Attracting more than 18 million visitors annually — more than Disneyland, more than the Great Wall of China and more than the Eiffel Tower — Caruso estimated The Grove should end this year with sales per square foot in excess of $1,400, plac-ing it among the top-performing shopping centers in the nation. The International Council of Shopping Centers reports the average annual sales per square foot in shopping centers was around $442 as of June. The Americana is close behind, gen-erating nearly $1,200 in sales per square foot, according to Caruso.
“We’ve had a really good year. At The Grove, the performance is just unbeliev-able, and we are investing a lot back into it,” he said. Ultimately, though, he said, “I’ve always predicted that The Americana, in the long run, will outpace The Grove in sales, and I’m confident I’m right.”
Caruso calculated his company would pump $20 million into The Grove this year to upgrade the lobby and storefronts, and enhance services. He is bringing Stylehaüs, a personal styling service, in with the upgrades to provide customers access to clothes that are right for them, regardless of whether those items are sold at The Grove. Caruso argues that if people come to his shopping centers, they will shop or eat. “The spend rate on our prop-erties is twice that of a mall,” he said. “Our conversion rate is 90 percent, which is un-heard of on a property. Malls, on average, are 50 percent, so we have more people spending more frequently on the prop-erties, but we put them in a good mood. When people are in a good mood, they are going to spend.”
In addition to Stylehaüs, the new slate of retailers at The Grove will be a major draw. Topshop, scheduled to of-ficially open in February, is prob-ably its biggest coup. After some two years of negotiations, Topshop owner Sir Philip Green decided upon a 25,000-square-foot store at The Grove that had housed Banana Republic, which has relo-cated to a former Victoria’s Secret space, for the first Topshop in California. Michael Kors will also enlarge its footprint at the center with a fresh store, while Vince is heading to Michael Kors’ current spot. PacSun will become a J. Crew Men’s store, one of the first outside of New York, and the existing J. Crew store will be strengthened by inserting J. Crew Collection. Madewell will open where Arden B. is, and Nordstrom will start re-modeling its store soon to finish a restaurant and an expanded shoe department, among other improve-ments, possibly by summer 2013.
“We are adding the best retail-ers in the country—frankly, in the world,” said Caruso, who contin-ued, “We are looking at adding a little bit more luxury, but we don’t want to be Rodeo Drive. We still want to have a pretty wide band so that there are a lot of shopping op-portunities. We just always want to be ahead of the curve. I know in retail if you are not evolving and moving forward, you are falling behind very quickly.”
The retail mix isn’t solely re-sponsible for Caruso Affiliated’s performance. The company has been a pioneer in using its facili-ties for entertainment purposes. Its prop-erties host around 350 events a year, and The Grove receives television exposure every weekday due to the celebrity news show “Extra” filming at the shopping cen-ter. Caruso asserts the events are critical, but stresses not all of them are right for his properties. “A concert — I don’t want to name a name of the entertainer we’ve had on the property —pulled a very, very young
crowd. It was hugely successful, but we be-came a babysitter, and we learned a lesson that that didn’t drive sales, that just drove chaos.” he said. “I always say, ‘We are not an entertainment center. We are a shopping center that’s entertaining to be in.’ I think there’s a big difference.”
Given today’s demanding retail climate, Caruso contends that shopping centers must pamper shoppers and retailers must offer them value, but Caruso Affiliated’s growth demonstrates that shoppers will part with their money. “The consumer in the United States is over the hump,” he said. “They are cautious because I don’t think the average consumer, rightfully so, understands all the issues going on in Europe and how they affect us, and then you have an election going on.”
With consumers being finicky about where they spend, he added, “ ‘A’ malls will continue to do well. ‘B’ and ‘C’ malls are going to get redeveloped into some-thing else. I don’t think they have a long life ahead of them. I think the lifestyle centers, like all of our properties, are going to continue to thrive, because they are well located, they are well tenanted, they are well designed and they fit the needs of the community.”
The Grove’s results have allowed Caruso to engage in leases with shorter terms and no options, but that hasn’t dis-suaded retailers. They are clamoring to secure space, and wait lists are the norm. Millard “Mickey” Drexler, chief executive officer of J. Crew Group Inc. and a critic of malls, said the reason is simple: “The Grove is arguably the best shopping center in Los Angeles, the most productive, draw-ing the most people.”
He added, “I think he [Caruso] is ex-tremely picky about his tenants. He is al-ways working to improve the center. Any great center is the vision of the developer.”
Caruso Affiliated details the center’s customer has a median age of 35 and an av-erage household income of $125,000.
The Nordstrom at The Grove “has from Day One performed well and exceeded our expectations,” said Nordstrom Inc. president Blake Nordstrom. The company is remodeling the store, he said, because “we want to make sure that store in that environment is current and up to date.
We think we have an opportunity to make some adjustments.”
Nordstrom, which had a store at the Glendale Galleria, will open a store at The Americana in fall 2013. “We have been in Glendale for a long time and have done a lot of business there. The [Glendale Galleria] center is a good center, but it is an older center. Rick’s Americana is newer and more current, and the mix of tenants and other attributes are very attractive,” said Nordstrom. “We just always aspire to be in the best locations.”
Additions to The Americana this year include Ilori and Disney Baby.
Although The Americana and The Grove, where Caruso maintains an office, are clearly the gems of Caruso Affiliated, Caruso is looking beyond them to build his company. Graphs on the company’s Web site show compound annual growth rates in its revenues and its asset base of 19 per-cent and 15 percent, respectively, since 1996 — and Caruso is making moves to keep the momentum going. He said there are three properties in the Los Angeles
area that he is interested in buying, two retail and one residential.
Outside of Los Angeles, Caruso is making a push into Northern California and the San Diego re-gion. In Northern California, he di-vulged, “there are about three that we would like to get. There’s one that we are about to sign a purchase agreement on, and we are excited about that.” In the San Diego area, he said, “We are planning on build-ing a project that is very much The Grove. Right now, we are calling it The Grove as a working name. We are in escrow.” Long before the shovels enter the ground on those projects, Caruso will have polished off 8500, a complex with 88 luxury apartments, a Trader Joe’s and an eatery called The Larder at 8500 Burton Way in L.A.
The best-laid plans have not al-ways turned into retail reality for Caruso Affiliated. He tried for seven years to put a shopping center in Santa Anita, but stopped that pro-cess last year. His partner in the ef-fort, Magna Entertainment Corp., had filed for bankruptcy, and Caruso faced opposition from rival shopping center Westfield Santa Anita.
Caruso doesn’t shy away from op-position. He fought pitched battles against Glendale Galleria owner General Growth Properties Inc. in court and the ballot box over The Americana. He prides himself on taking on difficult developments where barriers to entry are high. In the early days of Caruso Affiliated, he said, an “underlying premise was
that I wanted to find properties that had complicated entitlements that we could get through and, since I had been a [police] commissioner with the city, I sort of under-stood how the bureaucracy worked and how I could get through the bureaucracy.”
Caruso admits he is highly competi-tive, and Drexler said he can be dogged in leasing negotiations. “He has a great prod-uct, and he charges for his great product.
He’s tough, and he deserves to be,” said Drexler. Nordstrom said, “He is focused, and he is committed to seeing things through. You need those qualities in his niche of the business. Our folks have had success working with him because I think he’s pretty straightforward in his commu-nication. It is easy to know where he stands and what he can and cannot do. To date, his word has been good.”
Caruso considers his personality a good fit for a political campaign (“I would find it fun,” he said) — and Angelenos might get a chance to judge if that’s the case. He has toyed with the idea of running for mayor for quite some time and said he would determine if he is going to run within weeks. He has already prepared his com-pany to operate without him in the event he becomes a candidate. “I would appoint an interim ceo and there would be [chief operating officer] Paul [Kurzawa] and the executive committee that would run the company,” he outlined.
Caruso’s possible platform will rely heavily on his business background. “You have got to create an environment in which people want to invest in the city. I know from my experience building things inside of Los Angeles and outside of Los Angles that in Los Angeles, it is unbelievably complicated and difficult, and it shouldn’t be,” he said. He continued, “You also have got to get rid of the gross sales tax in this city. You can take your business and move it to Glendale or El Segundo and have no gross sales tax. So El Segundo has picked up most of the businesses that have moved out of L.A.”
Winning the race for mayor won’t be easy. Caruso did get help last week when Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who would have perhaps been the front-runner, said he wouldn’t run. Still, the remaining candidates — City Controller Wendy Greuel, and City Council members Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry — will provide fierce competition. Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior fellow at the University of Southern California and political analyst for KNBC Los Angeles, said Caruso has the advan-tages of having a deep well to draw from for campaign funding — the Los Angeles Business Journal this year approximated his net worth at $2.2 billion — and the ability to emphasize his role as a govern-ment outsider. On the other hand, she said his problems are that he isn’t well known and his business background alone won’t persuade voters that he should be mayor. Bebitch Jeffe said, “It just doesn’t count that you are a businessman and you remind people of [former mayor] Richard Riordan. You have to have a lot more.”
Caruso is not discouraged. “If I didn’t think I could win, I wouldn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it,” he said. “We’ve done a number of polls. We understand the voter base pretty well. I think the tim-ing is right, because there is a frustration level in the city. The two or three competi-tors are all terrific people, but they are part of the problem, not part of the solu-tion. They’ve been there for years and years and years. So I think the timing is very right and the polling shows that. The challenge for me is making the decision to step away from the company.”
By RACHEL BROWN
LOS ANGELES — A decade after the nation’s pre-mier lifestyle center, The Grove, opened, Rick Caruso still doesn’t get exactly what a lifestyle center is, but he’s convinced it’s something that’s here to stay.
“I don’t really know what the definition is. Some definitions, I hear there is no anchor. Some defini-tions, there is an anchor. Some are not more than 300,000 square feet,” said Caruso, president and chief executive officer of Caruso Affiliated, owner of 13 res-idential and retail properties in Southern California, including The Grove and The Americana at Brand. “We are building what we know the guest responds to, which is an environment that feels more like a street and is architecturally real, has great landscaping and is programmed. Every day there is something hap-pening on the property. I think that if that’s the defini-tion of a lifestyle center, it will be successful forever. It’s natural to the human being — how the human being lives and works and plays.”
Caruso has certainly banked the future of his company — even without him at the helm, should he choose to step into the race for mayor of Los Angeles — on lifestyle centers being a permanent fixture of the California shopping landscape. With 10-year leases up at The Grove, the shopping center’s ten-ant mix is shifting to make room for retailers that have track records of recent success. And Caruso Affiliated is pursuing an expansion program de-signed to double its net operating income within the next five years, in part by acquiring properties that
I always say, ‘We are not an entertainment center. We
are a shopping center that’s entertaining to be in.’ I think
there’s a big difference.— Rick caRuso, caRuso affiliated
Shopping at The Grove.
Caruso Grows The Grove{Continued from page one}
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Jos. A. BankTo Expand To 800 Stores
August 30, 2012
RETAIL ROLLOUT
{Continued on page MW2}PHOTO BY RYAN KIBLER
Casual Fridays are a thing of the past. Whether they opt
for a traditional navy suit in a more formfitting shape or a contemporary variation, men
in the financial community today understand the power of dressing — a phenomenon that is driving sales of men’s wear for retailers around the
country. For more on Wall Street fashion, see page MW3.
by JEAN E. PALMIERI
JOS. A BANK CLOTHIERS INC. has put its foot back on the accelerator.
After a minor stumble in the first quarter, the Hampstead, Md.-based retailer said sec-ond-quarter profits topped expectations and that it was aggressively planning to increase its store count. The company currently oper-ates 572 stores, but said it now envisions an 800-unit chain. The previous plan had been to grow to between 650 and 675 stores. The goal now is to eventually operate 700 full-line stores and 100 factory outlets.
The company attributed its heightened expansion plan to the “positive operat-ing results of the new full-line and factory stores [it] has opened in the past several years” and its “strong balance sheet.”
The retailer will open 45 to 50 stores in both fiscal years 2012 and 2013, a number that includes about 10 outlets each year.
“We are very excited to announce this increase in our store growth potential and the continuance of this very important part of our overall growth program,” said R. Neal Black, chairman and chief executive officer. “This increase further solidifies the strength of our brand, which continues to gain prom-inence in the U.S. market through our ex-isting store presence, our advertising and marketing campaigns and our e-commerce platforms, among other factors.”
He said the company’s previous goal was to have 600 full-line and 50 to 75 fac-tory outlets. “We’ve mapped every zip code in the USA and we are confident in these new numbers. Now we just have to get the right real estate deals, and doing that will dictate the time frame. We have opened 16 stores already this year and we think we will get a total of 45 to 50 open both this year and next year, which includes 10 fac-tory stores in each year.”
In the second quarter ended July 28, profits rose 12.7 percent to $23.2 million, or 83 cents a diluted share, from $20.6 mil-lion, or 74 cents, a year earlier. Earnings per share came in 10 cents ahead of the 73 cents analysts, on average, had projected.
Sales for the three months ended July 28 increased 12.9 percent to $260.3 million from $230.7 million as same-store sales rose 6.1 percent and direct marketing revenues advanced 39.3 percent.
This contrasts to the first quarter when the company had a rare sales and revenue miss, posting a 16.7 percent decline in first-quarter profits on a 4.2 percent sales gain.
In the second quarter, gross margin re-ceded to 58.7 percent of sales from 62.4 percent in the comparable 2011 quarter,
Specialty chain also posts 12.7 percent profit jump in second quarter.
Dressy Street
POLS OF THE WEEK
Political PosturingWhile Mitt Romney seems to have lost some of his on-the-trail flair, President Obama’s style befits the Commander in Chief. Page MW4
PLUS: A look at J. Press York Street, the new collection designed by Ariel and Shimon Ovadia for the venerable Ivy League specialty store. Page MW2
Men’s WeekMW2 WWD Thursday, augusT 30, 2012
Ovadia & Sons Mines J. Press Heritage for York Street Line
by JEAN E. PALMIERI It Now hAs a name and an aggressive marketing plan.
J. Press York street is the moniker for the new collection designed by Ariel and shimon ovadia of ovadia & sons for the venerable Ivy League specialty store. the collection, which will be previewed next week for a spring launch, consists of a few-hundred pieces ranging from swim trunks and tank tops to ac-cessories and suits.
“My brother and I designed it,” said shimon ovadia. “And it came together quickly. It’s a total lifestyle brand. we didn’t do footwear, but we did everything else.”
As reported, the ovadia twins were tapped by J. Press to serve as creative direc-tors of a new line of men’s wear, a line that is also being wholesaled to other select stores, including Fred segal, according to ovadia.
It will be carried in the four J. Press stores — Manhattan, New haven, Conn.,
Cambridge, Mass. and washington, D.C. — and ovadia said a freestanding store for the line will open in the spring in New York City. “when the owners of the company saw the line, they decided to add it to their existing stores,” ovadia said. “they won’t carry the entire collection, but will mix pieces [into their existing assortment.] And then they’re going to open a stand-alone shop in the spring,” he said, although the location has not been determined.
Yuki okita, president and chief executive officer of J. Press, said distribution will be expanded outside the U.s. starting next year.
“we are planning to distribute J. Press York street in Japan and Asia from next fall, with the U.K. to follow shortly thereaf-ter,” he said.
he said the company “put much thought and consideration into partnering with Ariel and shimon as creative directors for the new J. Press York street range. Ultimately, we wanted to work with them because they
weren’t interested in trying to change the core of what J. Press is and what it stands for. Ariel and shimon understood that the brand is not a borrowed heritage, that J. Press has a real provenance, and they respected that. Another positive aspect is the fact that they are young, but still they understand and respect the DNA of this storied American clothier. For them, J.
Press’ heritage will always be at the core of everything we do in the future, and they were fascinated by the idea of infusing new into old.”
ovadia likened working with J. Press to finding a “sunken ship with treasure” that he and his brother can now revive. Ariel ovadia said, “we had a vision of bringing the brand up to date with great fresh clothing while still keeping with the company’s rich history and traditions, and we believe that the spring 2013 collection of York street has accom-plished just that.”
Among the pieces are sack suits in an updated silhouette for $495 to $750; a mod-ern raincoat in a double-faced water-resis-tant British Millerain fabric; woven shirts in 80s two-ply cottons for $98 to $130; ties, socks and scarves in Ivy League colors, and grosgrain belts.
the name of the collection is derived from the location of the first store opened by Jacobi Press on Yale’s campus in 1902, on 262 York street.
“this year marks J. Press’ 110th year in business, and we are very excited to intro-duce a modern evolution of our heritage with the J. Press York street collection.” okita said. onward Kashiyama bought the business in 1986.
In addition to the J. Press collection, the ovadia brothers have created a new line for Barneys New York under the label ovadia & sons New York. shimon ovadia said the line is designed to appeal to a “more advanced cus-tomer” and features “more elevated fabrics, bodies and design details.” A wool bomber jacket with a fur collar, sport coats, wool flan-nel shooting vests, dress shirts, sport shirts and ties are among the pieces created for the retailer. “It’s its own little world,” shimon ovadia said. the collection is being offered for the fall season.
the ovadias grew up working in the fam-ily’s children’s wear business, Magic Kids Inc., a $10 million distribution company that specializes in closeouts, and launched their vintage-inspired men’s collection in 2010. the brand offers a modern interpreta-tion of American and English classics, and it was recently named one of GQ’s Best New Menswear Designers in America.
by sAMANthA CoNtI LoNDoN — two years ago, the best-selling suit at selfridges was gray — across all de-signers and labels.
Boy, have times changed.this week, the store is unveiling a new
men’s designer area, Destination: Men’s wear, in the first floor atrium of the oxford street store. the 3,240-square-foot space will feature labels new to the store includ-ing Lanvin and Marni, as well as Balenciaga, saint Laurent Paris, Comme des Garçons, Junya watanabe, Jil sander and Rick owens.
the focus will be on fashion pieces, and straight-off-the-runway styles, according to David walker-smith, director of men’s wear. “Men are buying statement pieces, and color and print are being recognized. today, men are dressing to say: ‘this is who I am.’ they are embracing fashion with confidence,” said walker-smith in his sun-drenched office at the store.
he said Prada men’s has been outper-forming, with men preferring to pick up runway and catwalk pieces rather than clas-sics and staples. with tom Ford, the items featured in the designer’s lookbooks and ad-vertising are the biggest sellers. “that busi-ness has been way above what we originally planned,” he said, referring to Ford.
overall, the men’s designer business at the store is witnessing double-digit growth, said walker-smith, with some of the big-gest increases coming from labels such as Vivienne westwood, Maison Martin Margiela and Givenchy. walker-smith declined to give any sales figures or projections.
the opening is part of a multi-million dol-lar redevelopment strategy for men’s wear
and accessories. the architect Alex Cochrane has designed the space around three sculp-tural plinths. the floor is made from stones cut in a hexagonal pattern, while freestand-ing rails made from brass with a bronze finish are meant to invite the customer in to wander and explore. the overall feeling is meant to be organic and fluid.
there will also be a feature wall of highly polished steel at the back that will be used for brand-specific pop-up concepts. the wall will launch with an installation by Lanvin. “From the start, we challenged the conventional approaches towards retail design, luxury and display,” said Cochrane.“In essence, our approach was sculpture park meets retail.”
walker-smith added: “the space is sim-ple so that the product can sing.”
the store has also turned much of its at-tention to the fitting rooms, which are done in cobalt blue, with gray tweed. the area will offer beer, coffee and tea and have a sofa for shopping buddies.
the new department is only part of the story. In November, walker-smith will over-see the opening of the nearby men’s shoe hall, a 10,000-square-foot space — double the size of the previous one — with brands ranging from Converse to tod’s and Prada.
Designed by the Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen, the space will have three brand boutiques and two bespoke salons as well as a pop-up area for special projects.
there will be 250 brands on offer, and ex-clusives by Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, Kenzo and Lanvin. walker-smith said it would be a “total destination” that will be organized by category, such as driving shoes, made-to-mea-sure, classics, collaborations and catwalk.
Selfridges Expands Men’s Offering Jos. A. Bank to Add 50 Stores a Yearwhile the decline in operating margin was smaller, a descent of 70 basis points to 14.3 percent of sales from 15 percent a year ago.
Black said he attributed the uptick in the second quarter to “a refreshing of our marketing formats, particularly new cre-ative formats on tV and in direct mail.” he detailed that suits continue to lead the way, driven by tailored and slim-fit mod-els. “tailored fit is particularly strong be-cause it’s a model that a man with an av-erage body shape can wear for a trimmer and more modern look,” Black said.
he said promotional activity remains “very important and customers still want deals. they are watching their spending and looking for value. I expect it to remain that way through the rest of the year.”
Investors, who are always eager for pleasant surprises and continued expansion, pushed shares of the firm up 14 percent to $47.44 in trading on wall street on wednesday.
In a research report issued wednesday, Margaret whitfield of sterne Agee raised her full-year earnings estimates for the company to $3.67 a share from $3.55, and elevated the stock’s target price to $60 from $57.
she said the comp-store sales increase in the second quarter was “led by trans-actions as Jos. A. Bank focused upon big-ticket items with strong unit growth in suits and dress shirts with moderate growth in sportswear and other tailored [apparel.]” the 370-basis-point decline in gross margin was “offset in part by im-provement in sales and marketing and general and administrative” costs.
Looking ahead, Black said the company
is seeing positive momentum so far in the third quarter.
“Keeping in mind that sales are just one component of net income, and that sales for any one month are not neces-sarily indicative of sales for the entire quarter, we are nevertheless pleased to announce that the third quarter has start-ed out positively,” he said. “Both our com-parable-store sales and direct marketing sales are up in fiscal August compared to the same period last year.”
the earnings “beat” in the second quar-ter wasn’t quite sufficient to elevate the company’s year-to-date profits. For the six months, net income was down 1 percent, to $38 million, or $1.36 a diluted share, from $38.3 million, or $1.37, in the first half of 2011. Aided by a 2.9 percent increase in same-store sales and a 19.8 percent growth rate for direct marketing, revenues expanded 8.9 percent to $461.7 million from $423.9 million.
— With Contributions from ArnoLD J. KArr
{Continued from page MW1}
Ovadia & Sons New York is a Barneys exclusive.
Looks from J. Press York Street.
Jos. A Bank’s store count is expected to rise to 800.
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Men’s Week MW3WWD thursday, august 30, 2012
Back to Business Even during the unrelenting heat of a New York City summer, today’s Wall Street workers understand the need for dressing to impress. While dark blue and gray suits still rule in the caverns of downtown Manhattan, some guys are expressing their individual style with bow ties, boutonnieres and updated sport coats. — ALEX BADIA
He’s obviously feeling the heat; try some blotting paper. at least his hair still looks debonair.
every president goes gray, and Obama is no exception. But his salt-and-pepper locks make him look more seasoned. a cleaner fold would help
look less sloppy.
the tie has been loosened enough to make him look approachable and relaxed yet still in control. and the blue and white repp stripe is elegant and all-american.
the slim white shirt is empowering and sleek.
Sport shirts are more appropriate with casual pants. With a suit pant, stick to a dress shirt.
With many brands now offering formfitting shirts, no need to continue going for the boxy, oversize cut.
Bravo — this is exactly the way to roll a cuff.
Formfitting pants, maybe in a cotton blend, would be better suited for the occasion.
the cuffed pant works perfectly with the dress shoe and helps balance the formal-yet-casual approach.
the comfy orthopedic driving shoes are totally inappropriate with a dress pant and make him look dumpy and old.
Long gone are the days when Mitt Romney dressed with a European flair like when he was vying for the nomination. Now that he’s gotten the Republican nod, he’s lost his knack for power dressing. On the other hand, Barack Obama continues to look like the man in charge. Even without his blazer, he looks polished and sharp.
Saint James Opens Store in N.Y.’s West VillageSaint JameS has dropped an-chor in the West Village.
the French nautical brand has relocated its new York City store from 79th Street and madison avenue to 319 Bleecker Street, as it seeks to be closer to its customer base.
“a lot of our customers come from downtown,” said Guillaume Jamet, general manager for the U.S. division. “they’re artists and young people, so it made sense to move closer to where they live and shop.” the madison avenue unit opened seven years ago and was the company’s first store out-side of France, but the brand has evolved over the past few years and it was time for a new look.
“this is a great occasion to tell our story and offer the Saint James experience,” he said.
the 600-square-foot store, which opened Wednesday, car-ries both men’s and women’s apparel and accessories, and it includes several limited-edition products, such as special colors and cuts of Saint James classics.
it is designed to “feel like you’re on the French Riviera and it’s been there for centuries — but modern as well,” Jamet said. Channeling its nautical roots, the store features shelves made from
reclaimed driftwood, display boxes made from jute, and histor-ical photos of the brand that was founded over 120 years ago. “We really want people to feel the his-tory of the company,” he said.
Saint James is known for pro-ducing the striped Breton shirt that has been part of the French naval uniform since 1848. the 21 stripes on the combed cotton jer-sey correspond to a naval victory of napoleon’s French fleet against the British, according to company lore. its fisherman sweater has been worn by anglers since the 19th century and the brand still outfits the French army and navy with their official uniform sweat-ers. its factory is still located in the village of Saint-James, popu-lation 3,000, about 13 miles from mont Saint-michel.
Jamet said there are no plans to add more stores in the States at this point. “We’re going to have just this one for now,” he said. “We’re crossing our fingers, but we think it’ll be a great store. and we want to tell our story in other places, so eventually we will have a few more, but not right away.”
in addition to the new store, Saint James has created its first capsule collection for Barneys
new York. the collection con-sists of eight pieces based on Saint James’ history as a manu-facturer of hefty knitwear. it in-cludes classic american styles such as varsity jackets, shawl collar cardigans, bomber jackets, knit pants, crewneck sweatshirts and Henley shirts with a French flair. all of the pieces were man-ufactured in France and retail from $115 for the Henley to $625 for the cardigan. the capsule will be carried in Barneys’ stores in new York, Beverly Hills, San Francisco and online.
the company also commis-sioned a calendar that was given out at an event Wednesday night celebrating the store and the launch of the capsule collection. the calendar was shot by Bill Gentle of Backyard Bill and fea-tures new York personalities, in-cluding John and mark Barboni, owners of Hudson Clearwater res-taurant; photographer mirabelle marden; architect Kelechi Odu; author Glenn O’Brien, and his son and actor alex Burns.
the Saint James collection is carried in over 220 retailers in the U.S. Worldwide, it operates over 50 stores, including 10 in Japan. the line is also available in europe, Korea and China.
— J.E.P.
Scott James Sets Growth Strategy by Jean e. PaLmieRi
SCOtt JameS is expanding its footprint.
the men’s sportswear brand, which is owned by Hampshire Group Ltd., will open a new store in Boston and begin distributing its collection in Canada. the company has also created a boys’ wear line for Bloomingdale’s.
Heath Golden, president and chief executive officer of Hampshire, which purchased the label two years ago, said the moves are all part of the plan to broaden the brand’s distribu-tion and take it international.
the first step is the signing of a three-year licensing agreement with Oneagency, part of the trimera Group, to distribute Scott James in Canada, beginning with the spring collection. “their knowledge, ex-tensive network of clients and well-established track record of distribut-ing great brands in this market will be extremely valuable to us,” Golden said. Rosa Costa, president of Oneagency, said Scott James “with its european flair for combining fab-ric and fit with affordable style…fills a void in our marketplace.”
Golden said there’s a “net spill-over effect” into Canada when U.S. brands begin to gain traction. “and we felt the aesthetic, and price-value relationship we offer would be appli-cable to Canada. We believe there’s a big opportunity for us there.”
He said the company hopes to get the brand positioned in the best specialty stores in that country. in the U.S., it is sold in high-end retail-
ers including Bloomingdale’s, Oak Hall, taylor Richards & Conger, Kilgore trout and others. mr. Sid in newton, mass., and Shaia’s in Birmingham, ala., recently installed in-store shops for the label.
the brand also showed at the last Pitti Uomo men’s show in Florence and will be opening a showroom in milan this fall, Golden said, add-ing that, in addition to europe and Canada, the company is targeting australia and mexico for the future.
Closer to home, Golden said the company will open a new Scott James store at 173 newbury Street in Boston in early September. the 1,187-square-foot store replaces a larger unit on the same block that had been opened by the brand’s designer, Scott James Kuhlman, before company was acquired by Hampshire. “there was no real in-vestment in it,” Golden said. “and it had a month-to-month lease. But by accident, we did really well there, so we decided to open a permanent store.”
He said if the store continues to perform well, the company would consider adding other doors in the future “in a handful of great cities.”
On the wholesale end, Scott James has created a boys’ collection exclusively for Bloomingdale’s. it is being sold alongside John Varvatos and Hugo Boss in a newly installed area within the 59th Street flag-ship, as well as in Short Hills, n.J., aventura, Fla., and Sherman Oaks, Calif. the line includes knits, bot-toms, sweaters and outerwear.
“We found out Scott James can look great scaled down,” Golden said.
earlier this month, Hampshire reported a net loss for the second quarter of $3.8 million, or 51 cents a diluted share, versus net income of $3.1 million, or 55 cents, for the year-ago period. Sales more than quintupled to $18.1 million from $3.5 million.
Golden said Scott James is “still the smallest thing we do as a corporation, but has a higher gross margin [than our other busi-nesses] and is a critical part of our corporate strategy.”
romney:face: He’s obviously feeling the heat; try some blotting paper. at least his hair still looks debonair.shirt collar: Sport shirts are more appropriate with casual pants. With a suit pant, stick to a dress shirt.shirt: With many brands now offering formfitting shirts, no need to continue going for the boxy, oversize cut.right sleeve: a cleaner fold would help look less sloppy. pants: Formfitting pants, maybe in a cotton blend, would be better suited for the occasion.shoes: the comfy orthopedic driving shoes are totally inappropriate with a dress pant and make him look dumpy and old.
Obama:hair: every president goes gray, and Obama is no exception. But his salt-and-pepper locks make him look more seasoned.shirt: the slim white shirt is empowering and sleek. tie: the tie has been loosened enough to make him look approachable and relaxed yet still in control. and the blue and white repp stripe is elegant and all-american.cuff: Bravo — this is exactly the way to roll a cuff.pleat in the pant: the single pleat allows for a bit of shape and adds a playful sophistication.cuff on pant: the cuffed pant works perfectly with the dress shoe and helps balance the formal yet casual approach.
Editor’s Note: In honor of the presidential campaign season, Men’s Week is focusing on the presidential and vice presidential race in its new Pols of the Week feature.
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EdITOR’s NOTE: In honor of the presidential campaign season, Men’s Week is focusing on the presidential and vice presidential race in its new Pols of the Week feature.
the store is located on christopher Street.
the Saint James calendar models are wearing the Barneys’ capsule collection.
