IN WWD TODAY MISSION ACCOMPLISHED P&G’s Bergh Lands CEO Role With Levi’s PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO WWD FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY ■ $3.00 Hi, Hi Heidi Heidi Klum discusses “Project Runway,” her move into multimedia, photo retouching, wedding vow renewals and her new fragrance with Coty Beauty. The latter is out in September and could do $45 million at retail globally. For more, see page 8. TRANSFORMING A CULTURE WALL STREET WEIGHS IN ON FABRIZIO FREDA AFTER TWO YEARS AT ESTEE LAUDER. PAGE 6 Setting the Price PAGE 2 FINANCIAL: Sources say Prada has narrowed its initial public offering price range to come in on the lower end of its initial guidance. A Look Back PAGE 12 FASHION: A look at the Jean Paul Gaultier retrospective opening today at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. ▲ Eyes on Ellen PAGE 5 RETAIL: LF USA has landed the license for Ellen Tracy and has plans to expand the offering. By DAVID LIPKE CHARLES “CHIP” BERGH IS GETTING HIS WISH — a spot at the top of the corporate pyramid. Just nine days after resigning from The Procter & Gamble Co. to pursue a position as a chief executive of- ficer, Bergh on Thursday was named president and ceo of Levi Strauss & Co., effective Sept. 1. He will succeed John Anderson, who will retire following 32 years with the San Francisco-based jeans and sportswear firm. Bergh, 53, on June 7 stepped down as group presi- dent of P&G’s global male grooming unit, a $7 billion shaving and grooming business that includes the Gillette, Old Spice, The Art of Shaving, Zirh and Olay Men Solutions brands, after a 28-year tenure with P&G. P&G said that Bergh was departing to pursue a ceo role but would remain with the firm until Sept. 1. In his new post, Bergh will oversee the Levi’s, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. and Denizen brands, which are sold in more than 110 countries. The company operates 482 stores. “I am truly humbled and excited to join Levi Strauss & Co. to lead the next phase of evolution and growth of its iconic brands,” said Bergh. “I look forward to work- ing with the company’s impressive leadership team and talented employees to build on its strong position as a consumer industry leader for the benefit of sharehold- ers, consumers and other stakeholders.” In fiscal 2010, the company posted net income of $156.5 million, up 3 percent from $151.9 million in 2009. Revenues last year were $4.41 billion, up 7.4 percent from $4.11 billion. Among his recent accomplishments at P&G, Bergh oversaw the expansion of the Gillette Fusion brand to more than 80 markets outside of North America, creating a $2 billion business. Bergh was also instrumental in launching the Fusion ProGlide and Fusion ProSeries extensions and oversaw the multiplatform Old Spice campaign, which has won a slew of top advertising awards and pushed the brand SEE PAGE 5
Transcript
IN WWD TODAY
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
P&G’s Bergh Lands CEO Role With Levi’s
PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO
WWDFRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY ■ $3.00
Hi, Hi HeidiHeidi Klum discusses “Project Runway,” her move into multimedia, photo retouching, wedding vow renewals and her new fragrance with Coty Beauty. The latter is out in September and could do $45 million at retail globally. For more, see page 8.
TRANSFORMING A CULTUREWALL STREET WEIGHS IN ON FABRIZIO FREDA AFTER TWO YEARS AT ESTEE LAUDER. PAGE 6
Setting the Price PAGE 2FINANCIAL: Sources say Prada has narrowed its initial public offering price range to come in on the lower end of its initial guidance.
A Look Back PAGE 12FASHION: A look at the Jean Paul Gaultier retrospective opening today at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
� Eyes on Ellen PAGE 5RETAIL: LF USA has landed the license for Ellen Tracy and has plans to expand the offering.
By DAVID LIPKE
CHARLES “CHIP” BERGH IS GETTING HIS WISH — a spot at the top of the corporate pyramid.
Just nine days after resigning from The Procter & Gamble Co. to pursue a position as a chief executive of-fi cer, Bergh on Thursday was named president and ceo of Levi Strauss & Co., effective Sept. 1. He will succeed John Anderson, who will retire following 32 years with the San Francisco-based jeans and sportswear fi rm.
Bergh, 53, on June 7 stepped down as group presi-dent of P&G’s global male grooming unit, a $7 billion shaving and grooming business that includes the Gillette, Old Spice, The Art of Shaving, Zirh and Olay Men Solutions brands, after a 28-year tenure with P&G.
P&G said that Bergh was departing to pursue a ceo role but would remain with the fi rm until Sept. 1.
In his new post, Bergh will oversee the Levi’s, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. and Denizen brands, which are sold in more than 110 countries. The company operates 482 stores.
“I am truly humbled and excited to join Levi Strauss & Co. to lead the next phase of evolution and growth of its iconic brands,” said Bergh. “I look forward to work-ing with the company’s impressive leadership team and talented employees to build on its strong position as a consumer industry leader for the benefi t of sharehold-ers, consumers and other stakeholders.”
In fi scal 2010, the company posted net income of $156.5 million, up 3 percent from $151.9 million in 2009. Revenues last year were $4.41 billion, up 7.4 percent from $4.11 billion.
Among his recent accomplishments at P&G, Bergh oversaw the expansion of the Gillette Fusion brand to more than 80 markets outside of North America, creating a $2 billion business. Bergh was also instrumental in launching the Fusion ProGlide and Fusion ProSeries extensions and oversaw the multiplatform Old Spice campaign, which has won a slew of top advertising awards and pushed the brand
SEE PAGE 5
■ EYESCOOP: See more pictures from Bent on Learning’s third annual gala and the Max Mara party at WWD.com/eyescoop. ■ FASHION: See the latest resort collections including Prabal Gurung and Steven Alan at WWD.com/fashion-news. ■ MENSWEEK: More pictures from the annual National Father’s Day Council luncheon at WWD.com/menswear-news. ■ BUSINESS: More fi nancial news and daily stock movements at WWD.com/business-news.■ ONLINE THIS WEEKEND: Story of the Week
HONG KONG — Prada has narrowed its initial public offering price range to come in on the lower end of its initial guidance, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The fashion house is now pricing its shares between 39.50 Hong Kong dol-lars and 42.25 Hong Kong dollars, or $5.07 to $5.24, per share, according to the source. Priced on the top of that new range, the company stands to raise a maximum of $2.3 billion. Earlier indications were that it stood to generate as much as $2.6 billion.
A Prada spokesman declined to comment Thursday. That new lower range values the company between 101.07 billion Hong Kong
dollars and 108.11 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $12.98 billion to $13.88 billion.Prada’s initial price guidance ranged from 36.50 Hong Kong dollars to
48 Hong Kong dollars, or $4.68 to $6.16, a share. Had the shares fetched the upper part of that preliminary range, the company would have been valued at about $15.8 billion.
As reported, the institutional demand for shares appears to be going well, but retail investors in Hong Kong have not been as enthusiastic about the offer. A source said offers from New York, where the Prada road show is tak-ing place this week, were strong.
The fi nal price of the offer is expected to be determined today and Prada shares are expected to start trading June 24 on the Hong Kong stock exchange. — ELLEN SHENG
The key change that I’ve brought to the organization is to
unleash its strengths. — FABRIZIO FREDA, ON HIS IMPACT AS THE ESTEE LAUDER COS. INC. CEO. PAGE 6.
TODAY ON WWD.COM
A view of the dinner at the Louvre.
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SECTORS IN THIS ISSUE
By ALEX WYNNE
PARIS — The scandal leading to John Galliano’s trial for public insult has made Perfume Holding review its strategy for the brand in the U.S. market, and the company has revealed that its sales for the licensed line have suffered in certain other countries.
The Franco-Italian firm’s second fra-grance line for Galliano, Parlez-Moi d’Amour, hit counters in Europe and the Middle East last October. A U.S. launch had been scheduled for this spring.
“We held off launching in the U.S. be-cause of the problems, and are review-ing our strategy for that market,” Perfume Holding vice president of creation and marketing development Brigitte Wormser revealed, without giving further details. Industry sources had suggested that Parlez-Moi d’Amour could gen-erate fi rst-year whole-sale revenues of 10 million euros, or $14.3 million at current ex-change. John Galliano fragrances are sold in 5,000 doors worldwide.
“[Galliano’s com-ments have had] an im-pact on sales in certain markets,” Wormser said, declining to reveal de-tails. In Israel, the brand was strongly affected by Galliano’s alleged anti-Semitic outbursts, she commented, and certain German and British retailers were reticent about stocking the fra-grance. In France and Italy, however, the im-pact has been minimal.
Certain German re-tailers had decided to destock the brand, and changed their minds after bloggers, who had already tested the fragrance, put pres-sure on them, she said.
“Parlez-Moi d’Amour has excellent scores on Sephora.fr,” Wormser said, sug-gesting this is proof that fi nal consumers are little concerned about the situation.
“Everyone knows John was sick at the time,” Wormser said. She made a comparison with supermodel Kate Moss’ turbulent period: “We have all forgotten now that she messed up.”
“Consumers’ reception of Parlez-Moi d’Amour has been great, which is more im-portant,” she said. Consumers seem to have moved on, but certain retailers have been reticent to continue stocking the brand.”
Regarding Galliano’s dismissal from his fashion brand, she said: “There are other brands whose namesake designer is no lon-ger present, and who sell perfectly well. Young people today do not remember Paco Rabanne, but the brand is still successful.”
She added: “If the product is great, it be-comes more important than the brand.”
“It is unfortunate for Perfume Holding that just when it decides to support the John Galliano brand, such negative public-ity comes along,” one industry source said, estimating that annual wholesale turnover for the brand’s signature eau de parfum and eau de toilette duo is around 10 million euros, or $14.2 million at current exchange rates. “It is not a brand that has a huge turn-over, and the current situation will not help it to grow in the short term. It will be sev-eral months before negative perceptions of the brand are forgotten.”
The designer is to stand trial for alleged racist and anti-Semitic outbursts in Paris beginning next Wednesday.
Despite the media frenzy surrounding the designer, Perfume Holding is going ahead
with the launch of an edp version of Parlez-Moi d’Amour. The stron-ger, “more sensual” scent will enter Europe, the Middle East and Asia in October.
For the edp, International Flavors & Fragrances’ Aliénor Massenet added notes of mandarin, raspberry, chypre and vanilla to the formula. At launch, it will be priced 42, 59 and 69 euros, or $60, $85 and $99, respectively, for 30-, 50- and 80-ml. ver-sions. An ad campaign will star Taylor Momsen, who already featured in visuals for the edt.
The Galliano busi-ness is based mainly on licensing. Key partners include Gibò Co. SpA for the signature men’s
and women’s collections; Ittierre SpA for the second line, Galliano; Diesel for children’s wear; Marcolin SpA for eyewear; Albisetti for swimwear, and Morellato for watches.
As reported, retailers in North America and the U.K. reacted immediately and sharply to the scandal in March and often pulled prod-ucts off shelves, while the business in other re-gions — including Asia, Europe and the Middle East — remained largely unaffected.
Meanwhile, the Galliano company, con-trolled by Christian Dior SA, has received unsolicited expressions of interest in the business from several of its Italian licensing partners as well as a Chinese group and a fi rm from the Middle East, even though the company has not been put up for sale.
On Thursday, a spokeswoman for Gibò said, “From our point of view the feedback is positive and the customers are showing they’re attached and faithful to the brand.”
— WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALESSANDRA ILARI, MILAN
Taylor Momsen in the ad for the original Galliano fragrance.
MACY’S INC. AND THE RETAIL, Wholesale and Department Store Union have reached a tentative agreement that will avoid a walkout of more than 4,000 workers at four of the retailer’s New York-area stores, including the Herald Square fl agship.
The two groups negotiated around the clock to avert a strike that union members had authorized earlier this week.
“This is a solid contract and it refl ects the fact that our workers are the true magic of Macy’s,” said Ken Bordieri, President of Local 1-S of the RWDSU.
“Following an all-night negotiating session, Macy’s is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with Local 1-S of the RWDSU on a new fi ve-year agreement,” said Elina Kazan, vice president of media relations for Macy’s. “We look forward to a ratifi cation of the agreement by our associates, and to serving our customers without interruption. This tentative agreement refl ects tremendous efforts by company and union negotiators over the past several weeks to reach an agreement that addresses the economic and busi-ness realities of the retailing industry, while keeping jobs at Macy’s among the best in the department store industry.”
Workers at Herald Square will begin voting on the proposed contract today, followed by the other stores Monday through Wednesday of next week.
No details were released on the new terms of the contract. — JEAN E. PALMIERI
Prada Narrows Range for IPO
PARIS — Carrefour, under pressure to improve its fortunes in its underper-forming home market, on Thursday named Noël Prioux its new executive director of France.
Prioux, 51, who has spent his entire career at Carrefour, most recently as executive director for Europe, has been charged with implementing a recovery plan in France, which accounts for more than 40 percent of group revenues. He succeeds James McCann, a former Tesco executive who exited Carrefour last month after less than a year and a half on the job.
Chief executive offi cer Lars Olofsson had taken over operational man-agement of Carrefour’s activities in France in the interim, and the company said Thursday he would continue to oversee them.
Succeeding Prioux as executive director of Europe is Thomas Hübner, 53, a Swiss national who most recently served as chairman or vice chairman at three start-up supply companies in which he invested. Hübner’s résumé also includes stints at McDonald’s, Swiss cash-and-carry operator Prodega AG and Metro Cash & Carry International.
As reported, sales at Carrefour rose 3.9 percent in the fi rst quarter as strong growth in emerging markets partially compensated for tough trading conditions across most of Europe.
— MILES SOCHA
Carrefour Taps Prioux to Head France
Macy’s in Tentative Deal With Union
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WHEN DONATELLA VERSACE brought her fashion shows back to Via Gesù starting with men’s last year, it was a homecoming for the designer in more ways than one.
It’s where her brother Gianni used to present his col-lections, and the women’s show last February picked up on many of the baroque themes that he made iconic to the house. With so many symbolic statements, it was only a nat-ural that she also wanted to shift gears with the campaign to accompany these collections, and the new visuals, slat-ed to break in August issues of major lifestyle and fashion books, represent a major shift from previous campaigns.
In a Versace fi rst, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott were tapped to shoot the campaign, and rather than the of-the-moment celebrity or platinum blonde so synonymous with the house, Versace worked with brunette model Saskia de Brauw and Sean O’pry as her male counter-part. Versace explained that the casting harkens back to various moments in Versace’s heritage.
“For me, it is expected to have the blonde girl, the sexy girl, and this is what Versace meant recently,” Donatella Versace told WWD on Thursday, during a fi tting for the spring 2012 men’s show, scheduled for Monday. “But I thought about how in the past, when Gianni used girls
like Kristen McMenamy and Stella Tennant, everyone was always saying, ‘Wow, this is not a Versace girl, she is not blonde.’ Sometimes you need to renew yourself to work better and to make a little bit of a push.”
The campaign, which Alas and Piggott photographed in London last April, was art directed by Giovanni Bianco, who has worked extensively with Steven Klein for Italian Vogue as well as with Madonna. Joe McKenna served as the stylist. “It’s a glamorous woman and it’s a little pop, which I love,” Versace said of the resulting images. “Mert and Marcus are very talented and full of ideas.
“This season is just the beginning,” she added. “I want to push something different and new.”
Mario Testino, who had shot the fashion campaigns from 2004 through last season, will continue to photo-graph the brand’s fragrance campaigns.
The new ad direction is also emblematic of a new era at the house, led on the business end by chief executive offi cer Gian Giacomo Ferraris. Versace explained that the new campaign was another facet of this. “It’s a very good moment right now,” she said.
— MARC KARIMZADEH
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Versace Shows a Different Side
FLORENCE — With Paris couture week around the corner, Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy served up their own take on the tradition Thursday night as the guest designers for the eighth edition of Pitti W here. Kirsten Dunst, a friend of the designers, jetted into town for the occasion.
Working with production guru Alexandre de Betak, 10 statuesque gowns, all crafted in Rodarte’s Los Angeles atelier, were showcased among fl ickering white neon tubes in a disused industrial space located in the shadow of Florence’s cathedral.
The palette — spanning dull gold, pink, lapis lazuli, melon and moon-shine white — took its cues from the frescoes of Fra Angelico in the monks’ cells at the city’s Convent of San Marco. The sisters worked drapes and folds around gently pooling columns to echo the “beautiful stagnant aspect of his subjects’ robes,” said Laura Mulleavy.
However there was nothing monklike about these creations, which were infused with a kitsch, femme fatale sensibility, reminiscent of works by the big Hollywood costume designers of yore, such as Adolph Greenberg, aka Adrian. Made from organza, taffeta, lamé and tulle, the dresses were embellished with painted feathers, hammered sequins and hand beading. Some had metal shoulder pieces and breastplates, with metal splays on tiaras and belts echoing divine sun rays. Those elements nodded to Bernini’s sculpture The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, “that’s so im-perfect,” noted Mulleavy, “but so perfect because he was able to make fabric look better than fabric looks.”
The designers are well versed in Florence’s artistic legacy (Kate was an art history major at the University of California, Berkeley), but their Italian grandmother, who was an opera singer in Los Angeles and made all her own costumes, also seems to have been in their thoughts. When she fi rst emigrated to America from Rome, she entertained tables at her uncle’s Italian restaurant in New York by singing the Italian national an-them, Laura Mulleavy recounted.
The sisters, who at Pitti W also feted the release of their new collabora-tive tome titled “Rodarte: Photographs by Catherine Opie and Alec Soth,” have gifted the gowns to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
— KATYA FOREMAN
Laura and Kate Mulleavy with Kirsten Dunst.
A gown from the Rodarte collection in Florence.
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Saskia de Brauw stars in the fall
Versace women’s campaign,
while Sean O’pry is featured in
the men’s ads.
Rodarte Feted at Pitti WFOR MORE RESORT
COVERAGE, SEE
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By PETE BORN
THE COTY BEAUTY division of Coty Inc. said Thursday it will launch its third Beyoncé Knowles women’s fragrance in September in department stores and per-fumeries around the world.
The launch of the new fragrance, called Beyoncé Pulse, is being viewed as a major step for the brand. Coty de-clined to provide fi nancial details, but industry sources indicate that company expects this fragrance to double the size of the franchise to total retail sales of $140 million annually. That means that Pulse has a fi rst year sales target of $70 million at retail, or $42 million at whole-sale, in the fi rst year.
“Pulse truly is a game changer in the category,” said Steve Mormoris, senior vice president of marketing for Coty Beauty.
Distribution will reach more than 60 countries and the fragrance will be supported with print and TV advertising starring the singer, in ad-dition to a full battery of digital media, such as Twitter and Facebook. The TV campaign will break in August. The print advertising was shot by Lionel Gasperini and the TV advertising was done by music video director Jake Nava, director of Knowles’ “Single Ladies” video. He
also shot the TV com-mercial for Knowles’ first fragrance, Heat. Knowles herself edited the Pulse spot.
“I believe my music makes women feel strong, and Pulse is all about fi nding that power inside,” the su-perstar stated. That positioning about the power of femininity is carried through the product’s formula. It is a citrus, fl oral gour-mand scent anchored by orchid, Knowles’ favorite fl ower.
“Pulse is a break-through in its composi-tion and olfactive fam-ily,” stated perfumer Bruno Jovanovic of International Flavors & Fragrances, who
created the fragrance along with fellow perfumer Loc Dong. “The contrasted structure highlighted by sparkling citrus blend on top and warm, deep and sensual vanilla infusion in the back characterizes a citrus gourmand innovative classifi cation. The fi nal result is a high-energy charged fragrance with extreme sensuality.”
According to the perfumers, the bluebird orchid at the heart of the formula has never before been featured in fragrance. “I tried to cap-ture the strength of a performer like Beyoncé on stage,” stated Dong. I was able to convey the electric energy she communicates to her audi-ence with an overdose of citrus fi zzy effect. The citrus profi le of the fi ne fl avor curaçao gives a striking freshness on top.”
The Pulse packaging is an inverted chrome bottle, Knowles said. “I wanted to do something completely out of the box and modern, so we created the upside down, faceted bottle that highlights the blue juice inside. The chrome cap is inspired by my stage costumes.”
to a leadership position in North America.At P&G, Bergh will be succeeded by Patrice
Louvet, president, global prestige, in the role of president, global male grooming.
Anderson was traveling in Asia and unavail-able for an interview. However, in a note to em-ployees on the Levi Strauss & Co. internal blog site, Anderson highlighted several initiatives among his most memorable achievements, in-cluding the 1991 launch of the company’s Terms of Engagement for suppliers.
“That’s when we took the labor, health, safety and environ-mental standards we used in our own factories and effectively told our vendors our standards were now theirs. This, then, became ‘the new normal’ for most major apparel brands and in other in-dustries,” wrote Anderson.
He also singled out the com-pany’s growth in China and India as key accomplishments, as well as the introduction of the Levi’s Curve ID fi t system last year.
In April, Anderson announced a deal with Target to bring its Denizen brand to the U.S. this summer. The brand originally launched in Asia last year as an entry-level price point jean tar-geted at the region’s emerging, fashion-hungry middle class.
“There’s a sense of momentum and excite-ment among our teams around the world. And for me, personally, it’s time for a new chapter in my life,” wrote Anderson.
Anderson will leave the company’s board on Sept. 1, but will serve as a non-executive em-ployee through the end of 2011. He will receive $7.1 million as part of a separation agreement with Levi Strauss & Co., with $2.5 million pay-able in Jan. 2012 and the remainder over the following 78 weeks. His date of birth wasn’t
available, but he was 59 as of Feb. 3, according to the fi rm’s last annual report.
Bergh, who will become a director at Levi’s, will receive a base salary of $1.2 million and will participate in the company’s annual incen-tive program with a target rate of 135 percent of his base salary, according to a fi ling with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He will also receive a one-time signing bonus of $1.85 million, repayable if he departs the company in less than a year. In addition, he participates in the
company’s equity incentive plan, with an initial grant of $4.9 mil-lion in stock appreciation rights.
Bergh previously served on the board for VF Corp., on the Economic Development Board, Singapore, and was a member of the US-ASEAN Business Council, Singapore.
Among the many positions Bergh held at P&G as he rose through the ranks was brand manager of Duncan Hines cake/frosting, advertising manager of Folgers/Jif, vice-president of
North America coffee and peanut butter, presi-dent of the ASEAN/Australasia/India region and group president of global personal care.
“We would like to thank John Anderson for the countless contributions he has made to our com-pany throughout the past 32 years,” said Richard Kauffman, chairman of Levi Strauss & Co. “Under his leadership, Levi Strauss & Co. has completed a successful brand transformation, honed its focus on brand management and made investments in key growth platforms to leverage the strength of our market-leading brands.”
For the three months ended Feb. 27, Levi’s net income was $40.7 million, down 27.8 per-cent from $56.4 million in the year-ago period. Net sales were $1.1 billion, up 8.3 percent from $1.02 billion a year ago.
Beyoncé at work.
5WWD FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011
The new fragrance.
Bergh Headed to Levi’s as CEO
P&G Casts 007 for Scent
Beyoncé Finds Fragrance Pulse
By LISA LOCKWOOD
LF USA HAS ADDED another license to its growing collection — Ellen Tracy.
Since 2009, Brand Matter LLC, the owner of Ellen Tracy, has licensed RVC Enterprises to pro-duce a women’s better sportswear line. Together they forged a strategic alliance with Macy’s Inc. as the exclusive department store re-tailer, which will continue. The transition of the license to LF USA is effective with the August shipments of the Ellen Tracy women’s better sportswear line.
Mark Mendelson, president of Ellen Tracy, has moved to LF USA, along with his entire design team. Susanne Klevorick remains cre-ative director and senior vice president of design.
With the exclusive deal with Macy’s, which began in March, 2010, Ellen Tracy entered the bet-ter area after decades of being a leader in the bridge category.
LF USA has been licensed to produce and market Ellen Tracy bet-ter and bridge apparel, activewear and handbags. Next year, it plans to add small leather goods, belts and cold-weather accessories.
“This is going to be a big deal for the Ellen Tracy brand. LF USA will become a cornerstone partner for us,” said William Sweedler, co-founder of Tengram Capital Partners, whose investment is Brand Matter.
Rick Darling, president of LF USA, a di-vision of Li & Fung, said that the fi rm will continue “to build out Ellen Tracy as an exclusive program for Macy’s.” He said the entire team is intact, “and over time, we’ll make changes.”
Ellen Tracy sportswear is currently available in 175 Macy’s doors. Darling said that Mendelson’s expertise with Macy’s, a distribution channel that LF USA is eager to build, as well as the better category, will be an asset to LF USA. Darling said he’s also in-terested in taking Ellen Tracy overseas, and ex-
pects it to launch in two European countries by fall 2012. They are also seeking partners in South America and plan to take the brand to Asia.
Jeff Gennette, Macy’s Inc.’s chief merchan-dising offi cer, noted the Ellen Tracy line has been performing well: “We’re always looking for improvement. It’s got good design direction, and we’re having a good run.
“The dresses have been really strong, as well as the classifi cations and blouses,” said Gennette. He said Mendelson and his team have successfully been able to tailor the as-sortments to various parts of the country, as
part of the My Macy’s initiative.As for the previous licensee, RVC, Platt
observed, “The reality is RVC is an urban company and a juniors company, and they had the chance to do the Tommy Girl li-cense [and took it].” He said they realized better sportswear wasn’t their expertise and they needed to stay focused on what they do best. Besides Tommy Girl, RVC’s businesses include Beverly Hills Polo Club, Rocawear, Coogi and Deréon. Ruby Azrak, chief execu-tive offi cer of RVC, declined comment.
Ellen Tracy is among a growing list of exclusive brands at Macy’s, which includes Rachel Roy, Tommy Hilfi ger, Material Girl (Madonna), Sean John, Martha Stewart and Donald Trump. At Macy’s, Ellen Tracy com-petes with brands such as Michael Michael
Kors, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Jones New York, and Jones Signature.
LF USA’s expanding list of labels includes Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Rachel Zoe,
and House of Deréon. LF USA also pro-duces Sean John’s men’s sportswear exclusively for Macy’s. LF USA’s recent
acquisitions also include Oxford Apparel Group, Cipriani Accessories and its affiliate, the Max Leather Group, and Jimlar Corp., which owns the Frye trademark and produces shoes for Coach and Calvin Klein. Earlier this week, it was reported that
LF USA and Skechers USA Inc. signed a licens-ing deal to produce men’s and women’s apparel and accessories under the Shape-ups, Tone-ups and Sketchers Resistance brands.
GENEVA — P&G Prestige, a division of Procter & Gamble Co., has signed a licensing deal to produce and market men’s fragrances under the James Bond 007 name.
The fi rst men’s fragrance is due out in fall 2012 to coincide with the release of the 23rd Bond fi lm and the 50th anniversary of the movie franchise, which began with the release of “Dr. No” in 1962.
The licensing agreement was signed with EON Productions Ltd. and Danjac LLC. The U.S.-based Danjac co-owns, with MGM, the copyright to existing Bond fi lms and the right to produce future productions plus Bond merchandise, according to the companies.
Bill Brace, vice president of P&G Prestige, stated the James Bond aura “appeals to a broad target group and represents a good oppor-tunity to give men access to the high-end world of 007.” He added the marketing mystique has the right ingredients for fragrance: “It’s time-less, aspirational, iconic.” The Bond fragrances will be housed in the fashion pillar of the Prestige division, which also includes Hugo Boss, LaCoste and Puma. — P.B.
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A tie-neck blouse, printed skirt and fur vest for Ellen Tracy
exclusively at Macy’s.
Charles “Chip” Bergh
6 WWD friday, june 17, 2011
Fabrizio Freda at the Two-Year Markbeauty
By Molly Prior
Fabrizio Freda is an avid chess player, but the de-mands of running the multibillion-dollar estée lauder Cos. inc. business have forced him to abandon his weekly match.
now, nearly two years into his post as president and chief executive officer at lauder, Freda is playing the game on a much larger scale as he positions the com-pany to advance against stalwart competitors. in the last year, in particular, Freda has issued a proverbial “checkmate” to the competition, including l’oréal and Procter & Gamble Co.
The once north american-focused, family-centric public company is increasingly shifting its focus abroad, particularly on asia, and throwing support behind the biggest, most promising new product concepts. at the same time, Freda has cut costs, put underperforming brands and divisions under the microscope, consolidat-ed lauder’s global infrastructure and hunted for growth across new markets and categories.
as a result, lauder’s stock bounded to a high of more than $100 earlier this week, a stellar leap from $33.50 a share when Freda took over as ceo on July 1, 2009.
That surge upward has richly enhanced the stock-holders’ wealth — including the lauder family — and will do the same for Freda. earlier this year, he inked a new employment contract, effective July 1, that includes stock based rewards of no less than $5 million. as Caris & Co. analyst linda bolton Weiser wrote in a research note, “Freda could receive a bonus of 160,000 shares if the stock trades at an average of $150 or higher during the 20 days ending June 30, 2014, which is at least $24 million. if the stock trades at an average below $37.50, Freda will receive no shares. if shares trade around $92.12, Freda will receive about 100,000 shares.” asked where she thinks lauder’s stock price will land Weiser said, “Clearly [lauder] wouldn’t put out that target if it didn’t think it was attainable.” in her view, it also sends a signal to would be suitors: don’t even think about making a bid for this company for below $150 a share.
lauder’s sales momentum made a sharp comeback in 2010 with net sales up 6 percent to $7.8 billion compared with the prior year — this after they slid 7 percent in 2009. lauder is once again on track to end it’s fiscal year, ending June 30, in a much better position than it started. For the first nine months, profits rose 45.2 percent to $659.7 million from $454.4 million a year earlier. revenues increased 13.3 percent to $6.75 billion from $6 billion.
With Freda’s second anniversary as the ceo of lauder a scant two weeks away, WWd has compiled a report card — with the help of Wall street analysts, company executives and Freda’s own self reflection — to grade the impact he has had on the business so far and to discuss how he plans to usher in the next wave of growth.
Many of his accomplishments have come through collaboration. Working in conjunction with executive chair-man William lauder, Freda tapped the talents of the company’s deep pool of veterans and provided an additional layer of direction. surprisingly, there was relatively little turnover, despite the strains of the recession.
“The key change that i’ve brought to the organization is to unleash its strengths,” said Freda. “it’s very difficult to make a big improvement when you create something from scratch. it’s much easier to be fast in the progress — and frankly we’ve been very fast — when you are unleashing existing strengths in new ways and tailoring them to the world.”
Freda, also a sailing aficionado, con-tinued, “We are putting our boat in the winds of growth. if you are competing for the america’s Cup and have a beau-tiful, sophisticated boat with a great crew, but there is no wind where you are, then it’s difficult to win the race.…now, we have a lot of wind in our sails.”
The wind, in Freda’s view, has been kicked up by the recovering U.s. depart-
ment store channel, growing specialty store business, emerging e-commerce and mobile strategies, and strengthening beauty business in emerging markets, as well as a steadfast focus on innovation, particularly in skin care. For the nine-month period ended March 31, the category accounted for 42 percent of lauder’s global sales, according to the company.
The company’s new attitude has won acco-lades from Wall street analysts, who several years prior had grumbled about what they saw as lauder’s brand silos and its insular ap-proach to running the business.
“He’s an amazing statesman,” said deutsche bank analyst bill schmitz. in schmitz’s view, Freda deftly balances the tactical know-how of a ceo with diplomacy, noting that he has an endearing habit of saying, “This is what i think. What do you think?” schmitz said, “He plays the game great.”
stifel nicolaus analyst Mark astrachan nod-ded to Freda’s openness: “He’s done a good job communicating. it helps that you have a great story to tell.” Quickly rattling off Freda’s accom-plishments, astrachan said he has worked to im-prove profitability of the aramis and designer Fragrances business; removed an underper-forming brand from stores, namely Prescriptives (which now sells exclusively online), and reem-phasized the department store channel with high-touch and high-tech elements at the counter.
“investors by and large have quite a bit of confidence, due to his ability to execute the
changes he set out to,” said astrachan.Wall street wanted an outsider. and Freda proved to
be just outsider enough. Freda’s P&G pedigree also won him favor with analysts. He joined lauder in March 2008 from P&G, where he had most recently served as presi-dent of Global snacks. Freda also brought a sensibility for luxury goods from his time at Gucci spa.
“When he joined, he had the full support of the lauders to make changes that hadn’t been possible,” said Connie Maneaty, an analyst at bMo Capital Markets. “as a result of that, the company has beat quarterly estimates every quarter — and not by a little, by a lot. He was able to harness the power of the organization.”
Wall street’s exuberant embrace of Freda contrasts with its more restrained — at times adversarial — rela-tionship with past ceos at the firm. but, the patriarch of the company and chairman emeritus leonard lauder asserted that Freda’s rise to ceo has little to do with ap-peasing the financial world or nudging lauder’s stock higher. The search for Freda, as lauder reminds, was initiated by his predecessor William lauder, the son of leonard and grandson of estée lauder.
“When William embarked on this search, he was not looking for someone who could deal with Wall street. He was looking for someone who could join the fam-ily and the company and take it to a higher level than it’s ever been.…[Freda] has helped take this wonder-ful company and make it even greater. and that’s what makes me so happy about him,” said leonard lauder.
He continued, “look around and see how many ceo’s have come into companies where the first thing they do is say, ‘i gotta change everyone.’ out everyone goes and in
Fabrizio Freda in his office.
Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector
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comes new people. He embraced our people, rec-ognized their skills, worth, value and institutional memory. We are a very special company. We are not a family-run business but we’re a family in the business.…He’s embraced our strategy, which is staying in prestige and having a very strong luxury component and a very powerful limited distribution. He’s embraced us, and we’ve em-braced him.”
When Freda moved to the corner office in mid-2009, the country was in the grip of an un-relenting recession. As it happens, the dismal economic environment gave Freda the backing to make a string of difficult decisions.
William Lauder said both he and Freda had to work to dismantle the status quo. “The chal-lenge that both Fabrizio and I had was to win over those executives who were afraid at any change at all. It was hard work to win over the most hard-willed executives. Not long after he arrived, we dealt with a prolonged recession,” which in Lauder’s view ultimately, “lowered the barriers of resistance to change.”
The pair have a close working relationship and often sit side by side in meetings. “In our case, one plus one equals three. We’re both able to ac-complish what we feel is right for the company. We both agree who is going to do what,” said William Lauder, who served as ceo from 2004 to 2009.
Freda’s tenure and the firm are now benefit-ting from a strong economic tailwind, as the cat-egory begins to expand again, pointed out sev-eral analysts.
But, Freda remains focused on disciplined spending and wringing out costs. In 2009, he re-organized the company’s brands by channel and consumer segmentation.
The strategy has begun to reap rewards. On the cost savings front, Freda has “mas-sively delivered,” as Astrachan of Stifel Nicolaus put it. Last fiscal year, Lauder achieved cost savings of more than $360 mil-lion, and this fiscal year, it anticipates an additional $190 million of savings. The com-pany revised its projected savings over its four-year restructuring strategy, first presented in February 2009, to between $625 million and $675 million, up from Lauder’s original cost-savings goal of $450 million to $550 million.
The native of Italy, who speaks three lan-guages —Italian, French and English — also has a sense of humor, particularly when it comes to his grammar, said John Demsey, a group presi-dent at the firm. Demsey said, “For the first year and a half, he would say the phrase ‘moose on the table.’” No one knew what the phrase meant, and no one dared to ask until one day when Demsey did. He quickly realized Freda had meant, “the elephant in the room.” Today, Freda has both a plush elephant and a plush moose in his office, a gift from employees gen-tly poking fun at the twist of words. On the flip side, Demsey credits Freda with taking some of the emotion out the conversation to help brands “realize their full potential.”
“He’s established a common language and strategic platform, and at the same time fostered creativity and growth while shel-tering the company through the biggest economic crisis that any of us have ever wit-nessed during our lifetimes,” said Demsey. Freda’s years at P&G fostered a keen focus on understanding consumer insights and, as Demsey put it, “a rigorous methodology for mea-suring performance.” He saw an opportunity to tinker with and perhaps improve the traditional prestige beauty model. His approach gives se-lect products the big-bang marketing treatment with the aim of drawing new customers to the beauty counter. Freda explained, “Let’s take the example of Clinique Even Better [Clinical Dark Spot Corrector], which is one big initiative that appeals to a large number of consumers and is strongly supported by advertising. In this case, it was print, TV and digital all combined. This
creates a lot of new traffic into our doors of people who maybe before were shopping in dif-ferent channels. Or who were not shopping the Clinique brand. They are brought in via a big idea that’s well advertised. Then at our counter, [the consultant] is able sell her not only the [ad-vertised] product but a regimen.”
He continued, “With the pull-push model, we are making the prestige cosmetics business model more efficient than it used to be. Because with this model some investment in pull adver-tising generates extra sales, extra loyalty and more brand equity thanks to the high-touch service in store. One without the other was not optimizing [the opportunity]. Only advertising — without the service in store — has certain limits. Only service in store — without pull — has the limit of not creating enough traffic. We are re-shaping the model to optimize it, and create a competitive advantage in the prestige industry.”
When speaking about the business, Freda frequently weaves in talk of emerging markets as he is bent on moving the company beyond its North American perspective.
Cedric Prouvé, group president of interna-tional, recalled, “The first sentence he said to me when I met him was, ‘Do you have a strate-gy?’ The second sentence was, ‘Can I travel with you internationally?’”
“He has incredible stamina. He’s completely switched on the whole time,” said Prouvé, who noted that said when he assumed his current post
nearly nine years ago, inter-national sales accounted for about 40 percent of the com-pany’s sales. Today, they ac-count for more than 60 per-cent. And the plan is to grow them further. “He is very structured in his manage-ment style. We do not leave the room until an agreement has been reached on a par-ticular topic,” said Prouvé.
Explaining Lauder’s international approach Freda said, “The way we look at it is in three layers: markets which are now al-ready big opportunities, like China and Russia; the markets which are upcom-ing, like Brazil and Turkey, and the markets that are
at the beginning of the journey, like India and Vietnam.” He said Lauder is “seeding” the later two markets because at present its business is relatively small there.
India, for its part, lands in Lauder’s third tier given “the prestige cosmetics market is still relatively small and because of the lack of infra-structure make the development of the luxury part of the business pretty slow.”
When asked if the company has its sights on acquiring a skin care company in China, as ru-mored, he said, “There is definitely truth that our M&A strategy makes us focused on Asia as a market…and definitely in our acquisition prior-ity a company with a strong skin care business would make a lot of sense. We are have officially communicated in our strategy that skin care and Asia are areas of interest.”
Freda dismissed the notion that the company would have to consider selling off some brands — say in hair care — to make a sizable acqui-sition. “We can acquire companies if we decide based on our strong cash capabilities. There is no link between our ability to make acquisitions and our portfolio strategy.”
Now, analysts say Freda needs to look at where he can take price increases — much like Avon Products Inc. has done by introducing an innovation-driven, premium price tier (albeit in the mass market) — and continue to direct its focus aboard while improving performance in North America. But where future growth is concerned Lauder, like all beauty firms, is at the mercy of the consumer. One analyst said, “A lot of it has to do with the category. A lot of it is out of his control.” Maybe so, but stockholders are enjoying the white peaks that Freda’s winds of growth have brought.
Maneaty said, “Shareholders are happier now than when the company went public. It’s been a very happy ride for the last two years.”
By NINA JONES
LIBERTy, THE LONDON department store, has given its beauty hall a makeover.
However, in keeping with the store’s 89-year-old Tudor Revival building, the facelift has been a subtle one. The space, which has dou-bled in size to 5,000 square feet, now boasts arty details, such as color-ful Hungarian tiles set into its wooden floors, a hand-painted peacock mural by artist Kerry Lemon on one of the walls and chandeliers made from lamp-shades in Liberty fabric. And thanks to shelving having been cleared away from the windows, the hall is now flooded with natural light.
“The whole trick of Liberty is to look like it was bought with one eye from the top floor to the bottom,” said Ed Burstell, Liberty’s managing director. “you don’t want to walk from one floor to the other and it to be jarring. It has to be seamless, but at the same time [each department] has to be separate.”
The new department has also welcomed a host of new labels into the space. They include niche brands — which Liberty is known for carrying — such as Hourglass Cosmetics, which is exclusive to Liberty in the U.K., alongside Dermalogica, Colbert MD, Sachajuan hair care and Aromatherapy Associates. But, the store has also brought in well-known brands including Trish McEvoy, Decleor, Chantecaille and Bobbi Brown.
Burstell said the criteria for buying a label is that they’re “not overly distributed brands, they’re brands with passion around them and integrity and authority — as we are.”
Gina Ritchie, beauty buyer at Liberty, noted that since she and Burstell began to update the offering in the beauty hall when she joined the company in 2009, she’s focused on brands’ quality. “For example, bringing in Tweezerman. Those we felt were the best tools, so we brought them in,” she said. “We replaced the brand that we inherited with Mason Pearson hairbrushes, so when you come to the department, you can never be disappointed with anything be-cause we have picked the best.”
The store’s eclectic collection of fragrances will remain, housed in its own room, as will its room devoted to Diptyque’s candles. Two fra-grance houses, Byredo — which is exclusive to Liberty — and Maison Francis Kurkdjian also have their own counters. Now, the hall carries 35 beauty brands, which include Laura Mercier, Eve Lom and Kiehl’s.
Burstell said that beauty makes up 14 percent of Liberty’s overall sales, compared with the figure of “under 10 percent” that he said it used to represent before he joined the business in 2008. Following the revamp, he expects the area to represent 20 percent of Liberty’s sales and generate between 18 million and 20 million pounds, or be-tween $29 million and $33 million, over the next 18 months, up from the 10 million pounds, or $16 million, it generates now. “I hope that we pick up lots of new customers,” said Ritchie. “We have obviously a lot more to offer because we’re going to be bigger. I think the core Liberty customer [will stay]. People love this store and they shop here for life. [But] the new customer I am fascinated to see.”
And to draw customers in, the store will be holding events with U.K. magazine titles, such as asking Harper’s Bazaar’s U.K. beauty director Newby Hands to advise customers in the store. Meanwhile, a Liberty magazine called Beauty will launch later in June, and over the next six months, the department will also open five treatment rooms, which dif-ferent brands will be able to use. That adds to a Margaret Dabbs Sole Spa foot care spa, which opened on Liberty’s lower ground floor last year. “We’ll be doing [services] in really different ways than anybody else,” said Ritchie. “It’s about bringing those brands to life.”
Liberty Doubles Size of Beauty Hall
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ESTEE LAUDER COS. INC.
Inside Liberty’s
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The Liberty department store.
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have a great art teacher for my kids, and she thinks of the most amazing projects — so that is her specialty on the chan-nel,” said Klum. Another friend, Linda Rothschild, is lending advice on organi-zation, while party planner Mindy Weiss is advising on planning the perfect fete. Klum has already created about 50 five-minute videos on various topics for her channel, with more to come.
Klum is interested in planting her flag in multimedia territory because she feels it is where the media market is moving. “Eventually, television will be gone, and unfortunately so will be a lot of the maga-zines,” she said. “It’s not going to happen in the next two or five years, but we will all go into cyberspace. I look at my 1 1/2 year old daughter, and she’s on the iPad, look-ing at photos of herself and putting a video on of something. It’s just going to get faster and faster, all this stuff — and I’d like to have a place in that market now.”
She’s not quite as enthusiastic about so-cial media. “I’m going to start Twitter this summer, but it’s just for one specific thing — a run that I’m doing,” she said. “But I’m not into Tweeting like, ‘I’m at Starbucks and I took two sugars and syrup in my cof-fee.’ I want to inspire people to be healthy. People always say, ‘How do you do it?’ I get up at 6 in the morning and I put my sneakers on and I get my booty out on the West Side Highway. That’s how I do it.”
Another recent endeavor is her first fragrance with Coty, Shine, which is set for a September launch. “There are different moods that as a fra-grance creator you can travel to,” said Klum. “But for my first one, I wanted what I felt my staple would be. I wanted it to be sensual and feminine, but still luxurious and expen-sive-smelling — because I think there are so many perfumes out there that smell cheap and too sweet.”
Aurélien Guichard, Jean Guichard and Olivier Pescheux of Givaudan worked with Klum to create the floral oriental juice, which has top notes of mandarin, pear and pink peppercorn; a heart of mimosa absolute, lily of the val-ley and sunflower, and a drydown of va-nilla, Venezuelian tonka bean and musk cosmone. The bottle is molded with a concentric pattern of waves, intended to reflect light in a variety of directions. The collection will include eaux de toilette in three sizes — 15 ml. for $17, 30 ml. for $28 and 50 ml for $35.
“We are positioning Heidi as a pil-lar for our business,” said Bernd Beetz, chief executive officer of Coty Inc. “She is very genuine and connects well with her consumers.”
Both print and TV ads — shot by Nabil Elderkin — are planned for the campaign. The print ad depicts a wind-blown Klum on a beach, gazing sensual-ly into the camera. “That was a bit of a battle,” said Klum. “Most people want a big smile. But I don’t feel like it always has to be a big toothpaste smile — this one comes more from within.”
TV advertising is planned globally, including the U.S., and will break in September; print breaks in September fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines. Industry sources estimated that Coty will spend about $5 million on advertis-ing and promotion in the launch period from September to December.
But don’t look for utter perfection in the campaign: a pet peeve of Klum’s is overdone retouching. “You can sell a dream, and you can sell a lifestyle that a woman aspires to have, but you can’t com-pletely trick her,” she said. “If people re-touch me too much, I get upset — yes, you can help me out a little here and there, but don’t go overboard. I have one tooth that’s longer than another, and if you look at the [Shine] ad my snaggletooth is coming out a little bit — but I like that.”
While executives declined comment on projected sales, indus-try sources estimated that Shine could do $45 million at retail glob-ally in its first year on counter, with as much as half of that expected to be done in the U.S. The scent will be sold in about 16,000 mass-market doors in the U.S. and an additional 10,000 doors globally, said Steve Mormoris, senior vice president
of global marketing for Coty Beauty. Coty hopes to capitalize on Klum’s
appeal with personal appearances in stores, including U.S. doors, said Renato Semerari, president of Coty Beauty. “Heidi has a genuine passion for this business which shows through on this project, and consumers see that,” he said.
Klum is already at work on a host of new fragrances. Summer Shine, a flanker, will be first — the juice is done and packaging is in the works, with the scent slated for a midspring 2012 launch. A “new Klum pillar” is slated for fall 2013, said Mormoris.
So what’s next for Klum? “To go on a great holiday with my family. We’re going on a boat to Italy. I love when the kids can go and eat sea urchin and the sea urchin is literally going like this,” Klum said, shak-ing her hands. “You cut the bottom off and then you eat it.” To the cries of “eeewww,” Klum retorted: “That’s what they do when you go to Nobu or whatever — it’s the same sea urchin, so you might as well eat it when it first comes out [of the sea.]”
By JULIE NAUGHTON
“PROJECT RUNWAY” HOST, fragrance creator, shoe designer, supermodel, pro-ducer, entrepreneur — there is a growing list of ways to refer to Heidi Klum.
Just don’t call her an actress. “I tried to do that and I don’t think I’m
good at that,” Klum said frankly, while con-ducting an interview with WWD about her first women’s fragrance with Coty, called Shine. “I thought ‘Everyone else is doing it and I should, too,’ and I went that route about nine years ago in L.A. I’d rather do what I love to do. I love to create things. I’m an entrepre-neur. I love business. That’s my passion.”
Another of Klum’s major passions is her husband of six years, Seal. In fact, the cou-ple’s relationship inspired an unusual touch in the luxe penthouse suite at the Mondrian in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood where the interview was conducted: rather than sit-ting on a chair, Klum was perched on a pile of sand — obtained from a local Home Depot — in a corner of the windowed room. (Pity the poor housekeeper who had to clean up the place.) Klum’s affinity for the sand can be attributed to her yearly wedding vow renew-als, usually held on a Mexican beach each year as a nod to her May 2005 wedding.
Despite the close bond Klum and Seal have, there’s one area they don’t share: a love for Klum’s hit show, “Project Runway.” “You know, my husband has never seen one [episode.] What about
that for a fun fact?” she said with a laugh. “He’s come to the set, but he hasn’t watched an episode.”
Speaking of the show, on this day Klum is clad in a shimmery dress and shoes de-signed by her “Project Runway” colleague Michael Kors, accented with Lorraine Schwartz ruby jewels. Klum noted she orig-inally committed to 10 seasons of “Project Runway,” and “we’re on nine already,” she said. “Even though I’ve been doing this for so many years, I’m still grateful for it, and I still love it. Every time, when I go there, these people make it all new for me again. There’s 15 people on that stage that want it, and for them it’s a great chance. If they step it up, I’ve got to step it up, too. They recharge you — they’re like a new pack of batteries coming in.”
But they’re not all, she emphasizes, well adjusted. “We’ve had some crazy peo-ple there who were really great sewers and designers,” she said. “We have a mix-ture of different people. It keeps it fresh and interesting.”
Klum has just launched her own chan-nel on AOL.com, heidiklum.aol.com, in a deal reported to be worth $1 million and half of the profits generated. “I wanted to launch a destination,” said Klum. Beauty, fashion, interior decorating, fitness, nutri-tion, organization, arts and crafts for kids are all part of the channel — mostly, she says, because as a mother of four they all concern her and she believes they con-cern other women as well. “For instance, I
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THE ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES INC.
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On-Demand VideoBeautyForum.Fora.tv
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WWDSTYLETEN DOWN: Self editor in chief Lucy Danziger was especially revved up on Wednesday night. The always high-energy triathelete-editor was poolside on the roof of the Gansevoort Park Avenue at a party in honor of her 10th anniversary at the title, and she had celebratory brownies at work earlier that day. “I eat chocolate every day of my life,” she said. “I don’t deprive myself the way I probably should, but that’s part of being Self-y, enjoying your food.” Danziger is in the middle of training for her next race in Frankfurt, Germany, later in the summer.
“There’s no such thing as the perfect race — you’re gonna get dehydrated, your bike’s gonna start making weird noises, somebody might inadvertently elbow you in the water — you can’t let that bring you down,” she said. She was talking about challenges that have faced the magazine world during her tenure. “I always say to my kids, ‘How you are when the chips are down is more important than when things go smoothly.’” Asked if she had 10 more years left in the tank, Danziger said “Gosh, I hope that I have a lot of years in me. I don’t like to put numbers on things because I think that’s kind of a trap.”
Danziger joins a class of editors including Linda Wells at Allure, Glenda Bailey at Harper’s Bazaar and Cindi Leive at Glamour who are all celebrating a decade with their titles this year. “I’m complimented to hear that,” she said. Would she rank herself and her peers in order of who had the best 10 years? “I would never. Why would I do that?” Danziger said. “I don’t think there’s a ranking that is valid.
“I think the mistake that some people make is to think this a horse race,” she continued. “I feel like this is a community that is working together to make magazines available to readers and users, and in that sense it’s a really exciting time. I feel like we’re working together.”
Later in the night, with the Empire State Building rising behind her, Danziger took to the podium, slipped on her glasses and read prepared remarks. “I wear the lady from Self banner really proudly,” she said.
Self.com had its best month of traffi c in history last month with 3 million unique visitors, according to Omniture data provided by a spokeswoman. The magazine was down 1.6 percent to 481 ad pages, according to the Media Industry Newsletter, for the fi rst half of 2011. — ZEKE TURNER
MEREDITH CUTS: On Thursday, Meredith Corp. confi rmed that ReadyMade, “a magazine about people who make things,” will shutter and 10 jobs will be lost. Overall, the company also announced it would eliminate a total of 75 jobs across all divisions, including broadcast. “Most of the positions lost were in New York,” said a spokesman. “It’s a realignment of resources to stay current.”
The company will record a special charge of $10 million in the fourth quarter as a result of the closure, which was attributed to weakness in the home category and marketplace. “Positioning Meredith for continued growth requires periodic realignment of resources, including how we deploy our workforce,” said Meredith chairman and chief executive offi cer Steve Lacy. “These actions will enable us to devote additional resources to key strategic growth initiatives, including digital platform expansion.” ReadyMade, a bimonthly aimed at 25- to 35-year-olds who favor DIY projects, made its debut in 2001 and was acquired in 2006 by Meredith.
During the fi rst quarter, ad pages declined 8.5 percent to 17.6 pages. However, in 2010, the title reported an 18 percent increase in paging to 159. ReadyMade had a rate base of 375,000. Total circulation remained fl at for the second half of 2010 versus the same period the prior year, at 335,230. — AMY WICKS
MEMO PAD
Lucy Danziger, Bob Sauerberg, Laura McEwen and William Lauder.
Gwyneth Paltrow and some holistic-minded pals were in New York for yoga charity Bent on Learning’s annual benefi t Wednesday night. For more, see page 10.
Gwyn Gets Bent
WWDS S TYLE
PHOTO BY STEVE EICHNER
THE PAST OF JEAN PAUL: The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts opens a Gaultier retrospective today, offering looks “From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk.” PAGE 12
eyeMax Mara and Vanity Fair’s dinner at Soho House West Hollywood on Wednesday night, for Max Mara Face of the Future honoree Katie Holmes, drew an eclectic crowd that spanned from Ashley Greene to Burt Bacharach.
as DJ Alexandra Richards spun tunes during cocktail hour, Holmes stood by in her heels and navy pantsuit.
“It was the most comfortable outfit I could find,” she said.
an almost unrecognizable Greene, sporting a healthy tan, took a cue from Holmes and Max Mara’s Nicola Maramotti by also choosing a pantsuit.
“It’s like the new cocktail dress,” she said.
also mingling in the crowd were Ellen Pompeo, Abigail Spencer, Jennifer Morrison and Jane Fonda, who snuck in after dinner and sat near Greg Kinnear, Judd Apatow and his wife, Leslie Mann. as talk turned to summer vacation plans, Maramotti extended an invitation to the entire room to visit her family’s compound in reggio Emilia, Italy.
Holmes was the first to pipe in, “When can I come?”
� —�Marcy�Medina
BEnt on LEarnInG, a foundation that, among other holistic initiatives, aims to introduce yoga in public schools, celebrated 10 years at its third annual gala at the all-too-appropriate Urban Zen Center on Wednesday night. Lauren Santo Domingo, Cynthia Rowley, Bill Powers, Krysten Ritter, Sanaa Lathan, Molly Sims and Stacey Bendet all showed their support at the alice + olivia-sponsored affair, which honored Gwyneth Paltrow and Russell Simmons for their contributions to the foundation.
the night’s program included a display of skill by some of Bent on Learning’s students, as well as an auction offering prizes specifically tailored to the cause at hand — a 21-day fast helmed by Dr. Alejandro Junger; two tickets to an upcoming “Glee” concert; a cooking lesson by Jessica Seinfeld, and a workout with Paltrow’s trainer, Tracy Anderson, among others.
Paltrow’s Goop newsletter and ever-sunny demeanor might have their share of detractors, but there was nothing but an unabashed outpouring of patchouli-scented love for the actress over the three course vegetarian dinner.
“I love Gwyneth Paltrow,” a teen boy from the program said at the mic. “I really love you. I’m freaking out right now.”
Paltrow giggled before shouting back: “I’ll wait for you! I love you, too!”
Famed instructor and occasional Huffington Post columnist Eddie Stern took over the mic to force the actress down memory lane.
“I remember when you were this nerdy thing, Madonna’s friend, and you came into my studio…” Stern interrupted himself. “What are you doing? You’re not paying attention.”
Paltrow, was, in fact, trading phone numbers with Simmons.
“I’m telling Chris [Martin]!” Stern yelled. “I’m telling Chris that you’re here getting russell Simmons’ phone number. Look at you. Still a nerd. But we all love you.”
Donna Karan was seated next to Simmons for the dinner. She rubbed his back and ribbed him about their next yoga date, eventually bidding on one at the auction (“Yoga and a Healthy Snack with russell Simmons”).
“this weekend?” she asked hopefully, miming a pose with her palms pressed in front of her.
“You’re always so calm and centered on the mat,” Simmons said. “I was in prison the last two days…visiting. and firstly, I preferred it to visiting Harvard. But secondly, it was mind-blowing: I was meditating with the prisoners, and you see such a great potential for change, for human growth.”
� —�aLeSSandra�cOdinHa
“C’Mon In, have a glass of Champagne, go shopping,” was how Becca Cason Thrash greeted guests tuesday night as they arrived at the Louvre in Paris for her second fund-raising gala in support of the sprawling museum.
a constellation of diamond-studded watches were on silent auction, displayed on a balcony on the richelieu wing as the Houston philanthropist made her first efforts to drive up bids amidst a crowd of american and European millionaires. “It looks like the museum,” thrash enthused of her alexander McQueen gown, spinning around to show a photo print resembling the Winged Victory of Samothrace, angel wings perfectly aligned with her shoulder blades.
Prince Albert of Monaco, without his fiancée Charlene Wittstock, was among VIPs who ogled napoléon III’s private apartments before dining at tables dressed in hot pink under the pale stone splendor of the Cour Marly.
Diane Kruger felt right at home at the former palace, as she is currently filming “Farewell, My Queen,” in which she portrays Marie antoinette on the last days of the French revolution. “I’m at Versailles every day,” she enthused.
Julie Macklowe, poured into a knit Zang toi dress and accompanied by the designer, boasted that she brought all her gala finery in her carry-on luggage, then turned to watch vintage dealer Cameron Silver demonstrate his nifty russian ring with a secret compartment for poison. “Most people in L.a. have drug dealers; I have a jewelry dealer,” he laughed.
Delfina Delletrez showed off her latest creation: a golden, bejeweled skeleton hand draped over her own. “It’s really comfortable. You can play piano in it,” she insisted, twiddling her fingers and noting that pop star Rihanna purchased its pair.
Janet Jackson capped off the evening with
a blistering performance of Eighties hits including “nasty” and “Control” under I.M. Pei’s famous pyramid. Fanny Ardant kicked off her shoes and gave a thumbs-up to the performance. But not before thrash coaxed another million or so from the crowd, encouraging a bidder unknown to her from Louis Vuitton’s table to top up his bid for a Richard Prince painting by a “measly” 25,000 extra euros to reach an even 700,000. “thank you,” she cooed.
—�MiLeS�SOcHa
10 WWD friday, june 17, 2011
Russell Simmons
and Donna Karan
Women in Film…and Pantsuits
Stretching Routine
Suggested Donations
Lauren Santo Domingo in Proenza Schouler.
Sanaa Lathan in Alice + Olivia.
Janet Jackson
Prince Albert of Monaco with Becca Cason Thrash in Alexander McQueen.
Diane Kruger in Alessandra Rich with Joshua Jackson in Yves Saint Laurent.
Diane Kruger in Alessandra Rich with Joshua Jackson in Yves Saint Laurent.
Katie Holmes in Max Mara.
Ashley Greene in Max Mara.
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Fashion scoops Dads Get Their DayMen’s wear is definitely in amar’e stoudemire’s future.
The new York Knicks star, who is acting as a design collaborator with rachel roy for her secondary rachel rachel roy line, said as soon as that launches this fall, he’s ready to “branch out into men’s. Definitely,” although he stressed there’s no particular timetable.
stoudemire, in a waraire Boswell blazer, Tom Ford shirt and slacks, was one of the five men honored as a 2011 Father of the Year by the national Father’s Day Council at its annual luncheon at the sheraton new York hotel Thursday.
He was joined by Jim Boeheim, head men’s basketball coach for syracuse University; randall stephenson, chairman of aT&T; Brendan Hoffman, chief execu-tive officer of Lord & Taylor, and Geoffrey Canada, ceo of Harlem Business Zone.
robert evans, a father of four who lost his oldest daughter to cancer, was the re-cipient of the ashok sani all-star Dad award. evans, who created Hanna’s Day of Hope, a foundation for those bat-tling cancer, had the over-flow crowd sniffling when he told how Hanna, de-spite a cancer diagnosis at age four, worked to collect “truckloads of toys” for her friends in the hospital instead of focusing on her chemotherapy and radia-tion treatments. The day of the luncheon should have been her gradua-tion day from fifth grade but instead was the “fifth anniversary of her trip to heaven,” said evans, who remains “committed to stopping cancer from steal-ing another child from their parents.”
Boeheim, who didn’t become a father until age 42, said fatherhood is “a difficult job but the greatest job you can have.” Canada said fathers have to work to always be there for their kids: “They don’t care how hard your day was, they just care how much you love them.”
stephenson, who laughed that the most important thing about fatherhood is
“marrying well,” said that being present in a child’s life “is the most important thing you can do.”
stoudemire, who said he’s “the walking Buzz Lightyear in my house,” said he always wanted to be a teacher and father-hood allows him to act in that role.
For Hoffman, the best advice he got from his par-ents was to “treat people the way you want to be treated, and always wear clean underwear.”
Joe rivers, the long-time executive director of the Father’s Day Council, who is retiring, was given
the Founders award for his 16 years of service, as well as a Father of the Year award of his own.
The event, which drew 800 people, also brought in “record revenue,” this year, said stuart Goldblatt, president of the Father’s Day Council and executive vice president of Macy’s Merchandising Group, although the final tally was not available at press time. — Jean e. Palmieri
Brendan Hoffman with his kids, Matthew and Julia.
Amar’e Stoudemire and Stuart Goldblatt
MODEL BOOK: Call it David Gandy day. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are feting their longtime muse-friend-ad campaign model with a book called “David Gandy by Dolce & Gabbana” and with a flurry of activities. On June 18, the British model will be at the designers’ men’s wear show, he will speed around, Dolce Vita style, in a black Triumph; meet fans at La rinascente to promote the Light Blue fragrance; sign limited edition T-shirts splashed with his portrait in the Dolce & Gabbana women’s shop and, lastly, join the designers at the launch party for the book published by rizzoli in their men’s wear boutique.
AND THE WINNERS ARE...: Judges sifted through more than 1,200 submissions to crown eight lucky winners of the fifth annual Independent Handbag Designer awards held Thursday at the Time & Life Building in new York.
This year’s winners were: Fabiola Pedrazzini, Best Overall Design and style; Shivani Suhag, avocadoe, artisan House award by Isabella Fiore; Olivia Yoo Kyung
Sohn, Olivia Y. sohn, Best Handmade Handbag; Belinda Pasqua, The sway, Best Green Handbag; Neide Ambrosio Martins de Souza, Pretinha artes Lacre, Most socially responsible Handbag and audience Fan Favorite (over 330,000 votes cast on instyle.com); Lorna Nixon, Best Use of swarovski elements; Kaitlyn Doherty, Best student-Made Handbag Inspired by the Colors of Vitaminwater; Clara Kasavina and Misha Berger, Clara Kasavina, Instyle red Carpet ready evening Bag. Patti Ongman, Macy’s Inc. executive vice president and general manager presented the Iconoclast award for Lifetime achievement in Handbag Design to Peter Dooney, co-founder of Dooney & Bourke. Bob Goodwyn, senior vice president of sales, received the award on behalf of Dooney.
Prizes included receiving a booth at wwDMaGIC and the opportunity to develop a capsule collection for saks Fifth avenue for Best Handbag in Overall style and Design, and the chance to create a limited edition collection for Isabella Fiore for the winner of the artisan House award.
KATE MOSS CREATES BEAUTY LINE WITH RIMMEL: Building on her role as one of the ambassadors for Coty Inc.’s rimmel makeup brand, Kate Moss is now creating her own line for the label.
a spokeswoman for rimmel confirmed Thursday that rimmel London is collaborating with Moss on a makeup range, in response to reports about the line that surfaced on blogs wednesday. The spokeswoman said the products and packaging are “still in the final stages of production,” but noted
that the line is due to hit U.K. stores in september. Coty Inc. also holds the license for Kate Moss’ fragrances.
NO VACANCIES: Hotelier Vikram Chatwal’s much awaited Dream Downtown held its grand opening on wednesday night, officially opening its doors in Chelsea with a well-attended bash that stretched from the lobby, to the second floor “beach club” and pool to the rooftop lounge, PH-D. Stavros Niarchos, Kellan Lutz, Justin Bartha and Shenae Grimes were among those who turned out to check out the Vegas-style space, as were a crew of ladies who had just came from the Bent on Learning benefit at the Urban Zen Center. Krysten Ritter, Kelly Rutherford, Taraji P. Henson, Stacey Bendet, Tika Sumpter and Sanaa Lathan all used the Dream bash as a sort of after party.
“when I heard there was a party after the charity event, I was like let’s do it,” Lathan said from a rooftop booth. “we’re dressed and ready to go. I got all my girls here.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, with customary baseball cap pulled over his face, caused the night’s biggest stir. The actor retired to a semiprivate seat, where a literal mob of guests craned their necks to catch a peak. He left to similar fanfare after midnight, but was shortly replaced by Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire of the Knicks, who made a more gregarious entrance. stoudemire also wore a baseball cap. It sat decidedly higher on his head than Leo’s.
ON THE BEATON TRACK: “each one is produced by my kitchen cabinet,” said the proud publisher Prosper Assouline, thumbing through a copy of “Beaton: The art of the scrapbook” this week at Liberty in London. “we’re small, and we manage it all ourselves.” Guests including Rena Sindi, Amy Sacco and Nick Foulkes
gathered at the new assouline space at Liberty — in the former ground
floor tearoom — to fete the new tome by James Danziger. François
Delage, De Beers Diamond Jewelers’ chief executive officer, also swung by the event in anticipation of his own assouline book
launch to mark 10 years of the jewelry brand. “De Beers Jewelry,” an
homage to diamond jewelry and contemporary art,
will be unveiled next week at Phillips de Pury & Co. in London.
assouline opened a cozy, 1,000-square-foot space at Liberty in april with wooden floors and portraits of Queen elizabeth, Henry VIII and Queen Victoria. There’s a cafe offering homemade sodas, tea, coffee and Champagne. alongside assouline’s range of fashion, photography and design titles, the space also carries a number of vintage books sourced by assouline himself, as well as collaborations with luxury labels. These include a custom-made Goyard trunk, created to hold 100 assouline books, and the leather-bound library case that Coach has made for assouline.
GET THE PICTURE: Phillips de Pury & Co. christened its new 57th street outpost with its first event last week, hosting the Photographers for Friends benefit, which raised more than $250,000 for the aIDs organization Friends in Deed. a slew of top photographers donated works that were auctioned off, including Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, Marilyn Minter, Patrick Demarchelier, Edward Burtynsky, Jack Pierson and the estate of robert Mapplethorpe.
On hand were event chairs Francisco Costa, Andy Cohen and Michael Bruno, along with John Demsey, Linda Fargo, Cameron Silver, David Zinczenko, Cornelia Guest and interior designers Tom Cashin and Jay Johnson, who helped organize the event.
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MOnTrEaL — The initial question put to Jean Paul Gaultier at the pre-launch of his first world retrospective opening here today at the Montreal Museum of Fine arts was: Why did he decide to do it?
“i didn’t want to do it, because a retrospective usually follows your fu-neral and i’m still alive, but nathalie Bondil [di-rector and chief curator at the MMFa] convinced me. The purpose is to show what i want to say through clothes. it is to make clothes that you will love and wear. it’s a good way to show my themes,” the designer said.
There are six themes — the Odyssey of JPG, Boudoir, Skin Deep, Punk Can-Can, urban Jungle and Metropolis.
The exhibit, entitled “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk,” features 130 pieces from Gaultier’s collections dating from 1976 when he launched his first prêt-à-porter collection before found-ing his own couture house in 1997.
Most pieces have never been shown in public before, includ-ing Madonna’s conical bras and photos by andy Warhol. The entire ex-hibit contains over 500 works of art, including haute couture, prêt-à-porter, images and pho-tographs.
Deciding what to in-clude in the show was left to curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot, who
perused more than 150 collections and thousands of pieces before settling on the finalists.
“i wanted to tell a story and show the passion of Jean Paul Gaultier,” said Loriot, who modeled for Burberry be-side Kate Moss more than a dozen years ago. “He’s a pioneer in his field and
i wanted all original pieces with a balance between prêt-à-porter and haute couture.
“i also wanted to show how important he’s been in the last 30 years, but also to show how he’s still relevant. alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford have all been in-fluenced by him.”
One of the unique pieces is a leopard skin dress that took over 1,060 hours to make, according to Loriot, who also included cos-tumes Gaultier made for films. There’s also a white tutu with Converse sneakers, black leather jacket and studded bustier from Gaultier’s first collection of spring-summer 1977.
The onetime “enfant terrible” of fashion re-mains in touch with his inner child, making him one of the most hu-morous and imagina-tive creative minds in today’s fashion world. That’s what prompted Bondil to invite the de-signer to stage a look back at his multidisci-plined career.
“i wanted to create an exhibition on Jean Paul Gaultier more than any other cou-turier, because of his great humanity,” said
Bondil. “Beyond the technical virtu-osity resulting from exceptional ex-pertise in the various skills involved in haute couture…he offers an open-minded vision of society…in which ev-eryone can assert his or her own iden-tity, a world without discrimination, a unique ‘fusion culture.’”
asked if fashion can be an instru-ment of social change, Gaultier said fashion is more a reflection of social change than a game changer. He also lamented the overproduction and over-consumption in today’s world and chas-tised other designers who pay artists to wear their clothes.
“in the 1980s, you lent artists your clothes. now they pay them, which de-stroys us,” he said.
Does he consider his creations works of art as well as fashion pieces?
“i don’t think my work is art,” said the designer. “We are in the service of men and women. Some see clothes on women as a performance like Lady Gaga.”
The exhibit drew the biggest contin-gent of international media as 150 jour-nalists were accredited, compared with the average of 45 to 60 for a major exhi-bition. a similar retrospective in 2008 on Yves Saint Laurent, which opened days
before his death in 2008, drew 140,000 visitors. Bondil wouldn’t speculate if Gaultier will draw more, but anything over 100,000 is considered a success.
Visitors will be wowed from the get-go. at the top of the grand staircase to the second floor where the exhibit takes place, Gaultier’s name is written in white neon letters surrounded by two groups of mannequins — one in his famous sailor stripes, the other with halos of stained glass, crochet or golden spikes.
The mannequins appear human and a little creepy, winking, moving their jaws and even speaking. Their faces are of real people, including Montrealer Melissa auf der Maur, a former bass player for the pop group Hole. The faces were filmed and projected onto the mannequins, made by local company Jolicoeur international.
“it’s a phenomenal presentation and every bit as complete and exciting in real life as we expected,” said Kevin Tucker, curator of decorative arts and design at the Dallas Museum of art, where the exhibit will be shown from nov. 13 to Feb. 12, after it closes here on Oct. 2. it then moves to the de Young Museum in San Francisco at the end of March through July.
By DaViD MOin
THE WOrLD FinanCiaL CEnTEr in Manhattan has em-barked on a $250 million redevelopment geared to trans-form its moderate retail and dining offerings into an exclu-sive array of upscale fashion brands, high-end restaurants and a European-style marketplace inspired by Eataly.
The broad-scope plan, announced Thursday, seeks to maximize its waterfront setting and views of the Statue
of Liberty, and capitalize on lower Manhattan’s growing office, residential and tourist populations spurred by the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.
The project will include:■ Three or four “mini-retail anchors,” each 15,000 to 20,000 square feet, and a total of about 35 retail tenants. ■ Six restaurants and a dining terrace with 600 seats overlooking the Hudson river, as well as 14 “chef-driv-en” casual food offerings.■ a tall glass pavilion on West Street to serve as the
new main entrance to the WFC linking it to the transit hub and facing the World Trade Center.■ a 25,000-square-foot marketplace with waterfront seating and an emphasis on gourmet and organic products sourced in the new York and new Jersey areas.
“Literally, this has been years in the mak-ing,” richard Clark, chief executive officer of Brookfield Office Properties, which owns and manages the WFC, said at a press confer-ence on the redevel-opment. “We took our time and wanted to un-
derstand what the new lower Manhattan would be.”“Lower Manhattan is still very underserved when it
comes to the retail arena,” said Dennis Friedrich, presi-dent and chief investment officer for Brookfield.
Friedrich said WFC’s retail space will increase to 200,000 square feet, from the current 165,000, but could be expanded further and will be “highly curated, with international, national and up-and-coming local fash-ion brands and unique dining,” in a departure from the current portfolio that includes Gap, P.J. Clarke’s and Blockheads Burritos. Most of the current tenants will depart to make way for new ones.
Construction is scheduled to begin in September and be completed in 2013, ahead of the World Trade Center, which will be competition but more mall and commut-er-oriented in its retail mix, according to Friedrich. “Timingwise, we have an opportunity to be a little ahead of the World Trade Center,” he said.
Twenty years ago, when the 8 million-square-foot WFC was built it was conceived as an office complex, with its four copper-crowned granite and glass towers. retail, dining and the Winter Garden public space were more like add-ons. However, the redevelopment marks a shift to truer mix-use, more in harmony with how the downtown community is transforming.
no new retail tenants were announced but talks are well under way.
according to Edward Hogan, national director of retail leasing, Brookfield is shooting for $1,500 in sales per square foot, or roughly $300 million in sales after the project is done. rents currently are around $100 a foot, but will have a wider range from $80 to several hundred dollars post-construction, according to Friedrich. Omniplan/Morrison Dilworth + Walls, which created the Winter Garden, is the architect on the retail project.
Gaultier’s Fashion World On Display in Montreal
World Financial Center Plots Upscale Course
Items from the exhibit.
A rendering of the new World Financial Center.
A rendering of the new World Financial Center.
Jean Paul Gaultier in Montreal.
A corset worn by
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Crafting eyewear for a half-century.
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SECTION II
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2 WWD FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011
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4 MARKING TIMEA half-century in the eyewear business.
6 GOLD RUSHAn eyewear giant is founded on a single idea.PLUS: The in-house Web brand launches a special edition marking the 50th anniversary.
8 STRENGTH IN NUMBERSCeo Massimo Saracchi keeps a close eye on the bottom line.PLUS: Diego Della Valle weighs in.
10 LICENSE DRIVERMaurizio Marcolin discusses key elements for successful brand extension.
12 THE FAMILY OF BRANDSMarcolin has built its business on a slew of luxury, contemporary and casual labels.
20 THE GREATER GOODCirillo Marcolin wears multiple hats as an executive of the family’s company and as president of numerous industry organizations.
22 GET THE MESSAGEThe company has strived to convey its technical expertise alongside the images of its licensed brands.
27 JUST THE FACTSA few of the numbers that add up to big bucks for Marcolin.
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1961: Giovanni Marcolin Coffen re-calls how, “In the Sixties, what really mattered were ideas.” He establish-es Fabbrica Artigiana in Cadore, the eyewear production district in Italy’s Veneto region. The company makes its splash with the production of gold laminated arms, which, until then, were only available in plastic.
1964: The firm becomes Marcolin Occhiali Doublé, named after the ma-terial used to produce the arms.
1967: The company inaugurates the factory in Vallesella di Cadore and presents its first line of products.
1968: Marcolin lands in the U.S. and signs eight distributors to sell its products.
1976: It opens its first branch of-fice in France, followed by one in Switzerland and one in Germany.
1983: Marcolin forms a venture with Marchon Inc., also the licensor of the Calvin Klein and CK eyewear brands.
1984: Because of the new partnership,
in just one year Marcolin grows from 80 to 200 employees, reaching annual production of one million frames.Maurizio Marcolin joins the company. 1985: The factory moves to Longarone, Italy, and Cirillo Marcolin joins the business.
1989: Marcolin enters the licensing market, buying Finacom SpA, owner of Emmepivi, the licensor of Mila Schön and Lancetti.
1994: The house buys Orama, later re-named Marcolin & Co., the licensing company for Fendissime, Henry Cotton’s, Gianmarco Venturi and Gerald Genta.
1995: Dolce & Gabbana is licensed.
1997: Replay becomes a part of its portfolio.
1998: The company inks a licensing deal with Chloé.
1999: The firm goes public on the Italian stock market and buys Cébé, a producer of sports eyewear and ski masks.
The company adds Roberto Cavalli to its licensing stable.
2000: Marcolin licenses Miss Sixty.
2001: The company’s licensing portfolio grows with Costume National, The North Face and Montblanc. In partnership with Procter & Gamble Co., it signs Cover Girl.
It also acquires Creative Optics Inc. and doubles its U.S. market shares.
Marcolin opens a new branch, Marcolin Do Brasil.
2002: Marcolin signs a distribution contract for Japan.
2003: The company agrees to a li-cense to produce and distribute the Kenneth Cole lines in the U.S. and, later that year, signs Timberland.
2004: Brothers Andrea and Diego Della Valle take a 40.6 percent stake in the company and join the board.
2005: Marcolin inks license agreements with Ferrari and Tom Ford International.Just Cavalli is added to the lineup.
2006: The shareholders underwrite a 30 million euro ($43 million) capi-tal increase. High-profile Italian entrepreneur Luigi Abete invests in the company.
Marcolin forms a joint venture with Optec, a Japanese company that pro-duces and distributes high-end glass-es, founding Marcolin Japan.
The company inks a license agree-ment with the brand Web.
2007: Massimo Saracchi is appointed chief executive officer and managing director.
2008: Dsquared2, John Galliano, Tod’s and Hogan join the licensing stable.
2009: Marcolin sells the brand Cébé and signs a new license agreement with Swarovski.
2010: Diesel and Marcolin strike a li-censing agreement.
2011: The company launches a spe-cial collection of its Web brand as it marks a half-century in business.
A half century in the eyewear business.
2005: Ferrari license is signed.
2008: John Galliano is licensed.
2004: Diego and Andrea Della Valle buy 40.6 percent of the company.
1999: An IPO on the Italian stock exchange.
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Diesel is licensed, 2010.
Maurizio, Giovanni and Cirillo Marcolin.
2001: Montblanc license is signed.
2005: Just Cavalli is added to the stable.
▼ An ad from a 1968 magazine.
2003: Timberland is licensed.
Marking Time
SECTION II WWD.COM
LONGARONE, Italy — Gold.You wouldn’t necessarily
associate this precious metal with sunglasses, but that’s ex-actly what helped Marcolin break through.
When founder Giovanni Marcolin Coffen followed his instinct and decided to experiment with product di-versification and a brand new concept — gold laminated arms — the move helped jump-start the business he set up in 1961.
“At the time, to grow you had to differentiate yourself,” said the 80-year-old Marcolin Coffen, in his office overlook-ing the Dolomites at the com-pany’s headquarters — where he still clocks in and out on a daily basis. “The arms were not particular or unique, they were all in plastic, and the changes were made only on the frontal.”
Marcolin Coffen was only 16 in 1947, when he started working as a technician in an eyewear production laborato-ry. After 14 years, he decided to strike out on his own, with his idea as his only asset.
“My wife told me I was reckless,” chuckled Marcolin Coffen, adding fondly, “but she was my partner and has always stood by me.”
After a first six “tough” months, orders started com-ing in and Marcolin Coffen gradually ventured from the production of compo-nents to sunglasses.
“In the early Sixties, eyewear was mainly about ophthalmic glasses,” he said. He moved from work-ing in the basement of his home to the first part of the manufacturing plant in nearby Vallesella di Cadore in 1967.
In 1968, Marcolin started selling in the U.S.“Fashion came from Italy, at the time,” he said,
recalling the “explosion of colors in the Seventies
— white and yellow,” the geometric frames (“the hot octagonal ones”) or revolutionary round shapes, fol-lowed in the Eighties by gem-cut and rimless models.
The company also expanded in Europe in the Seventies, with a branch in France in 1976, fol-lowed by sites in Switzerland and Germany. A joint venture in 1984 with Marchon Inc., a Calvin Klein licensee, allowed Marcolin to take a further leap forward, growing from 80 to 200 employees and reaching production of 1 million frames annually.
The following year, the manufacturing plant moved to nearby Longarone, initi-ating the production of ac-etate frames.
In the Eighties, Marcolin Coffen’s sons Cirillo and Maurizio started working for the company, based in France and the U.S., respectively.
“Even in the early days, when he allowed other tech-nicians to take over his re-sponsibilities while he went out in the world to sell our products, our father was always aware of the impor-tance of delegating, and he did so with his sons, too,” said Maurizio Marcolin, style and licensing director of the group.
Looking back, Marcolin Coffen recalls the roller coaster years behind him, the difficulties after World War II, the booming Sixties, and the small produc-tion units that turned into competitive, international groups — from Safilo to Luxottica, among the more prominent — in addition to his own firm.
“In the Eighties, glasses from China came cheap, but were not high quality, and the weak lira currency helped lift our exports,” said Marcolin Coffen. “In the early Aughts, things changed dramatically with
the advent of the euro, which put a lid on the expan-sion of the sector here.”
He also pointed to increased competition from China, where technology advanced significantly, as impacting growth in Italian eyewear manufacturing.
However, don’t expect any negativity from Marcolin Coffen. “This is a tight-knit family,” he said, “it continues to grow the company with the help of good management, and we have a great sta-ble of brands.”
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MARCOLIN IS LAUNCHING a 200-piece limited edition collection of glasses for its in-house brand, Web, to mark the company’s 50th anniversary.
“We decided to dedicate our research and development to the creation of a model that would summarize the DNA of the brand and of Marcolin itself: tradition, modernity, artisan crafts-manship, manual skills, exclusiv-ity and excellence,” said Maurizio Marcolin, style and licensing of-ficer. “All in consistency with the value of the Made in Italy label.”
The model rejuvenates the classic avia-tor style, combining a classic material like metal with a new and natural element — wood — including maple, rosewood, teak and palisander. The sophisticated yet informal designs are available in a pal-ette ranging from ocher to different hues of brown and black. These lightweight and precious woods are hand-crafted by Italian artisans. The price was still to be detrmined at press time.
Marcolin revisited Web’s distinctive and recognizable elements, such as the double bridge and flexible temples, while the logo is discreetly positioned on the left arm of the frames.
Tod’s SpA chairman Diego Della Valle and Ferrari SpA presi-dent Luca Cordero di Montezemolo bought the Web brand in 1994
(well before the World Wide Web was in the public consciousness). After a re-launch in 2006, Web was licensed to Marcolin in 2007. Marcolin bought
it the following year.The glasses will be launched during an event celebrating
the company’s 50th anniversary on Monday in Milan. The group will also unveil a contemporary art exhibi-
tion, “La Visione oltre lo Sguardo” (“The vision beyond the glance”), at Marcolin’s Milan showroom, curated
by Tar magazine. The multimedia and mul-tisensory experience comprises art works
from the Giò Marconi collection by inter-national artists such as Grazia Toderi, Elisa Sighicelli, Markus Schinwald, Kerstin Brätsch, Matthew Brannon, Tobias Rehberger, Sharon Lockhart and
Atelier Van Lieshout.According to the company,
“The works by these artists are symbolic representations
of the importance of the concept of going beyond a simple gaze, offering spec-tators a more thorough vision of the reality sur-
rounding us.” — L.Z.
Gold RushAn eyewear giant is founded on a single idea. By Luisa Zargani
At the time [the Sixties], to grow you had to differentiate yourself.
— GIOVANNI MARCOLIN COFFEN
Limited Run to Celebrate the Half-Century Mark
Looks from Marcolin’s Web collection.
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Ceo Massimo Saracchi keeps a close eye on the bottom line. By Luisa Zargani
Strength in NumbersJUDGING BY HIS razor-sharp reasoning and clear-cut responses, it’s not hard to imagine Massimo Saracchi applying his rigorous logic and method to streamlining Marcolin’s operations.
The chief executive officer last year led Marcolin to a doubling of both its net profit and earnings be-fore interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, closing 2010 as a record year.
“We want to be seen as the Atelier of Eyewear,” said the soft-spoken Saracchi, who aims to position Marcolin in the category’s highest tier.
“We must apply our best skills: excellence in de-veloping unique design products, excellence in the quality of our manufacture and excellence in inter-preting the equity of each brand in our stable,” said Saracchi, who hails from Procter & Gamble and joined Marcolin in December 2007.
In first approaching the firm, which had been slowed down by the lack of a common mission and objective, he was fully aware of its strength. He said Marcolin’s processes were too “slow and knotted-up.”
Saracchi improved efficiency, working on logistics and a new state-of-the-art, centralized manufacturing plant. He also aimed to grow profits. “There’s this myth of revenues, but it is profitability you must target.”
After three years in the red, Marcolin returned to profitability in 2009, and ended 2010 by posting the strongest set of financial results in its 50-year histo-ry. Boosted by cost-cutting and a new demand plan-ning system, net profits more than doubled to 18.6 million euros, or $24.5 million, from 2009.
Revenues, after falling 3.5 percent in 2009, expe-rienced an upturn last year, gaining 15.2 percent to 207.7 million euros, or $274.1 million.
For the 12 months through Dec. 31, EBITDA also more than doubled to 31 million euros, or $40.9 mil-
lion. By Dec. 31, the firm’s net indebtedness had fallen significantly to 8.6 million euros, or $11.3 million, compared with 23.8 million euros ($33 million) at the end of the prior year.
Dollar amounts are converted from the euro at average exchange rates for the year.
Rather than maximizing its revenues with extensive distribution, Marcolin is aiming at selective penetration.
“We choose the most appropriate point of sale for each brand,” said Saracchi. “We have our own offic-es in main markets, in particular in Europe and the U.S., while elsewhere we have distribution partners, often more than one per country, given the wide range of brands we produce.”
That said, Saracchi underscored the company’s “enormous growth potential,” as Western Europe still accounts for 50 percent of Marcolin’s sales, and less than half of that is still represented by Italy.
Saracchi’s strategy is to grow in the Far East and America, “where the economies are healthy, where the demand for luxury goods is rapidly growing and where our business is still very limited compared to its real potential.” He said the firm is growing “very well” in the Far East and the Middle East, following the reorganization and strengthening of its commer-cial network. “We are also seeing great results in the U.S. and Northern Europe.”
His other cornerstone is to further develop Marcolin’s brands, “continuing to increase the growth of those that are consolidated and developing those labels that were recently introduced on the market.”
Saracchi touted the “increased visibility and im-proved stature” granted by the bourse. Marcolin floated 20 percent of its shares on the Milan Stock Exchange in 1999. He referred to “new and important shareholders” becoming part of the company over the past few years, which helped add solidity to the company and new li-censing opportunities. Case in point: a personal invest-ment in 2004 by brothers Diego and Andrea Della Valle, Tod’s SpA chairman and vice chairman, respectively, who took a 40.6 percent stake in the eyewear maker.
“We have strengthened our communication with the financial world and made it more continuous. The excellent performance of the company was im-mediately converted in an increased value of our shares, with a capitalization that has more than tri-pled compared with a year ago,” Saracchi remarked.
The executive said he had no plans to invest in capital expenditure, but that he is looking at increas-ing the number of foreign branches from the existing 12, located in diverse countries ranging from Austria and the U.K. to the U.S. and Japan. “Emerging mar-kets are the future, so perhaps branches in Asia, the Middle East or Russia?” he speculated.
The acquisition of “complementary companies that may help further build the company technical-ly or geographically,” is also a future possibility, he said. Conversely, investing in retailing is not on the agenda. “It’s not part of our DNA,” he noted.
As with so many other industries, the economy slowed down eyewear from the end of 2008 until early 2010, he added, but business is “clearly pick-ing up,” led by brisk sales in the luxury segment and strong demand from emerging markets.
“We are very pleased with last year’s record re-sults,” he said, “but, as we believe records are made to be beaten. Our goal is to significantly improve these results.”
FLIP THROUGH any Italian daily and you’re bound to bump into reports on Diego Della Valle on a regular basis.
The chairman of Tod’s SpA is one of the country’s most high-profile entrepre-neurs. His personal investments run from fashion to media, sports to manufacturing to transportation, including Saks Inc.; a high-speed train venture with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo; mo-torcycle firm Piaggio; iconic coffee-ma-chine maker Bialetti; RCS MediaGroup, which owns the newspaper Corriere della Sera; furniture producer Poltrona Frau; film studio Cinecittà, and the city of Florence’s soccer team, Fiorentina.
In 2004, Della Valle and his brother Andrea, vice chairman of Tod’s, took a
40.6 percent stake in Marcolin through their holdings DDV Partecipazioni Srl and ADV Partecipazioni Srl, and joined the board.
“They are doing a great job. Marcolin has an excellent management structure,” said Diego Della Valle. “Their glasses are top quality and they can do anything at the highest level.”
Della Valle further committed to the company by inking licensing agree-ments in 2008 for the production and distribution of his Tod’s and Hogan eyewear collections.
“Marcolin has a solid organization and enormous specialization,” con-tinued Della Valle, whose own group shares similarities with Marcolin.
“Here is a family that is behind the firm it owns, they are solid sharehold-ers who strongly invest in it, but at the same time, it’s a public company.”
Della Valle’s family, of course, found-ed and owns the publicly listed Tod’s Group. The entrepreneur defined his investment in Marcolin as “important” and having “great growth potential.”
Marcolin chief executive officer Massimo Saracchi said Della Valle’s stake in the company has “boosted Marcolin’s visibility. He is a central fig-ure of note and stature in Italy.”
Saracchi added that Della Valle, a “solid and successful” entrepreneur who also sits on the board of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, conveys confidence and contributes “important contacts.” And, the ceo concluded, he “knows about luxury.”
— L.Z.
There’s this myth of revenues, but it is profitability you must target.— MASSIMO SARACCHI
The Della Valle FactorDiego Della Valle
The showroom in Milan.
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Happ y anniversary
Maurizio Marcolin discusses key elements to successful brand extension. By Alessandra Ilari
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License DriverDURING HIS STUDIES at the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan’s top college for economics, Maurizio Marcolin would pour over his textbooks with a cer-tain vantage point — he had already expe-rienced “the practice,” or how to do busi-ness, since he was a little boy.
That’s because since 1961, papa Giovanni and mamma Maria ran a success-ful and avant-garde namesake company that allowed their son to build a hands-on, in-the-trenches work experience.
“When I took an exam, it was like repeat-ing the story of my life, as if I had interned for 10 years. At dinner, we would listen to our parents talk about work, the factory, the produc-tion manager, the prod-uct guy and so on,” re-called Marcolin.
“Most evenings we ate bread and eyeglass-es,” he quipped.
Figuratively, that may have been their meal, but eyewear cer-tainly has been the Marcolins’ bread and butter. As the style and licensing director of the $274 million fam-ily business, the soft-spoken Marcolin has rounded up a diverse portfolio of brands, including Tom Ford, Dsquared2, Roberto Cavalli, Diesel, Ferrari, Hogan, John Galliano, Kenneth Cole and Swarovski, their latest addition.
While Marcolin has wooed five new li-censors in less than two years, he under-scores how his mission today isn’t to add new names for the sake of the bottom line, but to complete the stable respecting his idea of an “eyewear atelier” that puts care, attention to details and manual labor into every frame.
“Obviously, Marcolin is a global company with many brands,” he noted, “but we want to give each one the right positioning and space in terms of market share, product and technology. And regardless of the eco-nomic climate, we will never, ever sacrifice the quality or image in the name of profit.”
Sporting a dapper double-breasted gray suit and windowpane checked shirt, Marcolin conducted the interview in the recently inaugurated Milan headquar-ters, housed inside a historic palazzo. Tempering the classical, stuccoed setting are modern showcases in wood and glazed glass that he designed.
In the beginning, Marcolin’s “gut in-stinct” was fundamental in scoping out new names with a solid core business and enough po-tential to succeed in the eyewear sector. A significant case in point is the Dolce & Gabbana license inked in 1995, when the fashion house didn’t have the buzz or powerhouse appeal it has today.
“It was a forerunning choice. I was in turbo drive back then, eager to sign new contracts. But today the approach is different because times have changed,” said Marcolin.
During his practice-makes-perfect learning curve, Marcolin admitted he learned to tame his instincts and zeal that characterized his early days in the company, now embracing new challenges in a more poised and reflective manner.
“I learned from my mistakes, because at times I was overcome by my enthusiasm. Now, I ponder with a different maturity,” he conceded.
Such wisdom helped the firm overcome a major setback — the loss of the Dolce & Gabbana license to Luxottica Group in 2004. To that end, spreading the wealth became essential, also in light of heady competition.
“The goal became to create a diversified portfo-lio because we didn’t want to put all our eggs in one basket anymore. To keep a balance, today no brand should surpass a 20 to 30 percent share of sales,” noted Marcolin, adding that the company today is more “stable.”
But he’s still eager to rise to a new challenge. Take Tom Ford, for example, who surprised every-one by making his solo foray in fashion with eyewear.
“Yes, we launched eyewear as the first fashion product for this designer but truth be told, Tom’s ap-peal stemmed from his reputation as one of the most
talented creative directors in the world. Together, we managed to create a collec-tion that was fresh, innovative, minimal, elegant and luxurious,” said Marcolin.
But, the pressure was on because if the collection flopped, it could have dampened the brand’s budding reputation. Instead, both the Whitney and Jennifer styles con-tinue to be timeless bestsellers, exceed-ing sales forecasts and selling hundreds of thousands of pairs.
Thanks to a well-run organization and trendspotters who travel around the world to tap the market’s pulse, Marcolin is able to turn designer whims into reality.
“We’re chameleons and we adapt to our licensors. Some give us detailed brief-ings, others just a few notions that we complement, but we always interpret each brand to include iconic elements and new ideas,” said Marcolin.
In 1984, Marcolin crossed the ocean to spend three years at Marcolin U.S. His multiple experiences spanned packing boxes, strengthening the communica-tions department and managing distri-bution. He also traveled to dip into the market to study its needs — and check out the competition.
“It became clear that there were differ-ent products, tastes and trends that were starting to differentiate the eyewear seg-ment,” he said. “I started to understand that besides the product, you have to look at the market, you need to [have the com-pany make sense] for the consumer and for the market, obviously within a com-pany strategy.”
Two years later, he returned to Italy and set up a marketing department be-cause in his view, the company was too pigeonholed in the production end. He segmented the collections by gender — men, women and children — and by look — romantic, urban chic, sporty and so on.
When he thought growth needed a stronger push, he embraced the licens-ing model, signing up Mila Schön and Lancetti in 1989.
Although glasses today are perceived sometimes more as an accessory than a medical device, Marcolin stressed that the brand extension isn’t always an automatic evolution and that there are examples of “successful brands that don’t perform as well with eyewear.”
Since Marcolin invests in technology and manufacturing techniques, especially for its tri-dimensional styles, the licen-sor’s business can’t be too small.
“We’re not here to do small pieces of art, but business, so in two years’ maxi-mum, a line must swing to profitability,” said Marcolin.
When their father, Giovanni, was plotting the company’s future and asked Maurizio and his twin brother, Cirillo, whether they wanted to carry on the family tradition, the answer was yes.
Moreover, Marcolin had a very clear picture of what side of the business he wanted to be on.
“I’ve always been very marketing-oriented. I love the product, design and aesthetic,” he contended. “Marketing is a very abused word but what it really means is to follow the market to create business, ex-pectations and needs.”
Fueled by the twins’ acumen, Marcolin picked up steam and succeeded in synchronizing the various departments — marketing, production, communica-tions and advertising.
“It’s a dynamic process that needs constant fine-tuning,” Marcolin said, “but there’s still lots to do.”
We always interpret each brand to include iconic
elements and new ideas.— MAURIZIO MARCOLIN
MAURIZIO MARCOLIN’S FOUR KEY POINTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL EYEWEAR LICENSE:
A precise strategic vision.
A clear positioning for the consumer.
Potential global growth.
Licenses in other categories with coherent partners.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO MARCOLIN ON 50 VISIONARY YEARS.
IMAGINE HAVING “YOUR DAY IN THE SUN’’ LAST FOR 50 YEARS.
Hogan Eyewear Caption
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COVER GIRLLaunched: 2001The look: Emulating the cosmetic gi-ant’s “easy, breezy, beautiful” image with stylish colors, rimless styles, dou-ble and triple handmade laminates and spring hinges at moderate prices.Demographic: Cover Girl resonates strongly with teens and women from age 10 to 54 across all ethnic lines and this brand loyalty has helped drive the label as a top performer in Marcolin’s portfolio.
DIESEL SHADESLaunched: 2011The look: Edgy and ironic for the uncon-ventional, rule-breaking under-40 crowd. Key moment: Marcolin Group and Diesel inked an exclusive, five- year licensing agreement in fall 2010 and their first line will bow this coming fall.
DSQUARED2 EYEWEAR
▲
Launched: 2009The look: Cutting-edge and sexy de-signs for anticonformists.Novelty: The spring 2009 collection was memorable for a provocative ad shot by Steven Meisel in which sunglass-clad supermodels Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista were in a catfight.Famous fans: Katy Perry, Demi Moore, Jessica Alba and Jennifer Lopez.
FERRARILaunched: 2005The look: Sleek and fast, evocative of one of the most famous names in racing.Fun fact: Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is in a high-speed train venture with Diego Della Valle, who holds a 40.6 percent stake in Marcolin with his brother, Andrea.
Marcolin has built its business around a slew of luxury, contemporary and casual labels.
Dsquared2 Eyewear, fall 2011
Famous FacesCelebrities and sunglasses are a natural pairing. Whether the stars use their shades as a fashion accessory or to help hide from the paparazzi, the glasses are always a key part of their well-styled look. Here, the bold-faced names get framed.
Katy Perry in Dsquared2.
HOGAN EYEWEARLaunched: 2009The look: Laid-back elegance meets urban luxury for a young cosmo-politan crowd.Famous fans: Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Uma Thurman, George Clooney, Liz Hurley, Eva Longoria, Jessica Alba and Charlize Theron.
JOHN GALLIANO EYEWEAR
▲
Launched: 2009The look: The French fashion house’s provocative, eccentric, and creative designs combine a rock ’n’ roll aes-thetic with a unique, edgy style.Novelty: Galliano’s signature Gazette print marks the frames.* Galliano frames are still in pro-duction, despite the ongoing contro-versy surrounding the designer.
▲ ROBERTO CAVALLI EYEWEAR/JUST CAVALLI Launched: 1999The look: Seductive, sensual and glamorous, Cavalli’s nod to animal prints and motifs gives his feminine frames a shot of eccentricity.Key moment: In 2010, to celebrate Roberto Cavalli’s 40th anniversary, a special limited run of 2,000 pieces called Dea was launched in two varieties, inspired by the Italian designer’s iconic “Occhio degli Dei” (“Eye of the Gods”) model from the first Marcolin collection. In a classic aviator style, the Dea model was fitted with unconventional, sen-sual elements — snakeskin print leather and pink gold — for an artisinal feeling.Famous fans: Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Kelly Rowland Lindsay Lohan, Halle Berry and Sienna Miller. Extensions: Launched in 2005, Just Cavalli eyewear still hints at the designer’s exotic animal prints but for a younger, less traditional crowd.
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Roberto Cavalli Eyewear/Just Cavalli
John Galliano, spring 2010
Brad Pitt in Tom Ford.
Scarlett Johansson in
Tom Ford.
Angelina Jolie in Tom Ford.
▲ KENNETH COLE NEW YORK/ KENNETH COLE REACTIONLaunched: 2005The look: Modern, cool metropolitan looks for a sophisticated city-dweller.New element: The fall line features acetone frames that reference the timeless retro styles of the Fifties.Famous fans: Fergie, Jessica Alba, Katie Holmes, Molly Sims, Sharon Stone, Katherine Heigl, Halle Berry, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively, Ashlee Simpson and Josh Duhamel.
MISS SIXTY GLASSES
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Launched: 2001The look: A mix of feminine glamour and sparkle for a liberated, rebel-lious young woman who knows ex-actly what she wants.New element: Fall 2011 collection of-fers five models, mostly in acetones and metals.
▲
MONTBLANC EYEWEAR Launched: 2003The look: A synthesis of elegance and luxury in meticulously hand-crafted designs. Key moment: In 2006, to celebrate Montblanc’s 100th anniversary, the company created Montblanc Diamond Eyewear, an exclusive frame released worldwide in a run of just 100 pieces. The design en-tailed a handcrafted frame in 18-karat solid white or yellow gold and two half-carat diamonds cut in the shape of the iconic Montblanc six-sided star.Famous fans: Ron Wood, Margareth Madè and Eva Green.
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WWD MILESTONES{Continued from page 13}
Miss Sixty, spring 2009
Kenneth Cole New York, spring 2006
Montblanc Eyewear
Sean “Diddy” Combs in Dsquared2.
{Continued on page 16}
Famous Faces
Jennifer Lopez in Roberto Cavalli.
Adrien Brody in Tod’s.
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▲ REPLAY EYESLaunched: 1998The look: A vintage twist that combines high-end fashion with edgy-cool.New element: The fall line pulls directly from classic, vintage styles.
▲
SWAROVSKILaunched: 2011The look: Sensuality and sophistication that sparkles through distinctly pre-cise designs. Key moment: The first collection of sun-glasses was launched last January and included 12 models, available in a total of 45 variations. One of the more popular models is “Amazing,” which features an architecturally crafted
frame evocative of jewel forms.Famous fans: Christina Aguilera, Fergie, Gong Li and Milla Jovovich.
TOD’S EYEWEAR
▲
Launched: 2009The look: Understated Italian luxury and Made in Italy craftsmanship.Key moment: Tod’s arc with Marcolin runs alongside its sibling luxury brand Hogan. The two were signed to five-year licensing agreements in fall 2008, four years after Tod’s Group executives Diego and Andrea Della Valle took a 40.6 percent stake in Marcolin. Famous fans: Sienna Miller, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore, Uma Thurman, Scarlett Johansson and Adrien Brody.
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{Continued on page 18}
Replay Eyes
Swarovski
Tod’s, fall 2010
{Continued from page 14}
Famous Faces
Charlize Theron in
Hogan.
Nicole Kidman in Tod’s.
Daniel Craig in Tom Ford.
Queen Rania of Jordan in Tod’s.
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VISION IS THE ART OF SEEING ALL THAT IS POSSIBLE
WE SALUTE MARCOLIN ON 50 STYLISH YEARS.
TIMBERLAND EYEWEAR
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Launched: 2004The look: Eco-friendly sunglasses that are built to last in comfortable, casual, durable designs.Key moment: In 2010, Timberland launched a men’s line of eco-conscious eyewear that featured frames made from renewable re-sources — bamboo and recycled plastic derived from plant oil — in clean, minimalist styles, reso-nant with Timberland’s global Earthkeeper Network initiative that inspires consumers to lighten their environmental footprint.Famous fans: Don Cheadle, Bruce Springsteen and Bill Clinton.
▲ TOM FORD EYEWEARLaunched: 2005The look: Sexy, chic luxury and VIP-exclusivity in sleek design.Key moment: In fall 2010, Marcolin re-newed its existing license with Tom Ford until 2022.Novelties: A distinguishable “T” on the frames, the women’s fall 2011 line is a tribute to vintage, citing the Golden Age of Hollywood in particular.Famous fans: Rihanna, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
▲ WEB EYEWEARLaunched: 2006The look: An expression of Italian style and contemporary elegance made in easy-to-wear designs.Key moments: The brand was acquired in 2004 by the president and chief ex-ecutive officer of Tod’s, Diego Della Valle, and the chairman of Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. It was relaunched in 2006 in Italy and bought by Marcolin in 2008. Now, Marcolin is unveiling a limited edition of the Web line made of metal and various woods in classic aviator shapes to commemo-rate its 50th anniversary.
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{Continued from page 16}
Tom Ford Eyewear
Web Eyewear
Timberland Eyewear
Christina Aguilera in Swarovski.
Andie MacDowell in Montblanc.
Margareth Madè in
Montblanc.
Famous Faces
CIRILLO MARCOLIN’S long-standing experience as head of pivotal industry associations is clearly part of his persona as he diplomatically, yet firmly, con-veys his message.
“Industry associations, including ANFAO [the Italian Optical Goods Manufacturers’ Association], generally represent companies that, while operating in the same sector, are in certain cases deeply differ-ent from one another in terms of dimensions, image, product and strategies,” said Marcolin, referring to the diverse range of firms, from small to medium to giant, that make up the eyewear industry.
Hailing from Milan’s prestigious Bocconi University, Marcolin, who is one of Giovanni Marcolin Coffen’s twin sons in the business, is a financial executive. He headed the French branch of the family-owned com-pany in 1985, then returned to the headquarters in Longarone, Italy, to work in administration and pro-duction, becoming its chief executive officer in 1989.
At the same time, Marcolin’s résumé includes roles as president of Mido, the international eye-wear show; president of ANFAO; vice president of Certottica, the Italian institution that certifies opti-cal products, and president of FIAMP, the fashion accessories federation that includes ANFAO, ANCI (the footwear association), Mifur (the international fur and leather exhibition) and Aimpes (the associa-tion of Italian leather goods producers).
One of Marcolin’s priorities over the years has been to ensure that the eyewear district around the towns of Longarone and Belluno in the Veneto re-gion would not be wiped away from increasing com-petition in low-cost countries.
“Despite the fact that many companies, even in our industry, have been forced to delocalize part of their production in Asia to cut costs, it’s important for our district to continue to exist,” said Marcolin, “given that creativity and design, a patrimony of our companies, including Marcolin, contribute to the success of Made in Italy products around the world.”
He noted how the high cost of labor and the
State’s inefficient bureaucracy slowed down the development of the district over the past decade. Despite that, however, annual production in the Italian eyewear industry last year was 2.4 billion euros, or $3.1 billion, up 33 percent since 2001.
For its part, Marcolin SpA just invested 10 million euros, or $14.3 million, in a 140,400-square-foot state-of-the art production and logistics plant in Longarone.
“The new center will allow us to create new spac-es to support the company’s growth in light of the constant increase of licensed collections and mar-kets to develop, while maximizing strategies and ef-ficiency,” said Marcolin.
The executive said the firm “favors the excellence of Made in Italy,” and is “committed” to maintaining its current levels of production in Italy, specifically in Longarone, despite the increasing competitive-ness and cost-cutting efficiency outside the country.
Other major Italian eyewear makers Safilo and Luxottica are also based in the Veneto region, where about 80 percent of all Italian eyewear is produced.
Indeed, Marcolin is a staunch promoter of the Made in Italy label, which is being discussed at the European parliamentary level. Marcolin believes that creativity and design are the relevant issues, as the success of Made in Italy products relies on these elements.
ANFAO, for example, is focusing efforts on Made in Italy around the world. It recently brought an exhibition on the history of eyewear to New York, which is traveling to Istanbul at the end of the month and will head to Berlin in September.
And to further boost visibility, Marcolin touted the strength of the Mido show, which “remains the most important eyewear fair in the world and has suc-ceeded in following the evolution of the market and responding to the changing needs of the companies — in terms of real business for some, and a window of communication for others,” he said, noting that it’s the only show that represents the entire eyewear sec-tor, from glasses and lenses to cases and machinery.
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Cirillo Marcolin multitasks as a company executive and as president of numerous industry organizations. By Luisa Zargani
The company has strived to convey its technical expertise alongside the brand identity of its licensed labels. By Luisa Zargani
Get the MessageTHE POWER OF persuasive communica-tion and effective imagery has never been lost on Marcolin.
The company’s advertising campaigns over the years ranged from highlighting the shape of the glasses with a graphic and colorful ef-fect in 1968, to still life images in 1971 and a
pensive model gazing into a mirror in 1973. Marcolin even explored early versions
of comparative ads starting in 1977, touting how it offered “a little bit more” than other companies in terms of creativity, technology, quality-to-price ratio and service.
{Continued on page 24}
Dsquared2’s “Chicken Little” ad, spring 2011. An ad from 1976.
Spring 2011
A 1971 ad.
Spring 2011
24 WWD FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011
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In 1978, rather than focusing on pretty models, the firm highlighted its technical prowess and direct rela-tionship with opticians, showing one such specialist in his white lab coat, standing next to a microscope and sur-rounded by blurbs about his require-ments, including top service — and correct and educational advertising.
In a nod to its customer, Marcolin then reformatted the ad with the image of a man and a woman and copy reflecting their needs, with a claim about knowing and understanding “the public.”
In 1979, in a more international ap-proach, the company’s messages began appearing in Italian and English. At the same time, however, Marcolin also started showing some cleavage and models with a come-hither look.
In the early Eighties it ventured
outdoors in Venice for a carnival-themed campaign and models posing languidly along the canals.
Today, Marcolin’s communication hinges on its licensees and their own messages. The brands work on images that carefully reflect their style and de-sign inspiration, as in Tom Ford’s sleek portraits and Montblanc’s sophisticat-ed settings.
“With eyewear, it’s especially impor-tant to create a mood,” said Dan Caten, who designs the Dsquared2 line with his twin brother, Dean.
“We had this idea of [Disney car-toon character] ‘Chicken Little,’ with gigantic frames, a quirky look, an an-drogynous and exotic model, with blonde hair, dressed like a man. It’s about going to extremes in terms of size, hair and pushing the contrasts, so the end result is something you would never have expected,” said Caten, who tapped Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott to photograph model Fei Fei for the brand’s spring 2011 campaign.
The eyewear category is especially relevant for the designers.
“It’s the icing on the cake, and it helps convey an attitude and emo-tion,” Caten said. “We always have our runway models wear them in our fash-ion shows, too.”
He noted that the farmer’s theme on the women’s catwalk in February will be reprised for the fall cam-paign, also shot by Alas and Piggott. Dsquared2 signed its licensing agree-ment with Marcolin in 2008.
The two famous photographers also lensed Roberto Cavalli’s spring cam-paign, featuring Laetitia Casta and Malgosia Bela.
“I chose Laetitia to front my eye-wear ad campaign, as the beauty of real women has always inspired and attracted me,” said Cavalli. “Sunglasses have become a fundamen-tal accessory in the look of a woman who wants to appear free, sensual and elegant, with a touch of mystery, in the summer as well as in the winter.”
With eyewear, it’s especially important to create a mood.
— DAN CATEN, DSQUARED2
{Continued from page 22}
Laetitia Casta and Malgosia Bela, spring 2011
A 1973 ad. Summer 2011
An ad from 1969.
A 1976 ad.
From 1976.
CONGRATULATES MARCOLIN ON ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY
www.dhl.com
Happy Anniversary to Marcolin for these 50 years of innovation and excellence. We are proud to be your logistics partner
supporting your worldwide promotion of ‘Made in Italy’. We look forward to partnering your success in the years to come.
50 YEARS OF SHARING YOUR VISION
WITH THE WORLD
Deu
tsch
e Po
st D
HL –
The
Mai
l & L
ogist
ics G
roup
UK
Morocco
Mexico
Malaysia
Japan
Jamaica
Italy
India
Hong Kong
Th
Sweden
Singapore
South Africa Spain
Saudi Arabia
Russia
Qatar
Poland
Peru
UAE
30,000Points of sale
worldwide.
27WWD FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011
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WWD MILESTONES
5.5 millionPairs of glasses currently produced annually.
80The steps required to make a pair of
glasses.
470Different lens
types and colors used in one year.
969Number of employees
at Marcolin SpA.
207.7 million euros ($274.1 million) Marcolin’s sales in 2010.
