DEFENDING WAL-MART/2 LVMH’S COUNTERFEIT TACTIC/2
Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • April 6, 2005 • $2.00
WWDWEDNESDAY
Sportswear
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEREMY GOLDBERG AT CONEJO VALLEY BOTANIC GARDEN, THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.; MODEL: MALAYNA/NEXT; HAIR BY AARON LIGHT/CELESTINE; MAKEUP BY THEA ISTENES/PHOTOGENICS; STYLED BY MONICA SCHWEIGER
Bohemian
Romance
LOS ANGELES — Spring is in the air for fall.
Designers are going for a light, ethereal touch
this season with soft chiffons, bold global prints
and jeweled accents. Here, a silk dress and silk
charmeuse slip from Ghetto Line by Macy Gray,
Marie Chavez necklaces and an Elegantly Waisted
belt. For more, see pages 6 and 7.
Getting Back on Course:
J. Crew Operating Profits
Leap to $20M in Quarter
By David Moin
NEW YORK — J. Crew is in a groove, and it
has stronger numbers to prove it.
The retailer will disclose today
significant gains for the fourth quarter
and fiscal year ended Jan. 29. In a
preview given to WWD, J. Crew said
fourth-quarter operating income jumped
to $20 million, from $1 million in the yearago period, and revenues leaped 26
percent to $264 million from $210 million.
The company did have a net loss of $52
million, but $50 million of that was from
debt refinancing, a key component to the
turnaround. Excluding the refinancing,
See J. Crew, Page23
2
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
Wal-Mart Takes the Offensive WWDWEDNESDAY
Sportswear
By Katherine Bowers
GENERAL
H. Lee Scott
ROGERS, Ark. — Wal-Mart chief executive officer H.
Lee Scott and other top executives, seeking to rebut
critics of the world’s largest retailer, told an unprecedented media conference convened by the company
that they were confident in the discounter’s strong
fundamentals and growth strategies.
Scott said Wal-Mart is a magnet for opposition
because it challenges the status quo. Chief financial
officer Thomas Schoewe said the company’s stock,
trading near a two-year low and down about 15 percent in the last year, had been affected by a variety
of factors, including bad publicity, or “headline
risk,” and dismissed concerns that Wal-Mart is cannibalizing older stores by opening units nearby.
The two-day conference, in which access is being
tightly controlled and photographs and one-on-one
interviews with executives are prohibited, is the first
of its kind for Wal-Mart and marks a major shift in
the company’s protocol, which had roots in founder
Sam Walton’s philosophy of shunning the media.
The event is part of an aggressive campaign
that started in January and has included full-page
advertisements in more than 100 newspapers
touting Wal-Mart’s job creation and employee benefits. It is intended to polish the retailer’s public
image and get out its message.
“Many of our competitors, let’s face it, would
like to continue to be rewarded for operating in
ways that are less efficient and less meaningful to
their customers, and continue to pass those inefficiencies off in the form of higher prices,” said
Scott, who read from a Teleprompter for about 20
minutes and took questions for 25 more.
“In some cases, I think some folks would like to
hang on to a status quo that doesn’t exist in most of
America today — the notion of the general store,
which started to disappear in the 1950s,” Scott said.
Wal-Mart has come under fire from labor groups
for its wage and benefits policies and allegedly anticompetitive practices, and faces battles in cities
such as New York and Los Angeles over expansion
plans. The company also has been challenged by
scandals. Last month it agreed to pay a record $11
million to settle a civil investigation by federal law
enforcement authorities involving contractors who
hired illegal immigrants to clean stores. Wal-Mart
also settled with the U.S. Department of Labor for
violations of child labor laws.
Schoewe, who preceded Scott in addressing
journalists in a hotel about five miles from company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., said samestore sales, which went up 2.9 percent in fiscal 2005
compared with 5.4 percent in fiscal 2001, “are very
important but they are not the whole story.”
He cited as an example Kissimmee, Fla.,
where the discounter reached $100 million in
sales with one Supercenter in 2001, and four years
later had six Supercenters averaging $80 million
annually. “Now we have half a billion dollars in
sales in Kissimmee,” Schoewe said.
1
2
4
6
8
25
Wal-Mart still intends to open in New York,
where it has been thwarted by unions and other
opponents. “We are going to push ahead, but we
need to do it in a way that’s beneficial to our
shareholders,” Schoewe said. “We are definitely
not curtailing our activity.”
And Mike Duke, president and ceo of Wal-Mart
Stores U.S. division, said the company would improve the shopping experience for women customers with better merchandise and cleaner
stores and bathrooms. Wal-Mart’s main rival,
Target, for years has focused on female shoppers,
who constitute 70 percent of all discount business.
Scott, other than referring to the “sadness” he
felt, did not discuss the ouster last month of former Wal-Mart vice chairman Thomas Coughlin,
who was forced to resign from the board of directors after a company investigation of unauthorized use of corporate gift cards and personal reimbursements. The findings have been referred to
federal prosecutors in Arkansas.
Executives also declined to comment in detail
on pending litigation, which includes the biggest
U.S. gender bias lawsuit filed on behalf of more
than one million current and former Wal-mart female workers.
Wal-Mart has resisted all efforts to unionize its
employees and Scott took aim at labor groups such
as the United Food and Commercial Workers
International Union. The union “with an eye on
dues and membership has declared war on WalMart,” he said.
But the union said it has started a campaign to
protest Wal-Mart’s wage, health care and other
policies it considers destructive.
Scott said he was “not immune to the personal
cost of change” and recounted how his father’s
gas station on Route 66 in Baxter Springs, Kan.,
went out of business when Interstate 41 was built.
Still, a community group from Inglewood,
Calif., where voters last year defeated a plan for a
Wal-Mart complex, failed in its efforts to meet
with or deliver a letter to Scott, who in response
to a question about the vote said, “We are not sensitive enough to the implications of our size.”
LVMH Files Suit Against Chinatown Landlord
By Ross Tucker
NEW YORK — Another Chinatown landlord is feeling the heat
from LVMH Moët Hennessy
Louis Vuitton’s legal department.
In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Louis
Vuitton Malletier — LVMH’s
fashion and leather goods division — named landlord Richard
E. Carroll as the lead defendant
in a case involving the alleged
sale of counterfeit goods out of
seven Canal Street retail locations. More than 8,000 LVMHbranded goods were seized in
raids at these locations. Also
named in the complaint are five
real estate companies, all of
which it alleges Carroll is in
charge of, as well as two retailers
and several named individuals.
Carroll did not return a call
seeking comment at press time.
A representative at Canal Sound
City, one of the named retailers,
declined to comment.
According to intellectual
property lawyers, the case reflects a growing trend where
major design labels combat
counterfeiters by holding landlords accountable for the actions of their tenants.
“The designers have gotten
together and decided to make
use of the landlord liability doctrine,” said Joseph C. Gioconda,
a partner with Kirkland & Ellis
LLP. “The concept is that the
landlord becomes a contributory infringer when the landlord
provides what is essentially a
safe haven for people to engage
in the sale of counterfeit goods.”
LVMH set out to address the
landlord’s accountability from
the first paragraph of its complaint, characterizing their role
in the problem as an “unlawful
alliance between certain real
estate companies and their
principal owners and the unscrupulous storefront retailers
to whom they rent property.”
According to the complaint,
Carroll and his companies —
Mid-Center Equities Associates,
Canal Funding Inc., Canal
Venture Inc., EJP Realty
Associates LLC and Transworld
Equities Inc. — own and control
seven Canal Street properties
where the counterfeit LVMH
products were seized.
Eight pages of the complaint,
which was filed March 30, are
devoted to a breakdown of the
number and type of counterfeit
goods seized in each location.
Continued on page 24
The J. Crew revival is under way, judging by the improvements in sales for
the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Jan. 29.
Louis Vuitton Malletier filed a complaint in Manhattan federal court charging
a Chinatown landlord with being complicit in purveying counterfeit goods.
SUZY: It was a prince of a party…Jersey girl Kirsten Dunst and beau Jake
Gyllenhaal to tie the knot…Nicole Kidman is learning…Cruzing the desert.
FASHION: Wanderlust is the word for fall with gypsy-inspired looks such as
layered pieces in jewel tones with exotic beading and leather trims.
MAINSTREAM: Tough competition and retail consolidation have prompted
many vendors to at least contemplate opening their own stores.
WEST: Chemin de Fer, which had its heyday in the Seventies with lace-up,
wide-leg jeans and colorfully threaded hip-huggers, is making a comeback.
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In Brief
● BOARD
TALK: PPR — reconfiguring its corporate governance in
the wake of February’s appointment of François-Henri Pinault as
its chief executive — said Tuesday it would streamline down to a
single board from the current supervisory board and management
board. The nine members, all on the current supervisory board,
are Pinault, Patricia Barbizet, René Barbier de la Serre, Pierre
Bellon, Allan Chapin, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Anthony
Hamilton, Philippe Lagayette and Baudouin Prot. PPR shareholders will be asked to approve the new board, five of whom are
considered independent, at the company’s annual meeting May
19. PPR also plans to name founder François Pinault as the
group’s honorary chairman. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for
Artemis, the Pinault family holding that controls PPR, declined to
comment on Italian press reports that say it is interested in buying the historic Palazzo Grassi in Venice, presumably to house
Pinault’s planned contemporary art foundation. Rumors about
the foundation’s future have swirled since March, when construction of the museum on Ile Seguin outside of Paris hit a legal snag.
● BURBERRY HEADS EAST: Burberry pushed further into the Far
East last month with a new store in Beijing and a shop-in-shop
opening at South Korea’s Avenuel department store in Seoul. In
China, the 7,141-square-foot store carries the Burberry Prorsum
collection for women, the Burberry London collection for women
and men as well as accessories, baby and children’s wear, fragrance, home and gifts. It is located on the ground floor of the
Beijing Oriental Plaza in the Dong Cheng district. “Burberry’s
presence in this prime location reflects the brand’s strategy of retail expansion in key targeted areas globally,” said Burberry chief
executive Rose Marie Bravo in a statement. There is limestone
flooring and dark and natural oak used throughout the store. All
furniture has been custom-designed using Burberry icons such as
the trademark check and the trenchcoat as inspiration. Plasma
video units will screen the latest Burberry Prorsum runway show.
In South Korea, the 1,992-square-foot shop-in-shop spans two
floors and carries the full Burberry London clothing and accessories collection for men and women.
● ARDEN HQ ON THE BLOCK: Elizabeth Arden Inc. has put its
13-acre Miami Lakes, Fla., headquarters up for sale. The company signed an agreement with Nina Elazar to sell the site, which
will be listed on the market for between $10.3 million and $12.2
million. The new buyer will have a 75-day inspection period,
during which they can terminate the agreement.
CIRCUIT
INTERMEZZO
May 1-2-3, 2005
An ENK International Event
P: 212.759.8055 F: 212.758.3403 enkshows@enkshows.com
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
Miller’s Tale ● ‘Sahara’ Hot Nights ● Faces of Eva
Suzy
4
By Aileen Mehle
The Princes William and Harry threw a
surprise party for their father last week at a
small bistro in Klosters, the ski resort in
® Switzerland where the three men have been
bonding for a week. The evening was filled
with loads of toasts and the good-natured ribbing brought
tears of joy to Charles’ eye. The dinner featured fondue
and raclette with potatoes, onions and bacon, served with
red wine and champagne for the tiny group, which
included William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton, wearing slim
black trousers and a matching blouse. William and his
girlfriend are getting cozier and cozier.
●
Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhaal have said that, after
two years of dating, they are making plans to marry on the
Jersey shore where Kirsten grew up. They also confess
they made up their well-publicized breakup last fall in
order to avoid unwanted attention and they were really
together the whole time. That is so cute.
●
In London the rumors go that there may be a spot of
trouble in the engagement of Jude Law and Sienna Miller
and that the wedding has been put on hold because Sienna
wants more time to decide if she wants to settle down at
the ripe old age of 23. She may have spent three months of
this year with Jude in New Orleans, but it should also be
noted that Jude is still a long way from finalizing his
divorce from Sadie Frost, who wants $20 million to set
him free.
●
Back home in Sydney, Nicole Kidman, with a lot of
spare time on her hands due to the last-minute
cancellation of the movie “Eucalyptus,” which she was to
make with Russell Crowe, is not twiddling her thumbs.
She has been studying Middle Eastern history and
geography with a tutor and she’s taken up cooking. She
can now do lamb shanks and homemade gnocchi, praise
be. “It’s wonderful to be able to go to the fish market and
choose your dinner,” she says. How thrilling.
She has also been studying photography in preparation
Kirsten Dunst
eye
Scarlett Johansson
for her role as Diane Arbus, the legendary photographer of
the Fifties and Sixties, in the biographical film “Fur,” which
she’ll shoot this summer in New York with Robert
Downey Jr. Nicole may well take off her clothes as she has
done before because part of “Fur” will be shot in nudist
camps where the photographer took many of her pictures.
Arbus’ original photographs can currently be seen at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has mounted a major
exhibition of her work, featuring those nudes. Angelica
Torn, the daughter of Rip Torn and the late Geraldine Page,
is talking to producers about playing the head of the camp.
I can wait if you can.
●
Oscar de la Renta, Lilly Pulitzer, Isaac Mizrahi, Zac
Posen and Betsey Johnson have all designed one-of-a-kind
doghouses for the ASPCA’s Annual Bergh Ball, to be held
at the Plaza on April 21. The designers’ creations will be
auctioned off by Sotheby’s at the benefit, the last black-tie
gala held at the hotel before its conversion to
condominiums. Sob. Linda Fargo, Bergdorf Goodman’s
renowned window designer, will design canine-themed
vignettes for the store’s 58th Street windows that will be
unveiled Thursday and in which the houses will be
displayed. Also front and center will be Edwin Sayre, the
organization’s president. If you’re wondering why this gala
is called the Bergh Ball, it’s because Henry Bergh founded
the ASPCA in 1866 and today it’s one of the world’s
largest organizations dedicated to the humane treatment
of animals, with over a million supporters.
●
Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria will follow in the
path of Jennifer Aniston, Beyoncé and Natalie Imbruglia as
the new face of L’Oréal. Longoria, who has signed a $2
million contract with the
cosmetics giant, has been
chosen for her lovely face and
figure and her mane of glossy
hair. She says she was not
always the swan people think
she is now. Her sisters referred
to her as the “dark, ugly one”
and people used to walk up to
her mother and say: “Your
daughters are all so beautiful —
and who is this?” as they
pointed at Eva. Well, she who
laughs last, laughs best. For
more on this story, see page 26.
●
We all know Penélope Cruz
found new love with her co-star,
Matthew McConaughey, while
making “Sahara,” but did you
know she also grew fond of
another member of the cast? She
really became friends with her
camel. “I would talk to him and he
would answer. At the end of the
day I would ask for extra time so
we could gallop around the desert.
I loved it.” They do say love
happens when you least expect it.
●
Cameron Diaz is helping her
Lilly Pulitzer
boyfriend, Justin Timberlake,
gather steam in his movie
career. Justin has been approached by Bruce Willis to play
the son of his character, John McCleane, in “Die Hard 4.0.”
Bruce got to know Justin while they were both making the
new movie “Alpha Dog,” which is about to hit a theater
near you. It’s been said that Jessica Simpson auditioned
for the role of Bruce’s daughter, but hasn’t been offered a
contract, at least not yet. Let us pray.
Anyhow, Jessica says that until she met her husband,
Nick Lachey, she was never comfortable with her looks
and had to build her self-esteem by sticking notes on her
mirror saying: “You are beautiful in this skin.” It seems
that after she fell madly in love with Nick and got married,
her self-esteem picked right up because “he loves every
inch of me. I realized I didn’t have to compete with
anybody and people liked me for me — mess-ups and all.”
If you say so, dearie.
●
At the tender age of 20, Scarlett Johansson is already
falling prey to the Hollywood image because, to her, it
seems, everybody in Hollywood is “so damn beautiful. It’s
hard not to feel under pressure. I already use antiaging
products — I have an obsessive character. I manicure my
nails at three in the morning because nobody else can do it
right.” Three in the morning? Maybe she needs more sleep.
6
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
Field of Dreams
LOS ANGELES — Wanderlust is the word for fall with these gypsy-inspired looks. Soft, layered pieces in
jewel tones with exotic beading and leather trims are perfect for the peripatetic princess.
Lotta Stensson’s wool jacket
and silk dress. Safia necklace.
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 7
WWD.COM
Saja’s silk chiffon
blouse and skirt
and acrylic and
wool shawl. Marie
Chavez bracelet.
Sass & Bide’s silk tulle top
with leather harness and
silk viscose skirt; To the
Max’s stretch cotton tank.
Fornarina’s silk satin chiffon
shirt and cotton and
polyester brocade skirt.
Elegantly Waisted belt;
Marie Chavez necklace.
Karanina’s silk chiffon skirt;
Max Studio’s wool cardigan.
Marie Chavez necklace;
Elegantly Waisted belt.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEREMY GOLDBERG AT CONEJO VALLEY BOTANIC GARDEN, THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.; MODEL: MALAYNA/NEXT; SHOES BY CALLEEN CORDERO; HAIR BY AARON LIGHT/CELESTINE; MAKEUP BY THEA ISTENES/PHOTOGENICS; FASHION ASSISTANT: SHANI WRIGHT; STYLED BY MONICA SCHWEIGER
JW’s chiffon top; Michael Stars’ cotton
tank; Ya-Ya’s skirt. Marie Chavez
necklace; Elegantly Waisted belt.
8
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
In the Mainstream
Vendors Venture Into Retailing
By Evan Clark
NEW YORK — Apparel vendors
taking stock of their businesses
are finding that it’s not enough to
just make great clothes anymore.
Tough competition and consolidation at retail have prompted many vendors to at least contemplate opening their own
stores, an expensive path that
has nonetheless helped the likes
of brands such as Nicole Miller
and Sigrid Olsen, among others,
expand while maintaining more
independence than simply as
manufacturers.
Successfully operating stores
can be a harrowing experience
and forces vendors to learn some
new tricks, though the potential
benefits are significant.
ECI, for instance, is actively
looking to open two to three
stores in the New York metropolitan area to broaden the betterpriced sportswear line’s exposure. Steven Feinstein, president
of M.M.&R. Inc., which owns the
brand and has about $60 million
in sales, hopes to find at least one
location by fall for ECI.
“We’ve wanted to do this because we’re designing a line that
doesn’t necessarily have a perfect fit in a lot of the stores that
we sell to,” he said. “The merchandise is a little bit fast, it’s
trend-right, but it’s not a contemporary fit. In our own arena, in
our own store, that merchandise
would be displayed better.”
Feinstein wants the retail
stores to ultimately be profitable, enhance the brand in the
eyes of the consumer and act as
a laboratory where the company
can test new styles and get feedback directly from the consumer.
ECI isn’t the only brand longingly looking at storefronts.
Andrew Jassin, managing director of Jassin-O’Rourke Group,
a fashion consultancy, said his
clients have grown more interested in developing their own store
concepts.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he
said. “Owning your own retail
stores, if you’re a fashion company, is an incredibly opportune
vehicle to present your story the
way you’d like to tell it.”
There are pitfalls, though, he
said. “It’s not an inexpensive
approach to doing business.”
Vendors have to become accustomed to holding onto inventory for long periods of time
when they open their own stores,
and have to learn the ins and
outs of buying or leasing store
space, he said.
“It requires the right side and
the left side of the brain getting
together and agreeing that this is
a business opportunity,” he said.
“Failure is unacceptable because
that might hurt the brand in the
mind of the consumer.”
Stores that have popped up
recently, or are scheduled to, are
relentlessly focused on the brand.
For instance, high-end denim
maker Earnest Sewn is set to
open a 2,600-square-foot store in
the Meatpacking District here
this month that will be characterized by a raw look that mirrors the firm’s jeans. The firm,
with estimated sales of $20 million, will open stores in London
and Japan if the New York location is a hit.
The jeans brand is following
in the footsteps of other denim
brands with wholesale and retail presences, such as Diesel
and Guess.
Laura Pomerantz, principal
of PBS Reality Advisors LLC, is
picking up business from fashion brands looking to open their
own stores.
“Most of the people that we’re
working with are coming into
New York for the first time,” she
said, declining to be more specific than referring to some
European brands that don’t have
any stores in the U.S. yet. The
good news is there’s still space
for them in the city.
“SoHo has some space for
sure,” she said. “There’s actually
a fair amount of availability in
SoHo other than on Broadway.”
Some brands are finding that
exposure from a retail presence
helps pump up department store
business, she said.
“As people become more possessive of their brand image and
the building of the brand as a
total picture, they want to be
masters of their own fate,” said
Pomerantz. “While they want to
continue retailing at the good
department stores, they also
want to present the collection in
its totality and as it was designed, and the best way to do
that is to open your own store.”
At least part of the interest in
stores has been driven by seismic
changes in the fashion world,
said executives.
Producing fashions that have
a clear brand image, are delivered to stores inexpensively and
on time and can keep up with the
capricious consumer has turned
into the price of mere survival
for vendors.
Already, manufacturing private label goods for stores has
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The Diesel store in Union Square.
Sigrid
Olsen in
her first
store in
Chestnut
Hill, Mass.
ECI is
looking to
open up
its own
stores.
diminished as a profit stream for
vendors as stores such as Federated Department Stores, with
its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s
chains, focus on cutting out the
middleman and making their
own store fashions. This pressure will only increase as Federated merges with May later
this year, producing a retailer
with $30 billion in sales.
“There will be an increase in
vertical operations as a result of
all the acquisitions that have
taken place and the ones that
will continue to happen as well,”
said Robert Rosen, chief executive officer of La Rose Inc.,
maker of the Bob Mackie Studio
sportswear collection.
In addition to the pending
May-Federated deal, Sears and
Kmart recently joined forces
and several other properties are
or might be acquisition candidates, including everything from
Neiman Marcus, Saks Inc.’s flagship Saks Fifth Avenue chain
and its department stores to J.C.
Penney.
For now, Rosen, who has considered opening his own stores,
is going to hold off and continue
to focus on his core business.
“[Retail] is a whole different
business, you need the personnel,” he said. “I think you have
to be incredibly focused on what
you do and you need to make the
retailers that you’re currently
doing business with more satisfied and anxious to do business
with you.”
The larger a company gets,
though, the less it can depend on
a single area of its business.
The megavendors, such as Liz
Claiborne Inc. and Jones Apparel Group, which enjoy access
to piles of cash compared with
their smaller counterparts, began to diversify into retail years
ago. At the end of 2004, Jones
operated 402 specialty stores,
and in December snatched up
Barneys New York for almost
$400 million.
Claiborne also has a significant retail presence of its own
with sales from its retail stores
of $1.07 billion last year from
names such as Lucky Brand and
Ellen Tracy. After launching in
2003, the firm added 19 Sigrid
Olsen stores last year and has
plans for 20 more this year. Juicy
Couture opened its first store in
Las Vegas and has more in the
works.
Companies like Jones or
Claiborne, though, are able to approach retail with broad strokes
and can afford to try multiple
concepts before getting it right.
This is a luxury that smaller
firms lack.
Some have been down the
retail path before, only to turn
back.
“We tried off-price and were a
failure,” said Bernard Holtzman,
chief executive officer at designer Harvé Benard. “It seemed like
a good idea. This was 15 years
ago when most of the department
stores were broke.”
Holtzman said vendors getting into retail need to make
sure the product warrants such
a presentation.
“The retail field is quite crowded and unless you have a product
that is not one-dimensional, you’re
going to fail,” he said. “You can’t
open a tops store and you can’t
open a bottoms store because you
have to have fresh product come
in every minute. You have to really look very honestly at your product and say, ‘Does this have legs to
go on its own special way into its
own stores?’ ”
Regardless, manufacturers
need to do something, said
Holtzman.
“They’re losing their account
base,” he said. “You’re going to
see the demise of a lot of manufacturers going forward. It’s a
very tough nut, just as department stores are having a hard
time, these $50 million to $100
million [manufacturers], they’ll
be hitting a crisis soon.”
Three Major
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AccessoriesTheShow, Moda Manhattan and FAME are
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10
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
Marketing
Look-alike Brands Lose Some Luster
By Valerie Seckler
NEW YORK — Call it brand differentiation disease.
Consumers’ growing ennui with fashion brands becoming ever more alike has resulted in the third straight
increase in the share of Americans who say the labels and
logos of their apparel hold less significance than they did
a few years ago. More than two-thirds of adults, or 67 percent, now find brand labels and logos much less or less
important, up from 64 percent last year and 61 percent in
2003, based on Brand Keys’ Fourth Annual Fashion Index.
Not surprisingly, the portion of people who attached
more importance to brand labels and logos versus a few
years ago has fallen to 8 percent of women, from 10 percent in 2004, and to 7 percent overall, from 8 percent.
The share of men who said those names and symbols
gained in significance held flat at 6 percent.
Six names were new to the Brand Keys fashion index
this year: L.L. Bean, Tommy Hilfiger, Isaac Mizrahi, Kate
Spade, Old Navy and Dockers. The array suggests the consumer’s quest for value has intensified when evaluating
brands most important to wear, Robert Passikoff, president of customer loyalty specialist Brand Keys, suggested.
To some extent, the newbies also indicate a preference for American brands, Passikoff said, as Giorgio
Armani (rated third most important) and Adidas (fifth)
were the only European names to place among adults’ 10
favorites. Bean tied with Levi’s for fourth; Hilfiger tied
with Adidas for fifth, and Mizrahi was sixth. Mizrahi,
Bean and Spade figured among women’s favorites, ranking fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, while Hilfiger
and Old Navy placed sixth and seventh with men.
Also, women’s second favorite brand to wear in 2004,
Giorgio Armani, and sixth favorite, Louis Vuitton, were
not designated by women as one of the 10 most important
this time around. However, the two European names
that did rate among their top choices to wear this year —
Versace and Chanel — advanced to third and fourth
place, respectively, up from a tie for fifth place in 2004.
Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren, deemed the third most
important brand to don overall, was not among women’s
top 10 for the third straight year, while Calvin Klein slipped
to seventh place with women, from third place in 2004.
The rankings came by way of a first-quarter phone
survey of 3,750 women and 3,750 men, a representative
sample of 7,500 people who named 57 brands as their
own favorites to wear, and evaluated whether those
names and their corresponding logos had become more
or less important compared with a few years ago. Brand
clutter appears to be weakening brand differentiation,
as evidenced in a larger pool of favorites. The 57 names
noted this year marked increases of 12 percent, from 51
names in 2004, and 39 percent, from 41 names, in 2003.
“Differentiation is becoming so difficult for everyone
— and it’s particularly true in the clothing arena,”
observed Passikoff, in divulging the index exclusively to
WWD. “There’s been [a leveling of] quality available;
there are less significant differences at various prices and
Although American
brands found the
most favor among
the country’s
consumers in the
first quarter,
Versace advanced
to the third most
important name for
women to wear, up
from fifth, last year.
Here, a Versace ad
featuring Madonna.
FAVORITE
APPAREL BRANDS BY GENDER
Labels and Logos More Important to Wear Than They Were a Few Years Ago
1
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN & MEN
BRAND
SHARE
BRAND
SHARE
BRAND
1. Nike
22%
1. Ralph Lauren
27%
1. J. Crew
SHARE
26%
2. Ralph Lauren
18%
2. L.L. Bean
25%
2. Nike
25%
3. Giorgio Armani
13%
3. Nike
23%
3. Versace
20%
4. J. Crew
13%
4. Brooks Bros.
23%
4. Chanel
18%
5. L.L. Bean
12%
5. Giorgio Armani
21%
5. Donna Karan
17%
17%
6. Levi’s
12%
6. NBA licensed wear
18%
6. Isaac Mizrahi
7. Adidas
10%
7. Tommy Hilfiger
15%
7. L.L. Bean
15%
8. Tommy Hilfiger
10%
8. Old Navy
9%
8. Calvin Klein
10%
9. Isaac Mizrahi
9%
9. Adidas
8%
9. Kate Spade
8%
NOTE-1: PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED THEIR OWN FAVORITE BRANDS, RATHER THAN CHOOSING THEM FROM A LIST. IN ADDITION TO NAMING THEIR FAVORITE INDIVIDUAL BRANDS TO WEAR, 40 PERCENT
OF PARTICIPANTS SAID IT IS IMPORTANT TO WEAR THE LICENSED APPAREL OF THEIR FAVORITE SPORTS TEAMS, INCLUDING 50 PERCENT OF MEN AND 30 PERCENT OF WOMEN.
SOURCE: THE BRAND KEYS FOURTH ANNUAL FASHION INDEX, MARCH 2005
FAVORITE
APPAREL BRANDS BY AGE
Labels and Logos More Important to Wear Than They Were a Few Years Ago
1
21-34 YEARS OLD
35-44 YEARS OLD
45-59 YEARS OLD
1. Ralph Lauren
30%
1. Nike
29%
1. Ralph Lauren
2. Tommy Hilfiger
28%
2. Ralph Lauren
26%
2. Brooks Bros.
23%
22%
3. Giorgio Armani
27%
3. J. Crew
25%
3. L.L. Bean
20%
4. Polo
25%
4. Dockers
25%
4. Adidas
19%
5. NBA licensed wear
22%
5. Giorgio Armani
24%
5. Polo
18%
6. Kate Spade
19%
6. NBA licensed wear
20%
6. Giorgio Armani
17%
7. DKNY
17%
7. Brooks Bros.
19%
7. Nike
16%
8. J. Crew
15%
8. Tommy Hilfiger
15%
8. Chanel
15%
9. Isaac Mizrahi
14%
9. NFL licensed wear
14%
9. J. Crew
9%
NOTE-1: PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED THEIR OWN FAVORITE BRANDS, RATHER THAN CHOOSING THEM FROM A LIST. IN ADDITION TO NAMING THEIR FAVORITE INDIVIDUAL BRANDS TO WEAR, 50 PERCENT OF
THE 21- TO 34-YEAR-OLDS SAID IT IS IMPORTANT TO WEAR THE LICENSED APPAREL OF THEIR FAVORITE SPORTS TEAMS, AS DID 37 PERCENT OF THOSE AGES 35-44 AND 29 PERCENT OF THOSE 45-59.
SOURCE: THE BRAND KEYS FOURTH ANNUAL FASHION INDEX, MARCH 2005
store channels. Poor marketing compounds the effect.”
One victim of this syndrome, in Passikoff ’s view, is
Gap, which this year disappeared from the fashion
index’s array of people’s favorite brands and logos to
wear, after placing 10th among women and fifth among
women and men combined in 2004. “Gap is a brand that
has mistaken a marketing opportunity for a brand opportunity,” Passikoff maintained.
Rather than aiming its appeal at shoppers seeking
basic apparel, Passikoff said, Gap built its recent marketing efforts around spokeswoman Sarah Jessica
Parker, whose association with HBO’s “Sex and the City”
was more suggestive of a glamorous fantasy. “The issue
is what people are willing to believe. Joss Stone is more
real, less glitzy,” he added, referring to the English soul
singer who will be spotlighted in Gap’s summer marketing campaign, slated to break in early May.
Gap officials declined to comment.
Prior to Parker’s three-season stint as Gap’s first spokeswoman, Passikoff said, “They had good basic clothes at
basic prices, highlighted by song-and-dance commercials.
Now, Target has that.” (On the other hand, during Gap’s
two-year earnings slide from 2000 to 2002, some other marketers criticized the retailer for too much of a reliance on
basics like khakis and song-and-dance routines in its ads.)
Following Gap’s spring campaign, Parker’s final run in
the brand’s ads, Stone will make a one-time appearance in
the retailer’s summer salvo; she was selected to impart the
sultry, sensual image the brand is seeking for its white jeans,
said Trey Laird, president and executive creative director
at Laird + Partners, Gap’s lead creative agency. Pointing out
that music is part of Gap’s heritage, dating back to the
store’s offer of records and jeans when it first opened in
1969, Laird added, “Joss has her own sensibility; she likes to
do things her own way. That gives her a lot of credibility.”
But Gap wasn’t the only notable disappearing act in
Brand Keys’ fourth fashion index.
Two sports labels took a tumble, failing to rank among
the overall top 10 for the first time ever: licensed apparel from Major League Baseball and the National Hockey
League. The popularity of the MLB brand was possibly
hurt by the sport’s ongoing steroids scandal, while the
NHL brand’s allure was apparently dampened by the
hockey season’s suspension based on another measure,
the Brand Keys Sports Fan Index. In 2004, by comparison, NHL-wear was the seventh favorite brand or logo to
wear and MLB-wear placed 10th.
Athletic powerhouse Nike, while repeating as the most
important name or icon for people to wear, did not rate as
one of the 10 favorites of young adults, ages 21-34. Nike was
seen as meaningful to don by 29 percent of 35- to 44-yearolds, who ranked it first; 16 percent of 45- to 59-year-olds,
who ranked it eighth, and 22 percent of all those surveyed,
for whom it led the list of individual brands.
“Nike may have reached a saturation point among
young adults, who have displayed a preference for labels
such as RBK and Keds,” Passikoff offered. “People ages
21 through 34 are still defining themselves,” he said.
“Nike is a brand that is so ingrained, it has become like
just another company.”
More broadly, noted trend forecaster Irma Zandl,
president of youth marketing specialist Zandl Group,
“Everything related to sports has been trending down.”
Young Americans, in particular, have been expressing
less interest in such things as wanting to meet or model
themselves after professional athletes, watching sports
on TV and sports participation, she said.
While licensed apparel of people’s favorite sports
teams, including the National Basketball Association and
National Football League, continued to carry more clout
than individual brands such as Nike, the share of those
finding it much more or more important to wear still has
eroded. Team apparel attained that level for less than
one-third of women, or 30 percent, down from 36 percent
in 2004; 50 percent of men, versus 55 percent, and 40 percent of adults overall, against 44 percent a year ago.
WWDEXECTECH
PAGES 11-21
SEARCHING FOR
JEFF BEZOS
5
ESSENTIAL
TECHS
CEO’S MUST KNOW
THE BODY SHOP’S
IT TREATMENT
IMAGE BY PHOTODISC/GETTY IMAGES
A CIO HITS
THE BEACH
12
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWDEXECTECH
Bits & Bytes
By Cate T. Corcoran
BESPOKE TECH
Inclosia Solutions will customize a phone or portable in the
fabric, wood or metal of your choice. Here, the company shows
off a laptop wrapped in Burberry plaid (with Burberry’s
permission) at a wearable computing fashion show at the CTIA
wireless conference in New Orleans last month.
PHOTOS BY JEFF STROUT/CTIA
n
n
IT SLICES, IT DICES
Fashionistas might soon
be listening to new
songs and watching
movie trailers,
broadcast news and, of
course, fashion shows
on their cell phones,
which are quickly
becoming the Swiss
Army knives of the
wired world. The
Seimens SXG75, due in
September, is an MP3
player, still camera,
video camera, FM radio
and global positioning
system. And, naturally,
it also comes with a
Web browser, e-mail
and instant messaging.
Samsung and Sony
Ericsson also are
prepping combo cell
phone-MP3 players, and
by May, some Samsung
cell phones will play
back streaming video at
high speed.
WEB SCENT
Jenny Tillotson designed this spider brooch, which is
connected to another brooch over a wireless network. One
wearer can send a “scent message” to another by whispering
into the voice-activated brooch, which then tells the other
spider to release a scent. The pins were shown at the CTIA
fashion show. Tillotson is a research fellow at Central Saint
Martins College of Art and Design in London.
PHOTO BY MARK PETERSON/CORBIS
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
Location, location, location. It’s not a real estate agent’s mantra, it’s
the latest twist in social networking services. Thanks to a start-up
called Jambo, it’s possible to be on a plane, in the desert or at a
conference and be able to see if any friends are nearby. How it works:
You create a profile, which the company matches against other
profiles for similar interests and sends back to you. Then your WiFi
(wireless)-enabled phone or laptop automatically alerts you when a
friend is near. The service is only two months old and so far is
available only to seniors at Washington University in St. Louis. Soon,
Jambo, which is based in Dallas and has six employees, will add
travelers at LaGuardia Airport, students at St. Louis University and
attendees at several upcoming engineering conferences. Similar
services based on cell phone text messaging already are available
from Playtxt in the U.K. and Dodgeball in New York, which launched
last year and now has more than 15,000 members in 22 cities. You
can’t use Dodgeball on a plane, but it’s easy to text message the
service when you’re wandering the East Village alone late at night,
and founder Dennis Crowley says he uses it to meet friends and
friends of friends for impromptu dinners or drinks.
MONSTER MUSIC
Technology companies other than
Apple are finally getting hip to the
worlds of fashion and art, and Japanese
artist Fujii Fumiya’s take on the MP3
player for Toshiba is the latest
crossover gadget. Available only in
Japan, the special edition of the
Gigabeat F10 can store 10 gigabytes of
music and retails for approximately
$382. Expect to see more artists and
designers collaborating with technology
companies in the coming months.
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 13
WWD.COM
BODY SHOP’S IT MAKEOVER
By Barbara Barker
lthough Peter Saunders, chief executive officer of
The Body Shop, is quick to proclaim with self-deprecating irony that he is a “nontechnologist,” he has led
a turnaround at the company in which IT has played
a starring role.
The U.K.-based beauty retailer and its prolific
range of nature-inspired skin care products and cosmetics has gone from acute underperformance to
being the 27th best-known brand in the world with
sales of more than $1 billion, thanks to a new business
strategy and systems to support it, Saunders said during a presentation at the Global Retail Technology
Forum held in Barcelona last month. The yearly event
brings together senior IT and business executives
from retailers around the globe.
The Body Shop operates more than 2,000 stores — averaging 700 to 1,000 square feet in size — in more than 50 countries. Some are company-owned and others are franchises. The company also has home-based sales and
a Web site. All three channels “speak to the consumer with one voice,” he said.
The 29-year-old company went through a difficult period starting in the late
Nineties when profits were lower than they should have been. “We had no strategy,”
explained Saunders. “We were like 50 different companies. We had little or no rigorous planning of financials, no focus or priorities, and poor performance awareness
so that when you asked how were yesterday’s sales, people said, ‘We don’t know.’ ”
Saunders, who is Canadian-born, transferred to the U.K. headquarters in
February 2002 after three years in the U.S. as chief operating officer and president
of the American business. He and his executive team quickly developed a threeyear cross-functional strategic plan, which is currently reviewed on a yearly basis.
The team began by identifying the company’s core competencies and what it needed
to do well to succeed. These included product control, inventory and distribution.
Unfortunately, Saunders said, “We had a structure that did not reflect what we
were now saying we had to be good at.”
Another problem was that the company couldn’t measure the benefits of accurate planning and forecasting because the systems and business processes weren’t
in place. The company also needed to more rigorously manage product development and promotions, he said.
In Saunders’ view, The Body Shop was thinking and acting
like a wholesaler instead of the branded retailer it is. He credited founder Anita Roddick with creating “a niche through
product innovation and a retail branded company, but we
The Body Shop now thinks and acts
were not a branded retailer. We had an amazing brand, with
like the retailer it is, said Saunders.
its own stores, but we were a wholesaler, not a retailer.”
The company decided to use integrated retail enterprise
ended Feb. 28, 2005 later this month.)
software from German-based supplier SAP to unify its operaAdditional benefits include improved communication
tions worldwide. The company had been using the software
with the company’s suppliers and its sales force. The sales
to run its U.S. business since 1999, and was pleased with the
audit system monitors shrinkage and the number of units
results, said Andrea Alvey, The Body Shop’s IT director and
sold per transaction for better inventory control. The new
director of finance, who also attended the forum. The Body
systems will also help the company plan better and speed
Shop is now about halfway through a global implementation,
new product development, which has long been a goal.
which it expects to complete in April next year.
Saunders spoke at length about the role of technology in retail.
In 2004, the company implemented a feature called POS Data
“We decided the role IT is to play is as a business partner
Mart (part of SAP’s Business Information Warehouse software),
to help us drive changes in processes, including merchandise
which allows the retailer to audit sales for the first time, mostly
systems. IT can enable the delivery of the corporate strategy
for the purpose of loss prevention. Previously, it was difficult for
that forms the basis of our goals and our communication with
The Body Shop to get data feeds from its stores and franchisees
an improved ROI [return on investment] and it can create opbecause they use more than 30 different POS systems. Body
erational efficiencies. IT can also be a crutch and a capital exShop has settled on a standard POS for future purchases, but
penditure nightmare if you don’t understand the problems.”
needs to connect to older, disparate systems still in use.
The Body Shop’s Peter Saunders.
Above all, he said, “Let’s not invest in systems we don’t
With POS Data Mart, Body Shop can take feeds from any
need. And we believe IT should be seamless and invisible.
POS and store the data in one place, where it’s quickly and easily accessible. That information also feeds the company’s main business data ware- People should be visible and involved,” he added.
The Body Shop’s current IT strategy was led by the business side, not technolhouse, a central tool that will go live next month. That main data warehouse will enogists, he said.
able The Body Shop to analyze its sales and margins, which it couldn’t do previously.
“You can say it’s an IT plan, but I say it’s a plan put forward by our IT team to
Last week, The Body Shop started buying wholesale merchandise through the
deliver what the business says it can support,” he said. “Technology without busiSAP system. The company will go live with financial and warehouse systems in June.
In February 2006 the company will put in place SAP’s product life cycle man- ness support will be misunderstood and IT will be blamed for the problem.”
The company is pleased with its new systems. “We understand what technoloagement software, which will help Body Shop manage products through the development cycle and track critical milestones. In September 2006 the company gy can do for us and we are set for the future,” Saunders said.
Commenting on future goals, Alvey said, “The more we can integrate [new and
will implement retail purchasing for its stores in SAP.
Last year, the company spent approximately $187 million on capital expenses. legacy systems] and make IT seamless to the organization, the better.”
Times have changed, and technology can no longer be ignored, she said.
One-third of the money went to existing stores, another third on new stores and
another third on IT. Most of the technology budget went to SAP and new POS sys- “Retailers grew up in a very siloed fashion, but what once provided competitive
tems. “For a company of our size,” said Saunders, $57 million “is reasonably advantage is currently available to everyone. Looking at the next three years, we
can’t do without technology and the processes behind it.”
large, but given the guaranteed business return, money wasn’t an issue.”
She predicted “huge developments” in the retail environment within the next
New technology has afforded a tangible investment return and a “dramatically
improved” cash flow in the last three years, said Saunders. Operating profit has five years, including expanded global and multichannel operations. She also preincreased “and it will continue to do so for the current financial year. We’ve done dicted a broader role for the chief information officer, “a more personal relationship that helps the organization understand innovation.”
what we said we would — and more.” He did not reveal specific figures.
“Whether employee or consumer, you as an individual have to understand
Although The Body Shop’s revenues stayed constant from 2003 to 2004, the
company’s net profits more than quadrupled, according to its most recent finan- what we’re doing. Otherwise technology doesn’t work. Our IT staff is very incial statement. Specifically, retail sales totaled 700.3 million pounds, or $1.3 bil- volved in the business.”
Both executives said The Body Shop would not adopt RFID-driven systems or selflion (at current exchange rates) for the year ended Feb. 28, 2003, and 699.5 million pounds, or $1.3 billion, for the year ended Feb. 28, 2004, as well. Profits in- checkout. “I want hands-on in our stores,” said Alvey. And Saunders added, “I don’t want
creased from 2.1 million pounds, or $3.9 million, in 2003 to 10.1 million pounds, or to lose touch with you [the customer]. I want you to stay around [the store] for a while.”
$18.9 million, in 2004. (The company will report preliminary results for the year
— With contributions from Cate T. Corcoran, New York
SAUNDERS PHOTO BY TIM JENKINS; STORE BY ALEX SEAGRE/REX FEATURES
A
14
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
WWDEXECTECH
Amazon ceo Jeff
Bezos talks about
the company’s
recent venture into
search technology.
REMIXING THE FUTURE
By Cate T. Corcoran
ALL PHOTOS BY JAMES DUNCAN DAVIDSON/O’REILLY NETWORK
R
emix” was the theme of this year’s O’Reilly Emerging and Google could have shopping-specific search tools such as Froogle, Amazon, a
Technology conference held in San Diego last month. shopping site, could make its own search tools. Then again, perhaps A9.com was
The relatively small conference is the computing world’s just a logical spin-off for a company that has devised numerous innovative ways
Sundance, where new talent and many of the pioneers for consumers to search its own site for books and other products. “My guess is
who had a hand in creating the personal computer and that there will be lots of Web sites that want to consume search,” said Bezos.
subsequent important chapters in technology history
meet and mingle in the halls. They are attracted by the Tech Buzz Game
conference’s emphasis on do-it-yourself technology and
“The Tech Buzz Game is a new way to tap the collective wisdom of the Web
its decidedly noncommercial vibe.
and possibly influence the way we do business,” said Gary
This year’s theme was meant to
Flake, principal scientist and head of Yahoo Research Labs.
conjure up images of hackers (in the
Jointly developed by Yahoo and O’Reilly Media Inc., the book
old-fashioned, positive meaning of
publisher and organizer of the conference, the Web-based
the word) splicing together odd new
game lets players bet (with fake money) on which technolocreations out of cars, cell phones,
gies will be most searched in the future. Players’ guesses are
robot toys and the wireless Internet.
compared with actual Yahoo search tallies, and players are
It reflected a trend that’s been gathering steam for some time
awarded (or charged) more fake money with which to place
in the consumer world, where platforms and formats are
more bets.
combining and recombining in dizzying, delightful and some“It’s a research project to see whether or not [a group] can
times confusing profusion. There are talking billboards that
predict trends,” said Tim O’Reilly, founder and ceo of
can be telephoned; a dozen different ways to get phone, cable
O’Reilly Media and a well-known open-source activist. The
and Internet, and cell phones that can double as books, steregame’s Web site describes it as a tool to see if “search buzz”
os, televisions and video cameras.
can be predicted by “the collective wisdom of crowds.”
Most of the conference dealt not with hardware, however,
“We’re just at the stage where we’re trying to map buzz rebut with a new form of online group collaboration inspired
sults to real-world data,” continued O’Reilly, who added that
This “feral” robot dog — actually a Sony
by the computer industry’s success with “open source” softhis company has found it very easy to predict which books
Aibo toy technoartist Natalie Jeremijenko
ware (programs that can be used and improved by anybody).
will succeed based on which search terms are popular.
rewired — gathers in a pack with other
The concept is quickly leaking out of the tech world and into
robot dogs and barks the national
everyday life. Case in point: the Wikipedia, an online encyThe End of the DJ
anthem when it detects toxic chemicals
clopedia that started in 2001 and now has 517,639 articles
BBC Radio’s tech department thought up a clever idea:
in schoolyards and parks.
anyone can edit. There are also group-created travel guides,
user-controlled radio, where the masses become the DJ. They
how-to manuals and Flickr, a photo album for the whole
called it the Ten Hour Takeover, and for 10 hours on three ocworld to share.
casions in the last two years, BBC listeners text messaged the
Though many of these sites have been created by programBBC with the name of one song over their cell phones. The
mers, there is nothing to stop artists, designers, architects,
BBC’s computers aggregated the songs and automatically
trend watchers, professors, ad writers and marketers from
played them. Listeners could also send in comments and
creating their own hives of group activity. As O’Reilly particitheir pictures, which were posted on the BBC Web site along
pant and New York University adjunct professor Clay Shirky
with the playlists.
has pointed out, sites with shared databases like Flickr and
social networking sites like Friendster could be used to preSerendipity at Microsoft Labs
dict trends and involve masses of people in product design.
“Cross-discipline serendipity is getting to the point where
Here are some highlights of the O’Reilly conference:
we can store everything that ever happened to anyone,” said
Rick Rashid, head of Microsoft Research. He showed the audience slides of the SenseCam, a wearable data and image
Amazon’s Search
recorder that automatically takes a picture when its environAmazon founder and chief executive officer Jeff Bezos
ment changes. The device has a global positioning system
didn’t say a word about e-commerce, but he did open with a
and senses light, temperature and motion, so it can take clear
funny anecdote about the previous presenter, Danny Hillis of
Art
by
Joe
Grand,
who
created
the
pictures even when it’s moving.
research and development firm Applied Minds. Bezos relightning bolt pattern in an acrylic block
SenseCams are being tested to support memory loss pacounted that the two had been once been chatting about globby zapping it with a Van de Graaf electron
tients in Cambridge, England. “It’s the ultimate blogging
al consciousness, and Bezos asked him to define it. “Oh, globaccelerator.
He
showed
off
his
creation
tool,” said Rashid. “You could blog everything that ever hapal consciousness,” said Bezos, quoting Hillis. “That’s easy.
at the conference’s Maker’s Fair, a
pens to someone this way.” Yes, but would you want to?
That’s the thing that decides the decaf coffee pot is orange.”
Bezos demonstrated OpenSearch, a new search tool from
hands-on evening event where
Info Bump
A9.com Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon that was founded in 2003
participants got to see and make things.
A light flashed when Nokia’s Chris Heathcote and Matt D.
to improve search for e-commerce. Amazon will eventually
Grand is president of Grand Idea Studio
Jones touched their cell phones together, and the two phones
use A9’s technology on its Web site, according to A9. A9.com
Inc., a firm that invents and licenses
exchanged business cards. As the duo later explained, the
lets users search several sources, including Google and
consumer electronics and toys.
phones were set up to “read” any object that has been
Amazon’s Search Inside This Book. The site keeps a history
“tagged” with information stored on magnetic chips similar to
of every search, so users can save search results. OpenSearch
lets content providers publish and syndicate their search results. For example, at the ones used in employee ID cards.
However, there is a downside: Two strangers could bump phones in the street
opensearch.a9.com, one can click on a button to see the results of a search on
“what people want to do with their lives” from Web site 43 Things. Number one is and unintentionally exchange information — unless, of course, the phones are set
“Be a better person and leave the world a better place than how how [sic] I found up to require a click from the owner first.
“There is a privacy issue,” admitted Heathcote. “I have tagged my world, and if
it.” 43 Things is a social networking site where people can list their goals and
connect with other people with the same goals. Perhaps Amazon figured if Yahoo I move my phone, something happens.” ■
16
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWDEXECTECH
TOP TECHNOLOGIES
CEO’S CAN’T IGNORE
By Denise Power
etailers and manufacturers are routinely bombarded with
technology “must-haves” that may or may not deliver on
their promise. But this year, five technologies rise above
the hype and beckon executives to listen up.
The focus areas were identified following an informal
poll of progressive technology executives who offer one
key disclaimer: No technology is a good fit for every company and copycat implementations not aligned with strategy are bound to disappoint.
“I don’t think you can pick one technology and say it is
the most important, but I’d say the key is to have a good understanding of the capability of the technology,” said Kevin
Turner, president and chief executive officer of Sam’s Club
and former chief information officer of Wal-Mart.
Smart & Final’s senior vice president and cio, Zeke Duge,
agrees: “We overuse the term ‘enabling technology.’ It’s not the technology itself that’s
enabling, but how it plays in the bigger picture.” Grasping the broader strategic vision
— and where technology fits in to support it — requires a meeting of the minds between ceo and cio and the time for techno-speak is long gone, sources said. Ceo’s
must insist their technology executives understand strategic objectives and articulate
benefits of technology investments in business terms, not bits, bytes and bandwidth.
“Not only do cio’s need to be conversant in business jargon, but also in vendorspeak, consultant-ease and techno-babble,” said Andy Laudato, senior vice president and cio of the $1.8 billion Pier 1 Imports. “A primary function of the cio is to
translate among these groups.”
Once the language obstacles are overcome, it becomes clear that the five areas of
technology that have ceo’s and cio’s charged include:
R
PHOTO BY DIGITAL VISION/GETTY IMAGES
1. PLM
Product lifecycle management is an
all-encompassing, data-driven process
that coordinates each step in the life of
a product, from initial concept through
production. Done right, it speeds product to market. That’s money made. It
also streamlines design and procurement while eliminating costly excess
samples. That’s money saved. Early
adopters of PLM systems gain unprecedented visibility into — and control of — their entire product development cycle. That’s an edge.
Apparel and footwear companies
have traditionally orchestrated the
steps that take a designer’s inspiration from sketch to production to
sales floor with numerous systems,
often spreadsheet-based, error-prone
and not integrated.
“You could have dozens and dozens
of files misrepresenting what you are
going to build. It gets into total anarchy,” said Brion Carroll, president and
ceo of systems integrator Aptavis
Technologies. He gave a PLM presenPLM software coordinates the many processes
tation at the Material World conferthat go into a garment’s design.
ence in Miami Beach last month.
In an interview, Carroll said poor visibility into its own processes cost a New
York-based company $50 million in materials it no longer wanted. Had a PLM system been in place to alert the company that its production needs had changed, the
order could have been canceled.
Ceo’s can’t deny these outmoded practices are eating up profits.
With PLM, design and production activities are tracked and coordinated seamlessly to present “one version of the truth” to everyone involved in a project. With
updated information about project status, accurate costs and approaching deadlines, everyone works smarter. Problems are anticipated earlier in the cycle and
addressed. Activities once carried out sequentially can be done simultaneously, a
big time saver. “Instead of doing everything in a series — finish the design, then buy
the material, then cost out the production — things can be done in parallel,” said
Alexi Sarnevitz, research director of retail at AMR Research.
New Look, a $1.3 billion U.K. retailer with a significant private label business,
slashed procurement lead time by 20 percent using PLM. “And that 20 percent is
the low-hanging fruit” that comes with newfound visibility into the product development process, Sarnevitz said. With this knowledge, companies can identify and
eliminate inefficient processes to slash design and procurement lead time by up to
50 percent, he said. “There is no reason for [lead time] to be nine months.”
New Look is using a PLM system from UGS, which had been part of EDS before
it was sold last year. Other manufacturers are switching out their homegrown systems with solutions from PTC, Geac, Lectra, Gerber Technologies, Freeborders,
UGS and MatrixOne, among others, to streamline collaborative tasks.
“It is a shrinking world and collaboration is going to be the key of the future,”
said John Seville, cio of Rocky Mountain Clothing Co., a division of Denver-based
Miller International. His company is using Lectra’s PLM system and will soon test
that vendor’s Web-based product management solution.
2. Biometrics
Used to verify a person’s identity through finger, face or retinal scanning, biometrics has clear-cut security applications such as access control. However, biometrics can play a broader role in an organization that is willing to think creatively
about solving age-old problems, such as lines at the checkout.
“The technologies ceo’s need to know about are the ones that are going to give
an advantage in hiring, service or saving time or money,” said Duge of the $2 billion
Smart & Final, based in California. His biometrics deployment will enhance customer service by eliminating hang-ups at the checkout, such as special transactions
that require a store manager’s approval.
Biometrics-equipped personal digital assistants will enable a Smart & Final store
manager to remotely authorize a cash refund, for example, without customers having to wait for him to trundle to the front end and turn a key. The retailer is working
on the solution with point-of-sale vendor NCR and PDA provider Hewlett-Packard.
When alerted his attention is needed, a manager logs on to a wireless PDA from anywhere in the store to view the
POS transaction details. With the
touch of a thumbprint, whose
physical attributes are linked to
its owner and stored in a database, the manager’s approval or
rejection is transmitted wirelessly to the POS, “where it goes: ‘kachunk,’ ” Duge said. The checkout
lane is moving again and the
store manager resumes his work
with only minimal interruption.
Another biometrics application gives retailers the power to
influence which payment method
a shopper chooses, an opportuniBiometric finger scans authorize payment in a
ty no retailer would dismiss.
Piggly Wiggly store.
Food retailer Thriftway uses
biometric payment terminals from PayByTouch and sets the default to debit because it’s less costly to process than credit. Shoppers can opt for another payment
method, but debit is the first choice they’re offered, said Brian Bixenman, store director.
When shoppers enroll in a biometrics payment program, they designate which
payment accounts are to be charged, register their fingerprints once and need not
present their cards afterward. A biometric finger scan is all that’s needed to verify
identity and authorize payment.
“Now it’s the store’s opportunity to [virtually] reach into your wallet and put a
card on top,” said Samir Nanavati, partner with think tank International Biometrics
Group. “The store could have an active say” about which payment method is used,
such as a store’s own branded card. “I think a ceo would love to hear this,” he said.
3. RFID
Four words pretty much sum up why radio frequency identification needs to be on
the ceo’s radar: It’s not going away. On that, there is consensus, even among skeptics.
A whopping 70 percent of major retailers with at least $5 billion in sales that have
not made their RFID plans public will invest in the technology this year, according to
survey results released last month by Deloitte and Retail Systems Alert Group. That
same group of respondents will implement RFID in the next 18 months. The research
findings validate the widely held perception that retailers are far more engaged by
RFID’s potential than manufacturers at this point.
RFID tags, embedded with a computer chip and antenna, can be affixed to product
at the pallet, case or item level to track inventory movement throughout the supply
chain. Because the process is fully automated, unlike bar code-based systems, RFID
evangelists predict monumental improvements in tracking accuracy and speed. With
reliable knowledge about inventory disposition at any point in time and at any point in
the supply chain, companies can replenish to reduce stockouts, decrease shrink losses
due to theft and even reduce shrink losses as a result of spoilage of perishable food.
The list of theoretical benefits
goes on but few companies have
demonstrated a solid return on investment.
The Gap chain tested RFID to
track individual pairs of jeans in
a store and to trigger stock replenishment from the back room
to the shelf, when needed. Sales
in that category rose 7 to 15 percent, said a Gap executive involved in the test. Gap reasoned
that RFID captured sales that
otherwise would have been lost
when a particular size or style is
thought to be out of stock, when
in fact it is only misplaced someIn Metro Group’s test store, RFID in the fitting room
where in the store. Results like
these are promising but fall short
activates computers to display product information.
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 17
WWD.COM
of the hard ROI numbers the industry craves.
Another store-level RFID application appeals to those retailers seeking to use technology to improve the shopping experience. When deployed in a store’s fitting room, as
Germany’s Metro Group did at a test site, RFID can act as a personal shopping assistant.
RFID-tagged garments communicate with fitting room computers to display information
relevant to the garment being tried on, such as color options or coordinating pieces.
grams such as Welfare-to-Work.
“You have to file for that before they start working. Otherwise you could be leaving millions [of tax credit dollars] on the table,” said the cio, who requested
anonymity. In the specialty retail category, Unicru estimates that 16 percent of job
applicants are eligible for the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit program.
Heightened emphasis on customer service has retailers turning to workforce optimization solutions. Such systems analyze historical store traffic data to devise schedules
that meet customer demand. They also track and document that schedules were adhered
to, and that required employee breaks were taken, to ensure regulatory compliance with
labor laws. Limited Brands and Burlington Coat Factory are among those using such a
system from Workbrain, and late last month, Longs Drug bought RedPrairie’s workforce
performance management solution. Longs’ system guides distribution workers’ activities
based on industry-accepted standards for how long a given task should take to complete.
Sears uses a task management and monitoring solution from StorePerform Technologies
to assign activities at stores and ensure they are carried out.
Not every enticing technology may offer ceo’s the ROI they want. But systems
that encourage collaboration among workers, streamline processes and offer something extra to the shopper that she can’t get anywhere else are the ones to watch. ■
5. Workforce Solutions
Retail ceo’s can’t ignore technologies that directly impact
their number one controllable
expense — employees. While
some labor-oriented systems accelerate the job candidate
screening process, others use analytics to optimize workforce
scheduling and management
once those people are hired.
“If you don’t have the ability
to hire quality people on the
spot, you lose out. They go next
door” and join a competitor,
said a cio at a multibillion-dollar chain whose store base and
labor force are growing rapidly.
A system from Unicru automates the screening process and
uses filters to weed out undesirable candidates (such as those
unwilling to work weekends).
Through a series of questions,
the system identifies those hires
who will bring their new employer tax credit dollars from
government-sponsored pro-
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Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. ©2005 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
4. Mobile Devices
Mobile technology is not new, but smart companies are finding ingenious ways to
deploy it to enhance the shopping experience, whether it’s a merchant or a consumer doing the buying. Home furnishings manufacturer Orbit began using wireless
handheld devices to automate order-writing for retail buyers touring its showrooms.
“Being able to walk around and talk about your product, rather than playing catch-up
with handwritten orders, allows you to develop a relationship,” said Scott Berkowitz,
Orbit president. “It allows you to meet with each buyer on an individual basis.” The
Highland Park, Ill., company uses personal digital assistants from Symbol
Technologies and order entry software from Upward Technologies.
In retail, the concept of using mobile phones as payment devices is gaining interest.
Ron Ehlers, vice president of information services at Pacific
Sunwear of California, said the
ubiquity of cell phones among
his young customers makes it a
very attractive option to offer and
one that he will explore further.
Both Ehlers and Gary
Hawkins, ceo of food retailer
Green Hills, cited the “m-commerce” solution called MobileLime from Vayusa as one to
watch. To use phones as payment,
customers enroll in the program
through MobileLime’s Web site,
where they designate the account
to be used to pay for purchases.
Or shoppers can set up a prepaid
account so the phone works like a
stored value gift card. To initiate
payment with the phone, shoppers dial a toll-free number and
enter the merchant’s location ID.
The purchase total is relayed
back over the phone and the
shopper enters a PIN number to
authorize the purchase.
“When used as payment,”
ibm.com/industries/retail/store
Hawkins said, “the cell phone
can also effectively ID the customer to the transaction and take
the place of a frequent shopper
card,” allowing retailers to gain
insight into shoppers’ preferences, history and buying trends.
With that information, retailers
can send customized offers, via
cell phone, while shoppers are
still in the store and receptive to
suggestive selling.
“This is very much a ceo
issue,” he added. “I say this because I am convinced this whole
notion of gathering, understanding and using customer data is a
long-term business strategy, not
just a marketing promotion.”
CUSTOMER SERVICE
ON DEMAND
Building strong relationships with customers is vital to your business. You are challenged to sense
and respond to their ever changing needs while, at the same time, maintaining or lowering your
costs. If you think thriving in this environment requires technology solutions out of your reach,
think again. The IBM SurePOS Express Portfolio is a selection of advanced point-of-sale solutions
uniquely designed to help companies like yours. Available through IBM Business Partners, these
solutions can help you meet the demands of customers, without requiring large up-front investments
in time, skill and money. It’s an on demand world. Be an On Demand business.
Learn more about the IBM SurePOS Express Portfolio of point-of-sale solutions by calling your IBM
Business Partner, or by calling 1 800 IBM-CALL (1 800 426-2255) to speak with an IBM representative.
Please visit ibm.com/industries/retail/store.
18
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
WWDEXECTECH
ART AND SCIENCE OF
A HIGH-POWERED CIO
By Denise Power
o call Evelyn Follit right brain-left brain-dominant is no
oxymoron.
The analytical and artistic gifts of RadioShack’s former chief information officer frequently collide. An idea
that starts with statistician-speak veers into a near tailspin before landing gently somewhere in the realm of a
personal-fulfillment mantra. She manages the verbal maneuvers with skill. Years ago, doing racing time trials at
the Lime Rock Park racetrack taught her that sometimes
acceleration, not braking, is what it takes to maintain
control of a speeding Porsche. Those racing days are behind her and now she’s on track to bring her ideas to
business and technology.
“The real challenge is figuring out how to apply a
business ‘net present value’ approach to your time in
order to optimize your personal delight,” Follit said with
a grin, as though this is how most people speak. Only Follit could articulate in this
way the welcome dilemma a high-profile cio faces upon leaving a demanding job
for other business pursuits — and fun.
The prominent cio retired from $4.8 billion RadioShack five weeks ago
after leading an IT transformation to support strategic business objectives.
During her seven-year tenure, Follit helped shape the company’s online strategy. The network initiatives she oversaw enable a more connected RadioShack
to expand its reach, such as into Sam’s Club. The kiosks RadioShack operates
in more than 500 Sam’s locations sell wireless products and generate nine
times the sales per square foot of an average RadioShack store. While the
chain trails front-runner Best Buy and number two Circuit City in the consumer electronics sector, its sales and profits have climbed steadily in the last
few years.
Follit is now serving on two corporate boards and is looking for more to do.
But not too much. The new regimen must accommodate board meetings and
windsurfing, charitable work and crabbing. “I’d like to have a great golf
swing,” said Follit, who shoots around 106, “but there are other things I like to
do, too.” Furniture design is one. A cream linen sofa and a pair of chaises are
just three of the pieces she created for the Florida home she shares with her
husband, Bill.
In 1998, when Follit became the first female senior vice president at the 84year-old RadioShack, chief executive officer Len Roberts confided she held
“probably the most important job” at the organization. A few years later, she
would take charge of human resources in addition to technology, an unusual and
demanding combo.
After she announced her plans to retire from RadioShack, three men moved
into jobs created to fill the sizable void she would leave.
Follit’s mouthful of a title — senior vice president, chief organizational enabling services officer and chief information officer — generated much ribbing
at first. Those who follow her career aren’t laughing, however. Her stint as chair
of the National Retail Federation’s CIO Council introduced Follit to retail leaders in all classes of trade around the globe. They say her rare combination of
people, technology and finance skills is what ceo’s are seeking in their technology leaders today.
And not just ceo’s. Even the government came calling post-9/11, when the
Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation sought out
the woman who knows the nature of people and technology. Playing a role in
homeland security was attractive to the native New Yorker, but Washington winters do not appeal to Follit. Instead, she’ll serve on the board of $2.7 billion
Linens-N-Things, which she joined on Monday, and on the board of Catalina
Marketing, a marketing services company based not far from her home in Tarpon
Springs, Fla. It was here, in a blindingly sunny room overlooking the Gulf of
Mexico, where Follit talked about what’s next for her and what needs to change in
business overall.
Representation of women on corporate boards is woefully out of whack, said
Follit, who holds an MBA in finance from New York’s Pace University. The subject
takes the usually animated woman to a somber place. “We have so much work to
do,” she said, almost in a whisper. “I’m not sure we’ve made great strides. Then
there’s the Summers thing. What do we have to do?”
“The Summers thing” refers to Harvard University president Larry Summers’
remarks about gender differences in scientific and mathematical capacity, which
stirred up controversy and last month led to a vote of no confidence in him from
the Harvard faculty.
Follit points to published findings that indicate women hold just 7.9 percent of
board seats at Florida’s major public companies. “Oh, my gosh, I am not going to
put the state of Florida on notice here, but if you look at the empirical evidence, it
doesn’t look good,” she said. “Our representation on boards, the roles we play, it
should be higher than it is.”
That the gender issue surfaces in media reports on the ouster of HewlettPackard’s former ceo, Carly Fiorina, is yet more evidence of progress not made,
she said. “You don’t even ask that stuff if it’s a guy [involved]: ‘Does he have a gender problem?’ [Criteria] should be performance-based,” Follit said.
T
PHOTO BY JAMES STEM
Evelyn Follit, who led
an IT makeover at
RadioShack, retired
five weeks ago and will
champion fairness and
diversity as she serves
on retail-related
corporate boards.
IT Mind-set Makeover
Performance became a pivotal issue when Follit joined RadioShack (then
known as Tandy) as vice president of human capital in 1997. A year later, she was
named senior vice president and cio, responsible for the 600 IT staffers in the
Tandy Information Services (TIS) unit. Hiring practices were outmoded and compensation was below the market rate, she said. Morale suffered.
“When I say, ‘downtrodden,’ it was like ‘Les Mis’ downtrodden,” Follit said of
employees who accepted their station like oppressed characters in the Victor
Hugo classic “Les Miserables.” The retailer’s IT employees were conditioned to
think like accountants, but were not held accountable for results. It was a sickness, she said.
“I even had a name for the disease: ‘TIS-itis,’” she said. When computer system
glitches occurred, as they invariably do, staff would capably enumerate the chain
of events that led to the problem. “They’d look pleased with themselves, that
they’d told me everything that was wrong, and I’d say, ‘That’s only the first step,
folks. What do you do about it?’ I think they believed I was going to walk in and
figure it out for them. No, I want them to own the solution,” she said.
The transition took time. Mentoring and continuing education improved the IT
staff ’s communication skills, leadership and financial acumen as well as techniContinued on page 20
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Automating manual paper-based processes is critical for retailers focused on increasing efficiencies. Collaboration technologies
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From order sheets to merchandise return forms, retail
employees have long depended on paper-based processes
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A big drawback to paper-based tasks is that they provide
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The Value of Collaboration
Collaboration is the bringing together of people and
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The right collaboration tools allow a retailer to grow
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One manual process that would benefit
from this kind of automation is product recalls.
Recalls put retailers in a reactive mode that
creates a chain of manual commands,
ultimately resulting in removing the product and
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this process, the retailer must act in accordance with
industry expectations, compliance standards or both.
Lack of insight from the corporate level as to how well the
Simplifying Product Recalls by Creating a Collaborative Workspace
A product recall is a manually intensive process that
provides an excellent case for business process automation.
Typically, a retail corporate office or home office is notified
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and is required to pull all affected items from the stores
and distribution centers.
The home office usually e-mails notifications to store
managers and distribution managers, and it is the managers’
Office InfoPath 2003 is an
XML Form Editor part of the
Office family and as easy to use
as Word.
The task pane is used to guide
the manager through the form,
pulling information from
inventory and other systems.
destroyed. The same process must happen at the
distribution centers.
Next, the store manager or distribution center must
process the paperwork to show the loss of inventory,
sometimes by opening a spreadsheet and charging the
goods to a specific code or by faxing a completed paper
form to headquarters or their regional office. Occasionally,
for customer satisfaction and safety reasons, the retailer
must also contact customers who have purchased the
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Few retailers are satisfied with their current systems
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when or which stores have complied and what percentage
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Automating the Product Recall Process
Microsoft provides solutions that enhance process control
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stores have complied creates a series of redundant
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Clearly, an automated system for managing the recall
process—including tracking compliance and filtering
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being notified—can result in huge efficiencies. And
product recalls are not the only way retailers can benefit
from the efficiencies of smart processes. Imagine the
business impact of automating processes such as seasonal
ordering of merchandise, employee performance reviews,
store walk checklists or preparation processes and
merchandise transfers.
The Microsoft® Office System, made up of servers,
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■ To download the Microsoft Retail Enterprise Collaboration
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www.microsoft.com/collaboration.
Windows SharePoint Services is
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With a quick view of the five steps, the recall summary shows what
stage of the process stores have accomplished
The Microsoft Enterprise
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SharePoint® Services team sites.
Creating a centralized location for
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creates efficiencies and an ability to track each stage of
the process, and also provides a digital tattle-tale of
which stores have not complied. Most importantly,
eliminating tedious paper-based processes frees managers
to spend time on more valuable jobs, such as working
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“Collaboration tools can make the product recall process more accurate
and efficient, adding transparency across all of the companies and roles
involved to ensure that the recall is performed thoroughly and correctly.”
Jim Crawford, Vice President, Retail Forward
Product information can be pulled directly from the manufacturer
responsibility to comply. The store manager must use the
inventory system to determine how many of a specified
SKU are in stock, and then have a store associate locate
and pull the product. Sometimes the products must be
returned to the manufacturer; other times they are
unified platform for documenting, analyzing, modeling
and automating business processes. They enable better
management of process risks by increasing the accuracy
and predictability of information. And, through flexible
and scalable solutions that integrate into existing systems,
they increase return on solution investments.
Additional information on the
recall is available both internally
in the organization and externally
from the manufacturer.
Look for future articles in the Microsoft Smarter Retailing Series, exploring how other retailers are using technology to improve productivity and enhance business process
efficiencies. Topics will cover solution trends such as Collaboration; Store Operations; Self-Checkout and kiosks; and Enhanced Wireless and Mobile capabilities.
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a comm itment
on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.
© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
The example companies, organizations, products, people and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, person or event is intended or should be inferred. Microsoft, InfoPath, SharePoint, and Windows are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
20
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWDEXECTECH
WHAT’S NEXT FOR FOLLIT
Continued from page 18
cal proficiency. Soon, employees became comfortable articulating the return on investment for a particular project. “And they all figured out how to read our P&L,”
Follit said with pride.
The culture shakeup was disruptive, and many employees left in the process. “It
led to a quiet period. People were intimidated. But once everybody got the hang of
it, they realized they’d become not just accountants of the facts; they now were financial analysts of the future,” she said.
Today’s employee engagement rating, a metric that reflects commitment and
job satisfaction based on 70 survey questions, is 82 percent among RadioShack’s
corporate IT workers, she said, a sharp rise from the 36 percent score recorded
in 1997.
Employees in stores also got a boost, with a Web-based communications system
that supports perpetual connectivity with the corporate office. It’s the success of this
initiative that Follit cherishes perhaps more than any other, not only for the techni-
cal accomplishment, but for its impact on employees’ productivity and self-esteem.
With a company slogan like “You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers,”
RadioShack is expected to staff experts in stores. But keeping up with emerging
technology and new service offerings is a tall order for anyone. The perpetual
connectivity to stores provides employees access to an online, interactive help
desk so they can assist customers knowledgeably and up-sell and cross-sell with
confidence.
Before the system was introduced, exit interviews with departing store employees revealed that “people felt stupid,” Follit said in a hushed tone. “They felt they
couldn’t keep up and here’s a way for us to help them master this stuff.”
Follit is an advocate for people and pushes to develop them in multiple areas,
just as IBM did earlier in her career. She started in the computer company’s technology division, and when her business aptitude was spotted, IBM mentored and
moved her into its finance group. A self-described “financial analyst on steroids,”
Follit priced software and high-end computers for IBM.
NEW SCHOOL
OLD SCHOOL
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your customers is the best way to create the perfect selling environment. It’s also why you
should learn more about Retaligent. Our advanced mobile hand-held, POS, web and kiosk
Clienteling tools empower sales associates with the customer knowledge and expertise they need to
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from the competition. Call 770.379.0440, email info@retaligent.com, or visit us at www.retaligent.com.
©2005 Retaligent Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.
‘Breaking the Frame’
Long before IBM, Follit had
a champion in her father,
who’d feed her math and memor y problems while fishing
near a train trestle in Pelham
Bay, N.Y. “Trains would go by
and each one had a car number
on it. He would ask me to remember the numbers on the
cars,” she recalled. “And then,
when the train was gone, he’d
say, ‘OK, now here’s the game:
How far can you get?’” and sixyear-old Follit would recite 10
or 15 car numbers in sequence.
“He helped me to improve my
memory.”
As a child, Follit spent more
time with her father fishing,
crabbing and going to motocross competitions, while her
mother and older sister bonded
as shopping partners.
“When you talk about
women who succeed in business, we are all our fathers’
sons,” she said. “That’s not to
say women can’t raise children.
It means there needs to be a
way to break the frame” of
thinking that puts limits on
women. “Women can be feminine, have the heart of a
woman and the caring of a
woman but also be able to make
some tough decisions. It can
happen.”
Some difficult decisions are
on the horizon for corporate
boards, she said, particularly
with regard to pay and perks
for ceo’s.
“After Sarbanes-Oxley and
af ter cleaning up financial
controls, I believe you are
going to see a continuing effort
on the part of boards to rein in
executive compensation,”
Follit said. “Is that a good
thing? You bet it is.” Company
leaders should be fairly rewarded, she said, “but don’t let
anyone kid anyone: The work
is done by the guy who is writing the program, the guy driving the truck and the guy who
is meeting face-to-face with
the customer.
“I believe everybody should
be rewarded for what they do,
but it’s just the sheer size of the
multiple. How do you rein that
in? Yes, it is important that the
head of some company shake
hands with some head of another company. But was that handshake — is anybody’s handshake — worth a multiple of 50
times what the worker in a
company gets?”
Greater diversity in the
makeup of corporate boards
will go a long way toward correcting the imbalance, she said.
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 21
WWD.COM
tech talk
By Denise Power
COPY THAT: Early testing of high-speed pattern-digitizing technology
yielded positive results for Bernard Chaus, which decided last week
to implement the system. Digitizing errors dropped to just 2 percent
from 20 percent and the time needed to digitize a pattern was
squeezed to just 15 minutes from more than two hours, said Ed Eskew,
vice president and cio at the $157 million Bernard Chaus. The New
York-based women’s apparel manufacturer projects a 64 percent
return on investment, he said. The system, called NScan from Nhega,
features a wide-format digital scanner into which pattern pieces are
fed, and software that creates electronic images of the pieces. The
electronic images can be edited and easily shared among those collaborating on the design of a garment. Eskew said Chaus will deploy
“When I say, ‘diversity,’ it
has a gender element, an ethnicity element and even the
diversity of thinking, which is
critically important to the
quality of decisions made and
the quality of life,” she said.
“It gives a different resonance, so much so that when
you walk into a room and
don’t have that diversity — it’s
missing.”
Follit’s earliest exposure
to diversity among people was
as a child, attending a
Children’s Aid Society summer camp for a dollar a day.
The 1954 Brown v. Board of
Education Supreme Court
ruling meant integration, and
suddenly hers was among the
few white faces in the crowd.
She recalls thinking that was
“cool” and it wiped out any
tendency to see people in
terms of color. As a college
student, she tutored disadvantaged children from New
York’s Spanish Harlem and
shuttled them around in her
Volkswagen.
What could be next for
Follit? She expects to devote
time to the Children’s Aid
Society, which provided her
childhood inoculations and
straightened her teeth.
Demands of her work schedule ruled that out until now,
she said.
Another possible move involves familiar territory —
the intersection of people
and technology. She may join
the board of an unnamed
technology start-up whose
service identifies and tracks
specially skilled workers for
companies with fluctuating
workforce demands. Follit
serves on the board of the
New York-based American
Friends of the Jer usalem
College of Technology, which
connects her to new talent
and technology. And that
could lead to the next
“next.”
Walking around the backyard of her home, Follit says
she delights in the “stupid
manatees with their cow
faces” that occasionally peek
up from the Gulf waters lapping at her property line.
Overhead, an osprey soars before landing in a neighbor’s
tree. These beasts appear to
have achieved the balance,
contentment and purpose
Follit is looking for in her
next chapter.
“I hate to be existential, but
what’s next is enabled by what
came before,” she said. ■
the system in a stand-alone fashion initially, but expects to integrate it
with Chaus’ computer-assisted design system, called AccuMark, from
Gerber Technologies. “I would expect post-integration to yield even
better turnaround time for pattern scanning of the finished product,”
he said. The traditional process for digitizing patterns is time consuming and requires highly skilled workers who painstakingly trace
pattern pieces on a digitizing table. Eskew said productivity gains of
the new system may lead to a reduced head count and labor savings.
St.
Tropez
from
Bernard
Chaus.
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE: Karen Austin, senior vice president
and chief information officer of the former Kmart Holding Corp., will
head up technology for the new Sears Holdings Corp. The company,
which resulted from the merger of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck & Co.,
confirmed Austin’s expanded role as senior vice president and cio,
effective March 25. A 21-year Kmart veteran, Austin was named cio
three years ago. Garry Kelly, who came out of retirement to join Sears
in October 2002, exited as senior vice president and cio on April 1. ■
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22
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
The Designers Behind J. Crew
By Marc Karimzadeh
Jenna Lyons, J. Crew’s
senior vice president
PHOTOS BY ROBERT MITRA
NEW YORK — J. Crew’s current bestseller is a pair of
of women’s design.
jeweled sandals for $190.
“One-hundred and ninety dollars,” gushed Jenna
Lyons, the retailer’s senior vice president of women’s
design, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. “We
never would have given the real estate to a $200 sandal
before. The customer has been ready for it, but J. Crew
just hasn’t been there for her. We didn’t know if we
could sell it. And that is what’s been great about Mickey
[Drexler, J. Crew’s chairman and chief executive officer]. He’s been pushing us to push the envelope.”
After Drexler joined the company from Gap Inc. in
2003, he and president Jeff Pfeifle, whom he brought
along, wasted no time in injecting the brand with a
new sense of luxury and cool. For the last three seasons, J. Crew noticeably has been updating its collections and improving its colors, the quality of its fabrics,
the design and overall fit. While the company isn’t
walking away from American classics such as chinos,
button-down shirts and ribbon belts, it has started to
pepper select boutiques with luxurious items. These
days, a customer passing J. Crew’s thresholds is as
likely to find tailored cashmere coats and suits, intricately embroidered pants and heavily beaded tops as
the classics.
“The product definitely
Jeff Pfeifle
needed to be fixed,” Pfeifle
said. “There were inconsistencies in color and in direction.
The brand has been in a lot of
J. Crew’s philosophy of classics with quirks continues this fall.
different places.”
Where some incoming executives would have come in
To that end, the designer was given wood and beaded classifications.
with an ax and cleared out the
more upscale resources to work with,
But with all the new categories and the more roundexisting design team, Drexler
from Italian and Scottish mills and ed collections, is there a worry that stores will become
relied on Lyons, a J. Crew vetprint specialists to Indian beading ex- overmerchandised? Part of the new strategy was to ineran who has been with the
perts. These days, J. Crew makes no se- crease the product flow in stores, and new merchandise
brand for 15 years, to oversee
cret of the fact that cashmeres and hits the floors on a monthly basis.
the design makeover.
wools originate at Loro Piana, prints
“Something we talk about all the time is how to flow,”
Lyons is a downtown type
are developed by Ratti and beading is Lyons said. “Mickey is very strategic about that in terms
who appears a little didone by hand by Shameeza.
of making sure the stores aren’t overcrowded. We have a
sheveled, but in a studied way.
“The sense of humor is still there,” huge benefit, having online and catalogue. Online,
She mixes and matches new
Lyons said. “It’s about being straightfor- there’s endless real estate.”
pieces with vintage ones that
ward and unique and not label-driven.
There are no immediate plans to extend into new
are a little frayed around the
It’s always been a little bit of a quirk to categories. Instead, the focus is on strengthening existedges. On this day, for ina classic idea, whether it’s a fun lining ing ones. Pfeifle said shoes and accessories have parstance, she wears torn faded
on the inside, a bright color, a cargo in ticular growth potential, along with women’s and men’s
jeans adorned with pins she
hot pink or bright yellow. I don’t think wear and bridal. “The category that has blown us all
must have used while tweakof it as preppy, per se, but classic.”
away is wedding,” Lyons said. “That, we’re realizing, is
ing a sample. In many ways,
The renewed focus on quality and de- a huge growth opportunity for us. We’ve barely
she is the perfect incarnation
sign also extends to J. Crew’s men’s scratched the surface in terms of what it can be. We
of the J. Crew woman for whom
wear. Todd Snyder, vice president of know that we’re servicing our customer and giving
she designs.
men’s design, joined the
them something that they haven’t been
“I like things that get better
company a year and a
able to find before. They need somewith age,” she said. “We have
half ago from Old Navy.
thing more approachable, something a
always focused on something
He started his career at
little more casual.”
that is going to look good even
J. Crew 12 years ago, but
Since its launch in 2003, the bridal
after you have had it a little bit.
lef t to work at Ralph
collection featured bridesmaid and
Maybe it is frayed a little on the
Lauren before joining
bridal dresses such as the Vivian strapedges, maybe it is starting to
Old Navy. Snyder updatless duchess satin gown, for $498 retail,
wash down a little too much. I
ed J. Crew’s suits with
and the Sophia silk tricotine dress,
actually think that that looks Looks from J. Crew’s fall collection.
Loro Piana wools and
which is available short for $180 and
good. That, to me, is classic.”
real Harris tweeds. From
long for $260. So far, the line was only
Lyons joined J. Crew’s women’s design department a design point of view, he lifted the armavailable online and in the catalogue,
as an assistant after studying at Parsons School of hole, narrowed the sleeve-head and
but its success has prompted the comDesign and interning at Donna Karan. At J. Crew, she slimmed the waist for a modern silhoupany to launch “J. Crew Wedding,” a
worked closely with original founder and then-presi- ette. “No one is going after that thirbridal- only catalogue that will hit
dent Emily Woods, and in her years at the company tysomething customer with something
homes around April 16. The catalogue
worked in several different departments, learning that’s a little more sophisticated, but not
will showcase fashion ideas for the
about accessories, apparel and denim. That, she said, is too serious,” he said.
bride, groom, bridesmaids and wedvery helpful now that she oversees the design of all
With more upscale pieces also comes
ding guests, including accessories such
women’s products.
new price points, but Pfeifle stressed
as shoes and bags for women and bow
Lyons credited J. Crew’s renewed energy and focus that prices haven’t drastically changed;
ties and ties for men. The catalogue
to Drexler’s and Pfeifle’s management style.
they have just widened as the collecalso will profile J. Crew’s wedding co“The company had been more merchandising-driven tions grew.
ordinators, whom consumers can call
over the past few years,” she said. “Now, it is the com“Some of the price points have gone
for help. On April 16, J. Crew also will
plete opposite. Design is really where everything starts, up, but the value has gone up, too,” he
host trunk shows of the entire bridal
and that’s what we go back to when we talk about the noted. “For example, we had a $1,500
collection in its boutiques in
floor, the colors for the walls. It all goes back to the orig- shearling coat in men’s for holiday. A
Rockefeller Center here and on North
J.
Crew
is
offering
fur
handbags
inal inspiration as opposed to it being a directive of the customer walks into J. Crew and sees
Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
merchandising side.
that $1,500 and thinks that the prices and double-sided scarves for fall.
Pfeifle added, “There’s a lot of differ“If you look at prior management, we were always have gone up. They haven’t, but we now
ent places to go. In the short term, we’re
thinking cheap and deep,” she continued. “Mickey really have some items that are more expensive. That shear- really focused on continuing to go in the direction
pushed for quality and not just quality of design, but also ling sold out in no time.”
we’ve been going in. We need to focus on our custhe quality of how the customer experiences the cataJ. Crew currently offers categories such as swim, inti- tomers, what they’re asking for and what they want. We
logue, the way you experience the stores, what kind of mate apparel, loungewear, knits, sweaters, footwear, ac- have 157 retail stores. We have 42 factory stores. We
sales people there are or what the sales people are wear- cessories, suits, bridal and denim. In May, the company will be opening some stores going forward. Global is an
ing. On every level, he was pushing the quality angle.”
plans to add jewelry in select stores, with casual coral, opportunity, but for now, we’re thinking here.”
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 23
WWD.COM
J. Crew Turnaround on Track Fashion Scoops
Continued from page one
the net loss for the quarter was $2 million, an
$18 million decrease in the loss over the yearago fourth quarter.
Highlights for the full year included a 17 percent jump in revenues, to $804 million from $690
million, and an operating income increase to
$38 million, compared to an operating loss of
$31 million the year before.
Executives have been attacking the business
from all angles, though at the core of the turnaround drive are efforts to improve the quality
of the clothes and provide consistent fits. That’s
been largely achieved through sourcing
changes.
There has also been a massive infusion of vibrant colors and the addition of some higherticket and limited-edition items, such as shear- The spring floor set.
ling coats. Previously underplayed categories,
particularly shoes, accessories and bridal, have
“Shoes and accessories are two really, really
been built up in recent seasons, and some new strong areas for us,” particularly the English
ones are being introduced. Jewelry, for example, leather collection of handbags, Manhattan
will be part of the mix beginning in May, compa- loafers, Paris ballet flats, suede shoes and limitny executives disclosed.
ed-edition $1,500 shearling coats, he added.
The J. Crew team cited debt reduction as critFor the year, retail sales reached $580 milical. The company has $297 million in long-term lion from $487 million, primarily due to a compdebt, but has been whittling it down to continue store gain of 16 percent. Direct sales increased
to improve the profit picture going forward. Debt by 14 percent to $198 million, and there were
restructuring efforts are expected to reduce an- $26 million in additional revenues such as shipnual interest expense by $16 million in 2005, the ping and handling.
company said.
The net loss for 2004 was $100 million, comBy reenergizing itself, the brand is expected pared with a loss of $50 million the year before,
to go down the path to a public offering, possi- including the debt refinancing of $50 million.
bly in 2006, as previously reported. J. Crew has Also, 2003 included a gain on exchange of debt
been majority owned by The Texas Pacific of $41 million. Adjusted for these financing
Group since 1997 and was founded by the transactions, the net loss in 2004 would have
Cinader family.
been $50 million, compared to a net loss of $91
Two years ago, Mickey Drexler, Gap Inc.’s for- million last year.
mer chief executive officer, was brought in to reJ. Crew’s gross margin for the fourth quarter
verse years of deterioration in J. Crew’s image was 39 percent, about the same as the year before.
and financial performance. One of the first Selling, general and administrative expenses in
things he did was recruit a colleague from the the quarter were $82 million, or 31 percent of revOld Navy division of Gap, Jeff Pfeifle, to be pres- enues, compared with $80 million, or 38 percent of
ident. Drexler also
revenues in the prior
sought to reduce overyear. The decrease as a
head and cut down the
percentage of revenues
staff at J. Crew’s headwas driven primarily by
quarters, at Ninth
operating leverage atStreet and Broadway,
tained through compto 400 people from 600.
store gains.
An IPO, aside from
Gross margin for the
enabling Texas Pacific
fiscal year increased to
to make money off its
40 percent from 36 perinvestment, would fuel
cent the year before
store expansion, which
due to better full-price
lately has been on hold.
selling. According to
J. Crew operates 157
company information,
stores, as well as the J.
last year’s gross margin
Crew catalogue busiwas negatively impactness, jcrew.com and
ed by the liquidation of
41 outlets. Previously,
obsolete inventories.
executives have said
The company said
the store count could
selling, general and
double.
administrative expensIn inter views on
es during the year
Tuesday, J. Crew execwere $287 million, or
utives stayed clear of
36 percent of revdeclaring the company
enues, compared to
turned around, or pre$281 million, or 41 perdicting when it will
cent of revenues in the
post profits on a net
prior year. The percent
basis. However, they
decrease was driven
were ebullient disprimarily by operating
J. Crew’s next catalogue arrives April 9.
cussing how far along
leverage
achieved
J. Crew has come.
through higher comp-store sales and reduced
“We are pleased with both our fourth-quarter catalogue selling expenses.
and full-year results,” Drexler, J. Crew’s chairThe company described how it restructured
man and ceo, said in a statement. “Our obsessive its debt. It redeemed $319 million of its longfocus on quality, style and design, along with term debt with $275 million in new term loans
endless attention to our customers’ needs, is re- borrowed by the company and internally availflected in J. Crew’s performance.”
able funds. The new term loans were subse“We feel really good about what we accom- quently converted into equivalent 9 percent senplished. The results are far better than we ior subordinated notes due in 2014. The compathought to be able to accomplish,” added Pfeifle ny also has a $22 million note due in 2008. The
in an interview. “We’ve built strong relation- $50 million loss posted for the fourth quarter
ships with our customers and continue to do so. stemmed from fees and write-offs due to these
The product has resonated with customers. transactions.
They like the colors. They love the fabrications
“It’s a good capitalization for the company,”
and they have responded to details and limited- said Amanda Bokman, the chief financial offiedition items.
cer. “We are continuing our momentum.”
TOM’S TUNE: Speculation about a deal between Tom Ford and the
Estée Lauder Cos. continues to swirl, and an announcement could
come as early as next week. The latest reports indicate that talks
are under way about the possibility of Lauder marketing a Ford
product line of some sort. However, it is believed the discussions
involve a project that lies outside the boundaries of the flagship
Lauder brand. It’s also been speculated that Ford and Domenico De
Sole are in talks with an unspecified number of companies on a
gamut of Ford projects, ranging from an eyewear license to making
a movie. Whatever the reality, Ford, De Sole and Lauder are saying
absolutely nothing. When asked about the rumors last week, Ford
replied that he had “not as of yet signed any deals at this time.”
HELMUT’S HIATUS?: Less than two weeks following the
announcement that Prada would close Lang’s historic New York
offices, it now appears that Prada Group chief Patrizio Bertelli
has put the brand in a holding pattern and, in doing so, has
created a state of limbo in its design studio. Two sources close
to Helmut Lang’s recently appointed design team said the
designers, hired following Lang’s January departure, were sent
home last week and told to wait for further notice. “No one really
understands what’s going on with the line,” said one source with
close knowledge of Helmut Lang’s design team. “It’s a decision
that Bertelli and his men have to make.” Indeed. The future of
Helmut Lang is contingent on if and when the company is sold,
and to whom. As reported, Bertelli is said to be in advanced
talks with several possible buyers. The names bidding on Helmut
Lang could not be learned, although industry sources believe it’s
either Helmut Lang himself or Lang backed by someone else.
“There are a lot of rumors and speculation and Prada does not
comment on speculation,” said a Prada Group spokesman.
MOONLIGHTING: Christophe Girard, director of fashion strategy at
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and the deputy mayor of
Paris, can soon add another title to his résumé: author. Girard
is putting the finishing touches on a book detailing his
experience straddling the fashion world and public life during
the past four years. Titled “Adjoint,” the French word for
“deputy,” the tome will be published this fall by Julliard.
PACKED BAGS: Simonetta Ciampi, whose horn-handled
“Mombasa” bag helped catapult Yves Saint Laurent into the
leather goods business, has left the French house, WWD has
learned. A key hire in 2001 during the Tom Ford era at Gucci
Group, Ciampi exited YSL as design director of handbags at the
end of March when her contract expired. She also has worked
at Escada, Prada and Loewe. A spokesman for PPR, parent of
Gucci Group, said her successor at YSL has yet to be named.
Obituary
Elizabeth Crow, 58
NEW YORK — Elizabeth Crow, a publishing executive and former
editor in chief of magazines including Mademoiselle, died of cancer
on Monday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in Manhattan. She
was 58, according to her former husband, C.P. Crow.
During her long career, Crow held key editorial posts at several
major media companies, including Condé Nast Publications,
Primedia Inc., Rodale Inc. and Gruner + Jahr.
Born in New York, she studied at Mills College and Brown
University before landing her first job, as an editorial assistant at the
New Yorker. It was while working in the library there that she met
C.P. Crow, who became her husband. (The two were divorced in 2000.)
She then joined New York magazine, where she climbed the masthead to executive editor before leaving in 1978 to become editor in
chief of Parents. The magazine won an award for General Excellence
from the American Society of Magazine Editors during her tenure.
In 1988, G+J promoted her to president, chief executive and editorial director, a position she held for five years, until Condé Nast
hired her away to become editor in chief of Mademoiselle.
As one might expect of a former ceo, Crow brought an executive’s
sensibility to running the title, said Julie Lewit-Nirenberg, who was
publisher of Mademoiselle at the time. “Elizabeth was the third editor
in three years that I got,” she said. “She really understood the importance of business. I think she was the best editor in chief I ever had.”
In 1999, Condé Nast replaced Crow at Mademoiselle. She went to
work at Rodale, as vice president and editorial director of the Women’s
Health Group, and then, in 2002, joined Primedia as editorial director
of consumer magazines. Primedia was struggling, however, and Crow
was ousted after a year. The following January she became editorial director of Consumers Union, a position she held until her death.
Crow’s family plans to hold memorial services in several weeks
at the Century Association. Her ashes will be interred later this
year at the family’s property in Maine. She is survived by her mother, Marlis Smith; her children, Samuel, Rachel and Sarah; her exhusband and her siblings, Spencer, Tucker, Sarah and Oliver.
24
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
LVMH Targets Canal Street Landlords
Two of the stores on Canal Street
where thousands of counterfeit
LVMH products were seized.
COUNTERING COUNTERFEITS:
LVMH BRANDED GOODS SEIZED IN NEW YORK’S CHINATOWN RAIDS
ADDRESS
NUMBER OF ITEMS
310 Canal
253
Glasses, Jewelry and Watches
TYPE OF GOODS
10/13/04 and 11/18/04
312 Canal
223
Accessories, Bags and Wallets
5/10/04 and 7/19/04
314 Canal
888
Accessories, Bags, Belts, Hats, Jewelry, Scarves, Umbrellas and Wallets
7/19/04
336 Canal
1,026
Belts, Bags, Clothing, Glasses, Hats, Scarves, Shoes, Umbrellas, Wallets and Watches
5/27/04
340 Canal
249
Bags, Belts, Glasses, Jewelry, Wallets and Watches
10/8/04
386 Canal
5,633
TOTAL
8,272
All of the Above
SEIZURE DATE
6/11/04, 6/17/04, 6/30/04
SOURCE: LOUIS VUITTON MALLETIER COURT FILING
Morgan Stanley Mum on Suit Sag Harbor Appoints Robb CEO
By Miles Socha
By Lisa Lockwood
PARIS — Morgan Stanley declined all comment Tuesday on the disclosure that LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is seeking an additional 182.9 million euros, or $235 million at current exchange, in
damages related to its ongoing case against the investment bank’s
equity research.
Last year, Morgan Stanley was ordered by the commercial court
here to pay LVMH 30 million euros, or $38.6 million, for “gross misconduct” related to the writings of its luxury goods analyst, Claire Kent.
As reported, the court appointed an expert, Didier Kling, to
quantify material damages for what the French luxury firm described as a premeditated and systematic effort to denigrate LVMH
while favoring rival Gucci, which receives financial advice from
Morgan Stanley.
Kling has yet to table his tally, but LVMH’s claim it is owed 182.9
million euros more was revealed by Morgan Stanley in filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission related to its 2004 annual report. Financial News, an online service, unearthed the tidbit Monday.
Morgan Stanley is appealing the French court’s decision, denying any wrongdoing and standing by Kent’s research during the
years in question, 1999 through 2002. In light of the legal proceedings, however, it has suspended its coverage of LVMH.
The appeal, set in motion last June, is now in a period of submissions and rebuttals that is expected to take the case into the fall. A
date has not yet been set for a court hearing, and none of the materials exchanged between the combatants is public.
For its part, LVMH disclosed in its 2003 annual report its intentions to bring forth supporting evidence of “extremely substantial”
damages caused by Morgan Stanley.
An LVMH spokesman declined to comment Tuesday.
NEW YORK — Paul A. Robb, 52, has been named
chief executive officer of Sag Harbor, Kellwood
Co.’s largest and most profitable division.
He succeeds Martin Brody, 62, a founder and
ceo of Sag Harbor, who will remain with the
company during a transition period to ensure a
smooth changeover in leadership.
Robb, a 30-year veteran of the apparel industry, was most recently president of Kellwood
Menswear, a post he has held since 2002. He
joined Kellwood in 2001 as president of its Slates
licensed tops division. Earlier, he was president
and ceo of Block Corp., a men’s sportswear firm,
and Duck Head Apparel Co. He also has served
as director and executive vice president of Eddie
Haggar Ltd., a women’s wear company.
Robb, who will be based here, reports to
Stephen L. Ruzow, president of Kellwood
Womenswear.
“Paul is very much like Marty [Brody],” said
Ruzow Tuesday. “He’s a great general manager
and is good at directing a team. He’s done an
incredible job in the men’s wear division and
has made it bigger and more profitable.”
Succeeding Robb as president of Kellwood
Menswear is Scott D. Felder, who most recently
was senior vice president of sales and merchandising of the men’s division. Felder reports to
Robert C. Skinner, president and chief operating
officer of Kellwood, the $2.5 billion apparel firm.
Brody was the last remaining partner at
Kellwood of the five founding Sag Harbor partners. Originally founded in 1965 as Parsons
Place Apparel Co. Ltd., the company was acquired by Kellwood in 1986, and renamed Sag
Harbor in 1994, after its most important division. Brody was part of the management team
that took the Sag Harbor sportswear brand
from annual wholesale volume of $40 million to
more than $400 million today.
This spring, Sag Harbor embarked on its
first multimillion-dollar national marketing
campaign. The ads, which carry the tag line
“The Clothes I Wear,” were created to signify
that Sag Harbor clothes are meant to be worn
every day to work, to shop, to play and to take
care of the kids. In addition to the moderate
sportswear brand, the ads also highlight Sag
Harbor dresses and suits and licensed products
such as handbags, eyewear and shoes.
During the past two years, Sag Harbor has
updated its product to make it more relevant
and modern, said Ruzow. Previously, Sag
Harbor was known mostly for its wool and
linen jackets that garnered 80 to 90 percent of
the business. Today, 60 percent of the volume
is done in sweaters. “With the national ad
campaign, we’re hoping to change the retailers’ and consumers’ perception of the brand,”
said Ruzow.
PHOTOS BY GEORGE CHINSEE
Continued from page 2
The largest seizure occurred in June 2004 at 386 Canal,
yielding over 5,600 items, including nearly 1,000 Louis
Vuitton watches and scarves, bags, wallets and jewelry.
The suit contends that Carroll had been sent written notices from LVMH and “other trademark holders” about
what was going on at his properties and should be held accountable for his “willful blindness” in allowing the activity
to continue. LVMH alone sent six letters starting in October
2004, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges violations on 11 counts, including
trademark counterfeiting, contributory and vicarious trademark counterfeiting, and false
designation of origin. An unspecified amount in damages is
also being sought.
Similar suits have been filed
by LVMH and Rolex. On March
2, 2004, the two firms filed separate suits against Michael
Marvisi, the owner of 365-367
Canal Street, and more than 30
John Doe retailers. By August
2004, federal court Judge
Thomas P. Griesa ordered 29
John Doe defendants to each
pay LVMH $16 million in statutory damages, a potential $464
million award. In the Rolex
case Judge Griesa ordered
three Doe defendants to each pay $10 million in statutory
damages. While the likelihood of identifying the retailers
and collecting damages is remote, the case to determine
the landlord’s liability in the matter is proceeding.
“Certainly these landlord actions hold a tremendous
amount of potential in terms of bringing pressure upon
counterfeiting,” said Brian Brokate, a partner with Gibney,
Anthony & Flaherty who represents Rolex. “They are proceeding at the civil level as well as the criminal level.”
According to Gioconda, proving a landlord is aware that
illegal activities are occurring on their properties requires
only that manufacturers notify the landlords in writing. In
some cases, however, landlords can be held accountable if
it was common knowledge that illegal activities were occurring, say on the streets of Chinatown for example. Gioconda
also noted that it is easier to identify landlords, who also
have a vested interest in the building. “The landlord has a
lot more to lose,” said Gioconda. “When a landlord gets a
letter from a lawyer, if you’re that landlord, your lawyer is
going to tell you that you can no longer keep your head in
the sand. That’s a big deal.” In theory, said Gioconda, the
strategy could be employed to clean up entire blocks.
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 25
WWD.COM
WWD West
Single Gets Attention,Seeks Growth
By Nola Sarkisian-Miller
Aoun. “It’s really fun and colorful
and its dresses and evening tops
are among the most popular
items here.”
The direction of the second line
is younger, Sobolev said. To give it
a more vintage flavor, one infused
with boho nonchalance, Sobolev
and de Leon incorporate a lot of
mixed media into the looks, such
as silk charmeuse blouses with
sequined mesh sleeves, a men’s
wear skirt layered over tulle and
edged with lace, and Italian
gabardine slacks trimmed with a
peau de soie waistband.
Cashmere is another element
of the line, with Swarovski crystal
buttons and eyelet patterns in
cardigans, camis and duster
styles. Wholesale prices range
from $30 for a T-shirt to $219 for
the cashmere coat. Sobolev, who said Sin’s
first-year sales are expected to reach $1
million, said the company is also amenable
to working with retailers on bringing price
points down on the cashmere.
Retailers who have bought the line said
they appreciated its unique fabric and color
combinations.
“It’s hot, cool and funky,” said Tal Zisseo,
owner of Scorch in Miami Beach, which
carries Antik, Haley Bob and Poleci.
Vendors’ Do-Over in L.A.
LOS ANGELES — After a lackluster market last month,
a group of exhibitors from the Designers & Agents
show will stage a onetime event at this week’s market
in downtown Los Angeles in an effort to capture
missed business.
About 15 vendors, including Tres Angeles’ Puka and
ArchIndigo lines, Alvin Valley, And Cake and Beth
Frank have taken up the offer from the contemporary
show producer to exhibit again in L.A. from Friday
through Monday. Booth space on the third floor of the
New Mart will cost an average of $600 to $800 compared with typical market fees of $4,000 to $6,000.
Ed Mandelbaum, co-organizer of D&A with Barbara
LOS ANGELES — Chemin de Fer, which had its heyday in the Seventies with
lace-up, wide-leg jeans and colorfully threaded hip-huggers, is trying to chug
its way back into the apparel limelight.
Taking a cue from other blasts from the past, such as Sergio Valente and
Jordache’s premium line, Los Angeles-based Chemin de Fer, which means
“railroad” in French, is being resurrected by three investors who are targeting the line as a product that is more about fitting a mother of two than her
seventh grader.
Richard Fink, chief executive officer of hosiery maker Pacific Knitting
Mills; Jim Lorber, a former sales representative with textile firm Lorber
Industries, and Claire Speed, a freelance designer who has worked with
Chorus Line sportswear and L’Koral Industries, have secured ownership of
the Chemin de Fer trademark after six years of trying.
“It took awhile, but we believe in the power of the choo-choo,” Fink said.
“The timing is right and the customer is looking for a product that’s not about
ripped and torn jeans, but one that suits the grown-up contemporary woman.”
Brothers-in-law David Goan and Spencer
Stillman launched the juniors’ company about 30
years ago offering iconic silhouettes. Their partnership ended in a series of disagreements leading to the closing of the firm in 1985 when it had
an annual volume of $25 million.
The new Chemin de Fer, which has competitors
such as David Kahn, plans to offer bottoms in ring
denim, corduroy and broken twill in a rise of 9.5
inches with subtle washes. Offered in lighter
weights ranging from 10 to 12 oz., the denim styles
consist of five-pocket jeans, above-the knee skirts,
belted jackets, longer zip jackets and high-low
hemmed jackets with frayed extra-wide collars.
Some of the key looks include a indigo wash
denim given a so-called rain effect, lighter jeans
featuring high-front flap pockets and rear welt
pockets and doubled-sided corduroy, pigment-coated in washed-out colors such as mauve and
turquoise. Embroidery detail is part of the rear
pockets, as is the company’s original signature —
the triangular-shaped leather patch imprinted with
the red train — but don’t expect to see more effects
in the vein of today’s highly embroidered trend.
“We’re not in a back-pocket business,” Fink
said. “It’s about fit and feel.”
Also generating interest during the line’s soft
launch at the contemporar y market in Los
Angeles last month was Chemin by Chemin de Fer
seamless tops. Created with the help of an Italian
circular knitting machine used for socks and A fall look from
hosiery, the garment-dyed knit tanks, camis and Chemin de Fer.
shirts made of sheer modals and cotton blends as well as merino wool and
silk-cashmere combinations boast no side seams. The machines also can produce product with scalloped edges, wraparound patterns and laser cuts knitted right in the finished garment to avoid fraying.
Along with apparel, the line also offers kids’ clothing, belts made of brass
mesh, metalwork jewelry such as earrings sprayed for iridescence and socks
and legwarmers. The line will add a handbag group by June and a men’s line
by next year.
Fink said first-year sales could reach $3 million for the line, which wholesales from $14 to $24 for the tops and $55 to $75 for the jeans.
The new owners of the trademark say they’re comfortable with their apparel wager.
“We don’t really know what the reaction could be,” Fink said. “Who knows?
It could reach $10 million by the next year.”
Nostalgia won over retailer Shauna Stein, co-owner of the high-end boutique On Sunset in West Hollywood, Calif., who placed an order for the line.
“It’s a name that generates fondness,” Stein said. “It looked good on the
butt and fit well and I loved the washes. And, I like the fact they’re open to
suggestion. I need a brown jean for fall and they’re willing to look into it.”
PHOTO BY HEIDI GIBBS
A look from Single’s Sin line and
Single’s holiday collection, left.
PHOTOS BY HEIDI GIBBS
LOS ANGELES — What a difference three
fashion shows can make.
The contemporary line Single, which
started seven years ago, credits its participation in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
during the last year with establishing credibility in the industry.
“It absolutely has helped us,” said Galina
Sobolev, co-owner of the Los Angeles-based
line with her husband, Michael. “The press
we’ve received and the buzz it’s generated
has helped us get to a new level.”
The intent is to capitalize on that momentum with the launch of a new line
called Sin and future goals of a potential
denim collection and licensing deals for
children’s wear and accessories.
“We think we’re really ready to expand
the company,” said Sobolev, a onetime fit
model for Michael Kors and a designer at
Carole Little.
Launched at Fashion Coterie this year,
Sin has picked up orders from 30 stores,
including Har vey Nichols in England,
Zabari in New York and Scorch in Miami.
The line, which is done in collaboration
with Stephanie de Leon, a former designer
at Pamela Brown, a division of Tessuto that
closed last year, marks the
first team design approach
for Sobolev.
“I'm very open to another
voice,” she said. “Those different experiences and a new
knowledge base can really
help add design touches to
make a line stand out.”
Sobolev, a Russian immigrant who learned sewing
from her grandmother, isn’t
averse to taking chances. Two
years ago, she reengineered
Single from a girly collection
with Forties-inspired dresses
in polkadots to an edgier line
that showcases printed chiffon and one-shoulder tops, hot
shorts and silk shantung
skirts.
For fall and holiday,
Single’s flashier vibe mellowed into a more restrained
Russian gypsy theme with brocade jackets, A-line skirts,
crushed velvet tunics with
gold embroidery and denim
jeans stitched with prominent
fleurs-de-lis on the legs.
Sales at Single are expected to reach $10
million this year, up from $7 million in 2004.
Celebrities such as Paula Abdul,
Nicollette Sheridan and Eva Longoria have
embraced the redo. One recent Single convert is Boulmiche, an upmarket boutique
with two outposts in Beverly Hills and
Brentwood, Calif.
“I didn’t know about the line until about
a year ago when I went to the fashion
show,” said Boulmiche store manager Anna
Chemin de Fer Builds Future
— N.S.M.
Kramer, said the organization decided to offer vendors
a chance to pick up additional sales because last
month’s fall contemporary market was split into separate events after organizers were unable to coordinate
schedules. By October, the fashion community will
unify for one spring event about three weeks earlier
than usual to better coincide with European sourcing
deadlines and fashion week.
“We’re doing this as a courtesy to our exhibitors,”
Mandelbaum said, noting D&A won’t offer typical
amenities such as signs and advertising for the show.
Brighte, the contemporary show produced by ENK
International at the California Market Center, is also
returning to L.A. from Friday to Monday. The smaller
edition of 50 vendors, compared with the March
event, will feature companies such as 10 Feet, A.B.S.
by Allen Schwartz and H. Starlet with newcomers like
Chick by Nicky Hilton.
“People wanted it and we’re finding a tremendous
amount of buyers plan to come — from specialty
stores to department stores,” said Elyse Kroll, president of ENK.
For New York-based Alvin Valley, the extra travel costs
are worth the investment to meet with other buyers.
“Last market should have been bigger in terms of
paper written and more attendees,” said Rich
Rosenthal, a partner in the contemporary line. “We’re
confident that this show will produce a satisfactory
turnout to make the trip worthwhile.”
And Cake said it plans to meet with Dillard’s and
Anthropologie during the show.
“We’re making the calls for market and they’re coming,” said And Cake sales manager David Avanes.
— N.S.M.
26
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
WWD.COM
Longoria Signs With L’Oréal
By Andrea Nagel
NEW YORK — At least one desperate housewife doesn’t
have to turn to her gardener to get that “glow” anymore.
Eva Longoria, who plays Gabrielle Solis on ABC’s popular Sunday night dark comedy, “Desperate Housewives,”
has signed on as a L’Oréal spokeswoman to represent its
array of beauty and cosmetics brands worldwide.
Longoria’s debut in her new role is scheduled for May in a
commercial for the Vive hair care brand.
Longoria, 30, joins a bevy of beauties contracted with
the beauty giant, a division of L’Oréal USA Inc., including
Beyoncé Knowles and Andie MacDowell.
Carol J. Hamilton, president and general manager for L’Oréal Paris, said the
firm had been following the popularity of
“Desperate Housewives” for some time and was interested
in Longoria “from the beginning.” Hamilton thinks Longoria
will appeal to “everyone” but it’s clear she definitely will
strike a chord with the 18- to 34-year-old crowd “as well as
Latinas who really look up to her,” Hamilton said.
The popularity of Longoria as a beauty icon stems
from her overwhelming success in portraying a former
runway model on the weekly TV series, which won a
Golden Globe for Television Series, Musical or Comedy,
this year. Longoria’s appeal to housewives — and the single set — came full circle when her character rebelled
against her disapproving husband by having an affair
with their 17-year-old gardener.
Eva Longoria
Aside from acting, Longoria, who is of Mexican descent, is the national spokeswoman for the charity Padres
Contra El Cancer (Parents Against Cancer), a nonprofit
Latino organization that raises money to promote education about childhood cancer and blood disorders.
“It was one of the things that impressed me upon
meeting her,” said Hamilton, who added it was Longoria’s charitable nature that “deeply motivated [L’Oréal]
to sign her.”
No details about the contract — either how much money
Longoria will be paid or how long the contract will last —
have been disclosed, but Hamilton said L’Oréal chooses its
representatives with the intent of keeping
the relationship long term.
Several different versions of the Vive
commercial were shot last weekend in
Los Angeles, Hamilton said, so “a lot of work” still needs
to be done with regard to editing and choosing a version
that will best portray the actress in the shampoo and conditioner spots.
Former Vive spokeswomen include Jessica Alba,
Portia de Rossi, Jessica Biel and Heather Locklear.
According to the “Desperate Housewives” link on
abc.com, Longoria is a former “Young and the Restless”
cast member and a winner of an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama. Longoria was also
voted by Variety as one of the “Ten New Faces to Watch”
last fall and as one of Maxim Magazine’s “Hot 100” for
2004, the Web site said.
PHOTO BY GIULLIO MARCOCCHI/SIPA PRESS
BEAUTY BEAT
TECHNICAL DESIGNERS
Young Designer collection seeking highly energized Technical
Designers with sweater, knit and woven background with 3+
years experience. Responsible to coordinate tech packs with
overseas vendors including writing spec sheets, grading and
fit comments from proto through production. Garment construction knowledge is required. Able to work closely with design
and production in a fast paced environment with strong
attention to detail and strong follow through.
Great working environment with tremendous growth
potential and benefits for the right person.
Please fax resume (323) 556-6017 , Attn. Human Resources
or E-mail: dmorrow@vinceusa.com
Otis School of Fashion Design
SCOTT-THALER ASSOCIATES
110 E. 9th Street, Suite C-201
Los Angeles, CA 90079
Instructor for Digital Design
Merchandiser / Designer
Otis is currently seeking a part time
instructor with work experience in the
fashion industry using CAD as a design
& presentation skill to teach Digital
Design. BFA & teaching experience
preferred.
Mail resume to the attention of Bea
Calderon, or email calderon@otis.edu
Three Dots seeks a talented team player for our creative staff.
Must have extensive exp. in women’s contemporary sweaters,
knits and wovens. Must possess a great style sense. Offshore
experience required. Able to accurately identify emerging
trends, shapes, colors and prints. Proven track record from
development to retail sell through required. Responsibilities
include: merchandising, trend direction, retail market research,
strategic planning & presentations. Min. 3 yrs. exp.
Position is based in Orange County, CA Email resumes to:
resumes@threedots.net Fax: (714) 698-1365
Sales Manager
Young & exciting LA based
chldnswear co. seeks hghly
motivated Sales Mgr. w/ est.
accounts. Pealse fax or
email resumes to
(323) 232-0033
EGS5796@aol.com
Warehouse/logistics mgr to
$135K LA based. Current exp
in apparel co required. Supervise 10. Five different public
warehouses in LA. 500 million
dollar Co. Ability to improve
distribution procedures essential.
Call
973-564-9236
JARAL Fashion Agency.
NATIONWIDE EXECUTIVE RECRUITERS
•BUYER (Jr. / Missy) - Apparel & Accessories (CA/NY)
•CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER (Orange County, CA)
•DESIGNERS - Infant / Toddlers & Cont. Sportswear & Dresses (NY/CA)
•DIRECTOR OF MERCHANDISING - Young Men’s Denim (CA)
•INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER - Knits (Midwest)
•PRODUCT MGRS - Leather Accessories, Woven Labels & Watches (CA/NV)
•RETAIL MERCHANDISE PLANNER (CA)
•SALES EXECUTIVES & SALES MANAGERS - Denim, Accessories, Bedding,
Junior Tops, Watches & Cold Weather (NY/CA)
•STORE & DISTRICT MANAGERS (CA)
Don’t just SETTLE for a job, when you can have a CAREER!
Attn: Mary Oliva Fax: 213-312-9324, Tel: 800-968-1562
Email careers@scott-thaler.com / http://www.scott-thaler.com
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
27
Wizards School for Fashion
Illustrator and Photoshop
Draw and edit flats. Fabrics into flats.
Create all trim and patterns. Change and
reduce pantone colors and fabric colors.
Create all boards. Private and group
classes. Call: Professor Atkinson
718-222-0421
All Fabrics & Trims Wanted
Immediate payment. We come to you.
All quantities. We are nice people to
deal with. Call Frank Levy: 717.761.3259
1410 BROADWAY
9500 ft beautifully renovated furnished
showroom & office for sublease
Call 212 221 6200 ext 241
Email: jsetton02@yahoo.com
RASKIN EXECUTIVE SEARCH
Exclusive to the Fashion Industry
Ileen Raskin, Apparel
212-213-6381
Nancy Bottali, Accessories 212-213-6386
Ed Kret, Textiles
212-213-6384
raskin718@msn.com
www.raskinexecsearch.com
FASHION RESUME
1407 BROADWAY
SHOWROOMS/OFFICES
TREBOR MGMT
Steven Lambert
212-944-6094
8th Ave
#555
24/7 Attendant
Beautifully Renovated
2360 or 2871 sq ft
Owner 212-695-0005 Or 718-387-0500
Staff Thru Executive-Wholesale/Retail
Free Evaluation - Lifetime Updates
GILBERT CAREER RESUMES
(800)967-3846 amex/mc/visa
fashionresumes.com
fashioncareercenter.com
7th Avenue - Prime Chelsea
2,750 sf ground floor + partial bsmt
Dumann Realty (212) 505-6300
www.dumann.com
For Space in Garment Center
Helmsley-Spear, Inc.
212-880-0414
Showroom, Loft-Expert-Sublets
SOHO - 30’s - 50’s All Sizes
Prime Manhattan Jon 212-268-8043
Search- www.manhattanoffices.com
Jamaica, Queens, for lease-approx
40,000 sq. ft. fully equipped garment
warehouse with racking system, a/c offices
& loading docks. Available immediately.
Call landlord 516-997-2442
PATTERNMAKER
Miami based FREELANCER available
Please call Leon Guekjian @
305-302-5134
Talented Designer
Available for Freelance
Showroom / Office / Retail
We find you space-best deal-no fee
sublet 525 7th/ready
Garment Center Real Estate
Call Paul 212 947-5500 X 100
Honduras Factory
Exp’d in Better to Lux Market. All classifications of Ladies’ Sprtswr, Dresses, Knits,
etc. Call 917.359.8767 or 212.751.0913.
E-mail: kcomelli@nyc.rr.com
Honduras Apparel Factory, extremely
versatile equipment & personnel, experienced management in place, turn key
operation, WRAP Certified, will be able
to benefit from CAFTA. Currently sewing knits & woven garments. For more
info, please E-mail: fact4sale@aol.com
SPORTSWEAR
DESIGNER
FACTORY MOVING SALE
NJ Dress Mfg contents for sale
•Lectra ALYS30 Plotter
•Lectra Software & Computer
•Lectra Digitizer
•Cutting Room Equipment
•Sewing Machines & Supplies
•Office Furniture-Desks, Filing
Cabinets and Computers
•Warehouse Equipment-Pallet Racks,
Rails, Pallet Jacks
•Piece Goods and Trims
Please call (732) 775-8081
Attn. Designers, Manufacturers,
Vertical Retailers and
Product Development Managers!
Save significant money, maintain quick
turn & impeccable quality at our offshore
sample room.(Central America). For better
contemporary & Bridge Sportswear &
Dresses. Wovens & stretch wovens, European, Asian Fabrics. Product Development: Computerized 1st through Production Patterns. Grading & Marker Making
& Fit Corrections. 1st Samples, Line
Samples, Sales Duplicates, Small Production Run. Fully Lined Jackets, Pants,
Skirts, Bustiers, Dresses, Blouses
Embroideries & Hand Embellishments.
Call Herb Yussim @(626) 840-1468 or
Herb@DesignerSampleRoom.com
We are seeking a dynamic,
talented design pro with 4-7 yrs.
exp. to join our BOSTON staff
designing for a major public moderate
contemporary co. Must have
background in updated knits and
wovens for pants, skirts and jkts.
Must be able to shop stores for
the newest trends. Strong
knowledge of fabrics and an
understanding of development
time lines. Must be able to show
collections to store buyers.
Excellent salary and benefits.
Fax resume to HR:
617-332-3260
2 POSITIONS AVAILABLE
W-I-N-S-T-O-N
APPAREL STAFFING
ACCOUNT EXECS(High end)........60-150K
FABRIC RESEARCH & DVL.........95-120K
SALES/PROD DVL CHILDRENS 90-120K
DESIGNERS (Sr. & Asst) .........40-100K
TECH DESIGNERS (All areas)40-100K
PLANNING (Retail/Merch) ........40-90K
(Tech/Design/Prod)......40-90K
Patterns/Samples/Beading SWEATERS
PRODUCTION (MGR) ................60-85K
Duplicates Cut & Sew
BUYERS........................................70-80K
Fast & Full Service- Production
EXECUTIVE ASST. (5 positions).....50-70K
Call Johnny: 212-278-0608/646-441-0950 TRIM ASSOC ...............................40-50K
MERCHANDISING ASST. ........35-45K
Many other oppty’s Temp & Perm
PATTERNS/SAMPLES/CUTTING
Call: 212-986-7329 Fax: 212-986-7708
PRODUCTIONS
Email: team@otmaa.com
257 W. 38th Street, 3rd Floor
Ph: (212) 921-8100
NO grading charge option
Online to all countries with conversions
To all Systems Joel 212-736-5380
TLC Logistics
Industry Specific Executive Search
Our clients are seeking SKILLED APPAREL DESIGNERS
(tech & creative), MERCHANDISERS (including VISUAL),
SALES (technology and apparel)
and APPAREL INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES in all areas.
Please send resumes to resume@walterwilhelmassoc.com
For open positions, go to:
http://www.walterwilhelmassoc.com/exesearch.htm
CONTEMPORARY KNITWEAR MFG. CO.
DESIGN/TECH ASST.
Must have knowledge of knitwear and
be able to flat sketch.
PRODUCTION ASST.
Communicate w/clients & overseas offices, ADMIN
SINCE 1967
issue PO’s, follow up production schedules
All candidates must be detail oriented,
highly organized, and computer literate.
Fax resume to Marlene: 212-929-4779
DESIGN * SALES * MERCH
ADMIN * TECH * PRODUCTION
(212) 557-5000
F:(212) 986-8437
COMP/PAT/GRADE/MARK
We will warehouse and ship to your
West Coast customers from our Los
Angeles facility. Call: 310-324-0188
Receptionist
Retail Planner- 80K
Buyer- 80K
Technical Designer Men’s wovens- 75K
Freelance/freelance-to-perm Assistant
Merchandisers and
Production Assistants
Great companies!!!
Submit resumes to
ebeeney@taylorhodson.com
fax: (212) 924-9421
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
Assistant Designer
Contemporary design co has an opening for AP. Must have min 2 yrs exp
w/QB. Candidate should be neat, org.
& accurate. Please e-mail resume:
hr@rebeccataylor.com
Evening dress Mfr. seeks a motivated
assistant designer with min 3 yrs exp.
Necessary skills: Organized, Sketching ability, basic comp. knowledge.
Fax resume to: 212-398-6694
BI-LINGUAL CHINESE
Production Coord $50K
Work w/Factories in China
SusieJessilyn@aol.com; Call: 212-947-3400
Assistant Designer
Fast paced Bridge Sportswear CO.
seeks creative, organized and multifaceted individual w/ min. 2yrs of experience. Responsible for sourcing and developing trims. Also must be proficient in Quark, Photoshop & Illustrator as well as do excellent flat sketching. Must be able to work well in team
enviroment.
E-mail resume and salary
requirements in confidence to
Karen@hmany.com or fax (212) 575-1912.
AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES
TAYLOR HODSON
NY-based apparel company
seeks well organized individual to manage the front desk
and day-to-day administrative
duties. Must have excellent
phone manner and desk
appearance.
Please send resumes to:
pgurnani@gmail.com
Asst. Designer / Graphic
Accessory Co. seeks a highly creative
individual with strong knowledge of
Illustrator & Photoshop. Flat sketching, creating inspiration boards, layout
of ads, organize photos, swatches and
catalogues. Communicate with overseas
vendors, create & send detailed technical
packages for sampling and production.
Strong communication skills, must be
organized and must be fashion forward,
wonderful opportunity for creative person.
1 year exp. Fax or E-mail resume to:
646-486-1336 / nydresumes@yahoo.com
Asst. Tech Designer
Import sweater co. seeks indiv. w/ min
2-3 yrs exp w. sweaters. Spec/tech
packs/sample follow-up. Heavy overseas comm. Fax: 212-391-8174
BOOKKEEPER
Able to manage A/R & A/P, invoicing,
RTV, EDI, and work with the factor.
Must know Excel/Word/Acctng. programs.
Please Fax or E-mail resumes to:
212-719-0111 / rony@abjeans.com
CAD Artist/Junior
Experienced CAD person wanted for
high-volume showroom.
Must have
MAC05-9 Illustrator V.9, Photoshop V.6
and color matters systems experience.
Fax resume to: Jackie 212-768-7856
Color Separation Artist
Large domestic supplier of heat transfer
paper to the textile industry is seeking
an experienced Color Separation Artist.
Must have solid background in separating
colors for screen-printing. Qualified
applicants should be comfortable and
familiar with Photoshop and Illustrator.
A strong artistic eye is required.
Please send cover letter, resume and
salary requirements to Attention:
Engraving Dept. @ Fax:(212) 967-5099
28
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
With years of experience solving Footwear, Apparel and Retail (FAR) industry issues,
PTC - The Product Development Company now offers the first true enterprise-level Product Lifecycle
Management (PLM) solution for the FAR industry: FlexPDM F/A. To serve our expanding
customer base, PTC’s Global Services organization is looking for:
Process Consultant
The Process Consultant leads business process analysis and process improvement consulting
engagements. They are focused on delivering PTC-oriented solutions to clients in the
Footwear, Apparel and Retail product development space.
Responsibilities: Analyze and document client business requirements and processes, assist
with business process redesign efforts and ultimately contribute to the design & delivery of a
holistic business solution. Participate in the planning and testing of business applications from a
process and functional perspective. Verify all client requirements are incorporated into the design to
meet client expectations.
Required: Knowledge of core Product Information Management principles and best practices
in the FAR space including: Product Development, PDM, Configuration and Change
Management and Vendor/Supplier Collaboration. Excellent written and verbal communication
skills. Bachelor’s Degree and 5+ years of Business Process Consulting experience with 2 or more
years within FAR industry implementing enterprise solutions. Must be willing to travel.
Solution Architect
The Solution Architect provides technical leadership in consulting engagements centered on
delivering PTC-oriented solutions to customers in the Footwear, Apparel and Retail product
development space.
Responsibilities: Analyze customer business process requirements as a basis to propose FlexPDM
F/A. Produce written specifications, ensuring a clear understanding of client’s technology requirements and provide support for Proposal and Project teams. Develop and document the
FlexPDM F/A Data/Object Model along with identifying, delegating and executing project tasks
including: installing and configuring software, GUI development, testing, debugging, data
migration and deployment.
Required: Expertise in the area of Product Development within the FAR space. Expertise in
core Product Information Management principles including: document management, security and
access control, multi-site concurrency management and component and supplier management.
Bachelor’s Degree and 7+ years of consulting experience in a Technical Lead or Solution Architect
capacity. Must be willing to travel.
To apply for these positions please send resumes to:
Cperea@ptc.com
Designer
Visual Coordinator
We are currently looking for a Visual Coordinator to join our
Marketing team in this exciting newly created position. This
individual will work with the Visual Director to assist in the
planning, production, and execution of all storefront windows,
and interior merchandising displays in our US retail stores.
The ideal candidate will have at least 2-5 years of related
experience in Visual Merchandising (luxury goods company
preferred). In addition, this person should have excellent
communication, organizational, and computer skills. A familiarity
with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within the
retail field is required.
Please fax resume and salary requirements to Carolyn Ocean,
212-758-4691 or email carolyn.ocean@us.ferragamo.com
Designer
Technical Designer
Childrenswear company seeks experienced Technical Designer with girls
background. Must have knowledge of
flat sketching, grading, garment construction and Wal-Mart. Must be detailoriented and have good communication
skills. Good salary and benefits.
Fax resume (212)202-7897
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Leading apparel co. seeks a customer
service rep. w/ min 3 years of related
exp. Must have good comm. & followup skills, possess knowledge of customer
shipping requirements, EDI, inventory
reports, & allocation programs. Send
resume w/salary to:
Box#M 1029
c/o Fairchild Publications
7 West 34th Street, 4th Fl
New York, NY 10001
DESIGN ASSISTANT
DESIGNS ON YOU
“ON THE MARKS” has many long,
short, temp to perm and permanent
position for the following:
ASST. DESIGNERS...Intimate, WEB PDM
DESIGNERS .......Sweaters, WEB PDM
TECHNICAL DESIGNERS......Mens, Boys,
Juniors, Missy, Collection, WEB PDM
CAD OPERATORS......Apparel Bkrnd only
Permanent salaries range from 40K to 85K
Temporary rates from $20-50 dollars p/h.
For these & many more oppty’s
Email: mark@otmaa.com or
Fax to M.G. 212-725-2103
DESIGNER
Established Sportwear Co. is developing
unique designer collection. Great opportunity for a designer with a CONTEMPORARY or DESIGNER background.
Must have exp. working in a sample room.
Fax resume to Joyse: 212-302-3318
Designer/Graphic Designer
Established Design Company seeking
Design Assistant. Ability to multitask Outerwear/Sweater Co. seeks a Ladies’
different projects simultaneously. Creative Fashion Designer. Illustrator/Photoshop a
and technical knowledge, good drawing must. Please Fax resume: 212-221-3964
and writing skills. Email resume to:
Lcasabal@morganelefay.com
DESIGN ASSISTANT
Missy update private label co. seeking
designer assistant. Ability to work on
multi projects simultaneously is necessary. Should be creative and have
technical knowledge. Must be proficient
in Photoshop and flat sketch. Must be
organized and a team player.
Fax resume to 212-244-5692
Designer Assist $35K
Must have flat sketching, Illustrating
MayJessilyn@aol.com; Call 212-947-3400
DESIGNER
Leading 7th Avenue manufacturer seeks
Designer to launch better sportswear
collection. Must have minimum of 10 yrs.
experience & ability to travel overseas.
Please fax resume to: (212) 944-0647
Merchandiser/Sales
Major import company seeks individual
with sales and merchandising exp. in
the women’s athletic market. Should
possess contacts in both the mid tier
and specialty store distribution. Excellent
salary and benefits.
Please fax resume to 212-239-2766
Production Assistant
Accessory Co seeks a highly motivated
& detail oriented individual to work in
fast paced environment. Must possess
strong organizational, time management
and follow through skills. Candidates
must be able to conduct daily correspondences w/overseas, warehouses & buyers.
Ladies’ better dress mfr seeks qualified Strong computer knowledge, Excel a
import mgr in its NY office to handle must. Responsible for spreadsheets,
all aspects of importation. Deal closely maintaining files, shipping & tracking
with forwarders and customs brokers. samples, creating packing lists & bills
Qualified individual should have mini- of lading. Please Fax or Email resume to:
mum 5 years experience. Must be profi- 646-486-1336 / nydresumes@yahoo.com
cient Excel/Word & email with strong
communication skills. Competitive sal- PRODUCTION
ary and benefits package. Fax resume
in confidence to 201-964-5608.
Men’s clothing, Brooklyn location. Exp
in sewing and all kinds of sewing
machines. Salary & full benefits. Start
JOBS JOBS
JOBS
immed. Fax resume attn: Leo Santos:
*Allocator of merchandise-EDI
(718) 853-8805
*Artists: N/I/T-Girl-Boy-Jr.-Young Men
*CAD Artist-Textiles-Prints
*Designer-assists-assoc boy-girl-jr-yg men
Rapidly growing ladies co. seeks
*Designer Girls 7/16 JR. Driven Denim
prod’n. assistant to handle all details
*Designer-Junior Sweaters
from development to prod’n. Qualified
*Entry Levels: Technical-Design- Production
candidates will be aggressive, a team
*Production coords - bilingual chinese
player, have excellent communication
*Production:mgrs & coords & assists
*Production MGR Import Travel Sweaters & computer skills & have 1-2 years
*Quality Control Inspector- Need Car-N.J. experience in a manufacturing environ*Technical Desgn & Assists & Entry level ment. Excellent benefits. Please fax
Call (212) 643-8090; fax 643-8127 (agcy) resume to: 212.730.5845.
Import Manager
Asst Prod’n Supervisor
PRODUCTION ASST
FABRIC SOURCING
DESIGNER
Junior woven sport & dress company
seeks designer with strong feel for
trends. Knowledge of Indian factories
a plus. Fax resume to Tina 212-764-2246.
IMPORT
COORDINATOR
Major importer of womens wearing apparel seeking candidate with 2+ years
experience in import documentation,
letters of credit, garment classification, etc. Must have experience with excel spreadsheets. Fax resume to:
212-869-4437 Attn: Nidia Fernandez
Missy
sportswear
import
company seeks creative and
motivated designer with good
communication and technical
skills. Ideal candidate must have
a minimum of 5 years experience
and possess excellent trend and
color sense. Knowledge of CAD
and technical skills required. Overseas travel may be involved.
Salary
commensurate
with
experience.
Email resumes to
pgurnani@gmail.com
DESIGNERS WANTED
Large Apparel MFG seeks talent
For the following:
•Boys Designer-5+ yrs. exp.
•Mens Designer-5+ yrs. exp.
•Asst Boys Designer-1+ yrs. exp.
Must know Illustrator.
Salary Commensurate with exp.
Fax Resume to 212-971-2277
Major textile co seeks a person w/
knowledge of Asian Textile Markets
with merchandising and design exp.
Able to work w/clients & sales staff in
promoting product. Salary commensurate w/exp. Pls fax resume: 212-397-2202
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Dynamic Legwear & Accessory Co. is
seeking a talented and detail oriented
applicant with 3-5 years graphic design
experience. Knowledge of package design a plus. Please fax resume to:
(212) 997-7273
PRODUCTION COORD.
Merchandiser
Large childrenswear company is seeking a
Merchandiser with girls background,
sizes 4-16. Experience with mass merchants is required.
Please fax resume 212-239-2766
Growth opportunity with established
company! Need dynamic person for expanding International Apparel/Textile
division. Organized, self-starter with a
min. 3-5 years exp. required. Bilingual
Mandarin a plus. Salary commensurate
with exp. Fax resume to: (212) 563-7484
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
29
HEAD DESIGNER
FOREVER 21/GADZOOKS - is one of the most dynamic
rapidly growing retailers in the fashion industry. We are
seeking fast-paced, forward-thinking, self-motivated individuals
to join our Creative Team. Exceptional Taste, excellent
Communication and Organizational skills, and ability to take
projects from Concept to Finished Product are musts:
• senior women’s designer
Min 10 yrs exp of strong Design & Technical skills
• women’s buyer/merchandise manager
(Gadzooks Division) Min. 7 yrs exp in all phases of
women’s casual apparel Product Development
• men’s merchandise manager
(Gadzooks Division) Min. 7 yrs exp of Buying and
Product Development of Menswear
•
•
•
•
men’s designer
intimate apparel designer
women’s casual/denim designer
graphic designer
Our client offers a branded lifestyle line appealing to
the 35+ contemporary woman and is seeking to capitalize
on growing NA sales by recruiting a Design Leader to translate
market input into innovative mid-priced knits and wovens
and manage the corporate design, product development &
merchandising process.
An imaginative and strategic thinker who is totally current on
global contemporary fashion market trends, color palettes
and society/consumer sensibilities, the incumbent is adaptable
to real-time business situations and armed with full technical
knowledge of woven fabric construction for pants, shirts, jackets,
etc. (including denim and denim washes) and garment production techniques. Highly organized and detail-oriented,
s/he will skillfully get Designers to express their artistic sense
through research and execution of collections that move
quickly and boost the bottom line. Open to extensive travel
and experienced at dealing with suppliers in Asia, Europe
and the US, the incumbent will be based in Montreal, Canada,
a vibrant and safe city with joie de vivre. To begin talks with
a unique and successful organization that offers a great
future and an attractive remuneration package, please send
your CV to (Project No. WWD-99).
ALLEN ETCOVITCH ASSOCIATES LTD./PSA INTERNATIONAL
Fax: (514) 287-9940; E-mail: cvs@etcovitch.ca
Min. 3 yrs exp in Illustration & Technical Design skills
Please email or fax resume:
Email: rich@forever21.com
Fax: (213) 741-8995
Merchandise Planner
We currently have an exciting opportunity for a Merchandise
Planner who will work closely with the Retail and Wholesale
divisions of Ferragamo USA. This person will be mainly responsible for the sales and purchase planning within these divisions of
the Company and will also generate statistical assessments of
business trend and recommend course corrections and
improvements based on these assessments.
The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 3-5 years of experience in planning, inventory management, financial planning or
financial analysis, preferably in the retail industry. In addition,
this person must have strong communication, organizational,
and computer skills.
Please fax resume and salary requirements to Carolyn Ocean,
212-758-4691 or email carolyn.ocean@us.ferragamo.com
Production Coordinator
Production
Home textile import co. seeking organized Magaschoni Apparel Group
is seeking the following:
& detail oriented team player to assist
in marketing plan. Fast paced environment. Detailed strong follow up & computer literate. Written & verbal Chinese.
Fax Resume to: 212-481-2241
To develop a private label contemporary
dress and wovens line. Must have merchandising ability especially in the
dress market, must be able to interact
with buyers/ design team, must be excellent in follow up with all aspects of
production and be familiar with costing.
Candidates must have strong organizaLarge childrenswear company seeks tional skills, be able to communicate
production coordinator to track deliveries with overseas offices/vendors, be comfrom overseas factories. Good computer puter literate and detail oriented. Must
and communication skills necessary.
have at least 5 yrs experience.
Fax resume 212-239-2766
Production
Manager/Merchandiser
Production Coordinator
Production Assistant
Production Director/
Merchandising
Established mfr. seeks a candidate
with min eight to ten years work experience. Ability to communicate with
design team and retail buyers. Knowledge of fabric, garment construction
and costing for coats. Overseas and
domestic travel required. Great salary
and benefits for the right candidate.
Please fax resume to 212-643-0593
Must have experience in private label
contemporary sweaters with minimum
2 years experience.
Please email resumes to
paul.mcdonough@magaschoni.com
or fax to 509-757-7814
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Major apparel company seeking exp’d
production manager. Responsibilities
include placing orders in overseas
factories, sourcing, managing large staff,
excellent communication, detail oriented, and good computer skills. Fluent in
Chinese preferred. Must have min. 10 to
15 years experience. Please fax: (212)
944-5127 Att: Human Resources.
SALES ASST
PRODUCT MERCHANDISER
High volume, well establishd costume
Jewelry Co. in NYC seeks a Product
Developer/Merchandiser with minimum
of 5 years experience. Must be detail
oriented; have good communication skills;
be computer literate, and work well in
a team environment Import experience
is a must and design ability helpful.
Will manage staff of assistants. We offer
a salary commensurate w/experience;
Medical & Life insurance; 401k & Profit
Sharing benefits. Please Fax resume to:
973-379-7581
Major private label childrenswear co.
seeks energetic sales ass’t to handle
Wal-Mart account. Must have full
understanding of retail link. Must be
organized w/ excellent comm. &
computer skills. Fax resume:
212-967-8631 Attn: D.R.
Senior Designer $60-100K
Girls 7-16. Young Edgy Look. Asia Exp A+
MayJessilyn@aol.com; Call 212-947-3400
Sewer / Cutter
Outerwear Designer seeks an exp’d
Sewer / Cutter of fabric for fast-paced
workroom. Fax resume: 212-594-0657
Product/Sales Admin Asst
Extremely well organized, highly motivated indiv. w/ min 2 yrs. exp. in apparel
or home furnishings. MS Office req’d.
Send resume w/ salary req’s to:
E-MAIL: ebtex@optonline.net or
FAX: (212) 244-7212
QUALITY CONTROL
SUPERVISOR
Growing New Jersey domestic/import
manufacturer seeks individual to develop,
implement and maintain systems to ensure compliance with customer quality
standards & regulations. Will also interface with other departments. Qualified
candidates will be aggressive, have good
communication & computer skills, have at
least 2-5 years experience in a manufacturing environment. Bilingual Spanish
a must. Email resume & salary reqs. to:
hr@freezecmi.com
RECEPTIONIST
High-energy Apparel Co. seeks bright
energetic person with great communication skills. Will maintain showroom and
greet customers. Good organizational
skills & multi tasking a must. Candidates please Fax resume to: 212-575-0069
RECEPTIONIST
Major apparel company seeks well organized individual to manage the front
desk and day to day administrative duties.
Must have excellent phone manner
and desk appearance.
Fax resume to 212-239-2766
Sales / Admin Asst
Leading Off Price Distributor seeks
aggressive, energetic, exp’d indiv. to
assist Head of Sales. Strong follow-up,
comm, computer and org. skills req’d.
2+ yrs exp. Fax resume to 212.704.0266.
Sewing/Couture
Exp’d Sewers & Tailors who have worked
w/ high quality fabrics. Emphasis on
custom evening wear. Please call:
(212) 869-2296
Premium SoHo boutique seeks exp’d.
Manager & Sales Assistant. Must possess
excellent communication & organization
skills, and be able to work in a busy envi- Apparel co seeks shipping clerk w/
ronment. Compensation is well above good phone manner & hard working
industry standard for right candidate. attitude. Computer literate. Some work
Fax resume to: 212-965-9494
exp is preferred. Fax to 212-354-2661
Retail
SOHO STORE MANAGER
SHIPPING CLERK
Shipping & Receiving
For ladies dress company
Domestic and International.
Please fax resume to Steve: 212-768-4804
SPEC TECH
Fast paced Ladies import Knit Co.seeks
ind w/ min 2 yrs exp in Spec Dev, fitting,
grading. Must have pattern making exp
& knowledge of garment construction.
Excellent communication & follow-up
skills needed. MS Excel, Word & Email
skills a must. Fax resume to:
TECH DEPT @ 212-391-8027 or
email to: patz@suttoncreations.com
Spring into Fashion
(and others)
So many openings, so little time.
“ON THE MARKS” is “flooded” with
permanent and temporary oppty’s.
Here is sample to “brighten your day”.
PRODUCTION ASS’T ....Fashion, 45K
MERCHANDISE ASS’T .Fashion, 40K
EXECUTIVE ASS’T..........Fashion, 55K
EXECUTIVE ASS’T ....Entertainment ,65K
PERSONAL ASS’T......Entertainment, 45K
(m/b free to tvl. extensively)
For immediate appointment
Email mark@otmaa.com or
Fax to M.G. 212-725-2103
30
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
Vice President of Mechandising
The Paradies Shops is the nations leading airport retailer with over 350
stores in 65 airports and has been recognized as the Best Airport Retailer
for 10 consecutive years by Airport Revenue News.
The Paradies Shops operates industry favorites such as The PGA Tour Shop,
Brooks Brothers, Brighton and the successful CNBC Newsstand operation.
We are currently searching for a Vice President of Merchandising with
10 - 15 years of broad retail experience and 5 - 7 years in an executive
leadership position.
The successful candidate will:
•Be a good fit for Paradies hands on/family culture
•Have Multi-branded supervision/buying experience
•Have experience in leading buying teams
•Understand how to drive P&L
•Understand relationship/support systems of Support Center to locations
•Have ability to create a sense of urgency
•Be able to set measurable goals for areas of responsibility & team members
•Create and manage merchandise open-to-buy levels and systems
To view information about our outstanding benefits and company history,
visit us on the web at www.theparadiesshops.com Submit your resume to:
THE PARADIES SHOPS
VP Human Resources: 5950 Fulton Industrial Blvd. Atlanta, Ga. 30336
or E-mail: les.russell@theparadiesshops.com
Leading Accessories Co.
seeks bright individuals for
the following open positions:
Production Coordinators
Qualified applicants must
have min. of 5 years experience in production and be
able to communicate with
overseas factories. Some
travel is required.
Accounts Payable
Reviewing and coding A/P
invoices, weekly check runs,
responding to A/P inquires,
bank recs & heavy Excel work.
Must have experience with
Quickbooks Pro & MS Excel.
We offer competitive salary
& benefits packages! Email
resume with salary req’s to:
HR@concept1.com
SQUEEZE JEANS
A national jeanswear company is growing and
has the following positions available:
Junior Denim Designer
Must have at least 8-10 yrs exp in junior denim bottoms
Proficient in Illustrator & Photoshop
Key Junior Account Executive
5-10 yrs min exp in junior market
Must have strong dept, specialty & chain store contacts
Technical Designer
3-5 yrs min exp fitting ladies bottoms
Must have full knowledge of Illustrator & Excel
Production Coordinator
Must have 3-5 yrs exp
Excellent benefits
Please email resume: jobs@sqz.com
Paramus, NJ
The Paramus store is seeking a Personal Shopper and designated
selling specialists for Fine Apparel, Men’s Clothing and
Designer Jewelry. The ideal candidate must have a client
following in luxury goods, exceptional communication skills and
a working knowledge of high end designers.
White Plains, NY
The White Plains store is seeking store level senior executives.
Candidates must have a minimum of 5 years retail management
experience in the field of Human Resources, Public Relations
or Visual Merchandising. In addition, we are also looking for
seasoned department managers and selling professionals.
For consideration please e-mail your resume to:
solange_binef@neimanmarcus.com
EVIE KREISLER
& ASSOCIATES
established 1978
EXECUTIVE
SEARCH
Atlanta
404-262-0599
Chicago
312-251-0077
Los Angeles 213-622-8994
New York
212-279-8999
www.kreisler-associates.com
SWEATER COORDINATOR
Contemp dsgn firm seeks detail orient,
highly motivated, very organized swtr
coord to work for design & prod depts.
Min 2 yrs exp, must know sweater
specs, Costing & finan negotiations.
Manage strict T&A cal, strong excel &
have contemp eye for Design. Pls
e-mail resume to: resumeRT@gmail.com
DESIGNER
MERCHANDISER
Leading women’s apparel co. is
seeking a dynamic designer with
5-10 yrs exp. to join our NEW YORK
design staff. Designing for a major
public contemporary co. Candidate
must have a strong background
in update knits and wovens for
pants, skirts and jackets and
strong knowledge of prints and
fabrics. Must be able to shop
stores for the newest trends and
have an understanding of development time lines. Must be able
to show collections to buyers.
Excellent Salary and Benefits
Fax Resume HR:
212-827-0897
TECH/CAD DESIGNER
Fast growing Missy / Contemporary
Knit House seeks experienced designer
to handle tech packages for volume
private label import programs. 5 years
experience min. Great Co. atmosphere!
Great benefits! Salary based on experience. Fax resume to: 212-221-3510
Technical Design Asst
Great opportunity! Will assist in
patternmaking, fittings, measuring,
knit & woven garment construction.
Excel, Word req’d. Retail Link a plus.
SWEATER DESIGNER
Sweater mfr. seeks creative individuals. Fax resume: 212-967-8631 Attn: CC
DESIGNER
5+ yrs. missy/ Jr. sweater exp. moderate
mkt., ability to interpret trends, knowledge of fancy yarns/stitches a must.
DESIGNER ASSISTANT
3+ yrs. missy/Jr. sweater exp., Handle
all details (spec/artwork/fit) involved w/
product execution, follow-up communication w/ factory. Mandarin speaking a
plus. Fax resume & salary history to:
FAX: (212) 944-6049
The leader in urban fashion is expanding and relocating to
Fort Lee, NJ just off the George Washington Bridge.
We are currently seeking enthusiastic, high energy
individuals to join our team.
Fashion Designer
Graphic Designer
Merchandiser
Production
Operation
Planning, HR, Finance
Bilingual/Multilignual Preferred
Competitive salary, health benefits, and 401K.
Must be authorized to work in USA.
Fax: (201) 935-3215
email: hr@southpole-usa.com
Account Executive
Richard Leeds International
Leading intimate apparel co looking for
acct exec based in NY. Must have 3-5 yrs
of understanding midtier & mass accts.
Excellent analytical skills; team player
working w/ merchandising on product
develop. Proficient in Excel or Lotus.
Buying exp a plus. Competitive benefits
pkg. Submit resume: fax 212-696-8450
or email: hr@richardleeds.com
Technical Designers
TECHNICAL DESIGN
Junior and Senior
A leader in the direct mail order clothing business since 1925, Haband Company is looking for Technical DesignAnn Taylor is one of the fastest-growing ers to join our growing team of QC prospecialty retailers and we currently fessionals. Spend your day evaluating
have opportunities available in our fit and production samples, issuing
Technical Division. Qualified candidates spec sheets and fit comments and aswill have excellent knowledge of sisting in fit sessions with live models.
patternmaking and garment construction;
good verbal and written communications The ideal candidate must be detail oriskills; & proficiency in computer appli- ented, able to prioritize and be a team
cations. For consideration, please player. Related TD experience is reemail your resume, indicating Job quired, menswear exposure is a defiCode "TK" in subject line, to: nite plus. Professional level communiemployment@anntaylor.com, or fax to cation skills are required to interact
212-536-4385. EOE
with buyers and vendors. Degree from
a fashion college is preferred.
Dir. Knits/Sweaters
Sr. Tech & Techs Wovens
Bedding & Quilts
Asian importer offers attractive terms
for well connected Sales Rep. Fax/E-mail:
212-643-1958 / royalquilts@hotmail.com
Children’s Footwear
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Candidate wanted to head up a new, better
branded Children’s Footwear line. Must
have experience in sales and be proactive
with product. Los Angeles based preferred. Please E-mail resume & letter to:
rightbettersearch@yahoo.com
Interested candidates should forward
resume with salary requirements to
the Human Resources department at:
Technical Designer
Established ladies sportswear company
looking for technical designer with 2-3 yrs
experience in sweaters and knits. Must
be able to make tech packs & development
specs. Knowledge of Illustrator &
Photoshop a must. Please fax resume to
212-944-8409 Attn: MM
COUTURE SALES
Couture Atelier seeking expert sales
representative with a strong clientele
following. Please fax resume to
(212) 239-3432
Haband Company
112 Bauer Drive
Oakland, NJ 07436
Email: jane.francisco@haband.net
Fax: 201-405-7780
EOE
Accessories/Bath/Cosmetics
Looking for sales person with strong
following. Good opportunity.
Email resumes to: tune26@aol.com
Technical Designers
Technical Designer
Immediate opening for 2 positions Woven and Knit Junior. Fast paced co.
Must know how to spec garments,
approve grades, generate initial development specs, work directly with overseas to make adjustments. Very organized and detail oriented. Knowledge of
Excel, Illustrator or Color Matters a
plus. Fax resume to Alan 212-997-9284.
OPENINGS
*Tech. Dsgn Mgr-Exp. w/ Woven Bottom WGTS
*Tech. Designer- Exp w/ Sweaters
*Tech. Dsgnr-Knits, Wovens, Denim-Phila. Loc
*Tech. Dsgnr-Childrenswear Exp.
Int’l co. seeks indiv., entry level to 5 yrs.
See other listings @
exp. in sales. Develop new accts., handle
www.apparelstaffing.com or
assigned stores for promotional & new
Fax resume to: (212) 302-1161
biz plan. Bi-lingual Chinese & Korean
a must. To apply call: (212) 949-6660 ext. 31
Long Island jean stores seeks full time or Fax: (212) 949-6882
Visual/Floor Merchandiser. Experience
necessary. Fax resume: (516) 742-4720
DENIM SALES
MANAGER
Required by mfr. 1407 b’way showroom
to develop business. Must have track
records and strong contacts with buyers.
Email to: parisjeansinc@aol.com
or Fax to: 212-827-0011
Account Executive $30-60K Entrepreneurs Wanted
Visual/Floor Merchandiser
Account Executive
Great opportunity to join a growing
sportswear company in NY. We are
looking for a Sales Pro with contacts
to major department stores to do line
and private label business.
Please fax resume to: (646) 291-1377 or
Email: luxeapparel@gmail.com
Key men’s wear apparel sales person
with strong management ties to all levels
of retail distribution wanted. We have
the label, production and finance to
make you succeed. Forward inquiry to:
dimegs1515@aol.com
Exp’d Salesperson
Experienced salesperson needed for
importer of girls’, ladies’ & men’s wear.
Please fax resume 212-719-1819.
Exp’d Salesperson Wtd.
Young, aggressive women’s apparel
company is seeking a motivated
Salesperson with 2-3 yrs. experience.
Please fax resume to: (212) 719-5573
WWD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
31
ABC CARPET & HOME
OPEN POSITIONS
FURNITURE SALES ASSOCIATES
AND MANAGERS
•Do you have 3 years sales experience?
•Do you feel passionate about helping people create a
beautiful space?
•Do you resonate with Feng Shui, Green Design, and
Indigenous Cultures?
•Do you work comfortably with a floor plan?
•Do you desire to be an integral member of a magical sales
team at Manhattan’s most electric, beautiful and forward
home furnishings store?
Interested? Please send resume to:
Jobs@abchome.com or fax (212) 475-8896
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
JONES NEW YORK INTIMATES
Licensed by Madison Intimate Brands
With continued growth; Industry leading Sleepwear company
seeks highly motivated Sales Professional to sell existing
Dept. Store accounts. Must have great communication and
presentation ability; along with excellent computer skills
(excel spreadsheets, word, email). Must have strong working
knowledge of retail math, responsible to develop and maintain
seasonal plans. Min 3 years prior experience selling to Dept.
Stores, or as a Buyer/Associate Buyer, or Planner/Analyst.
Excellent salary, benefits with opportunity to grow within an
established company. Email resume with Subject HeaderAcct Exec- Your Name, to: hr@jnyi.com
JOIN THE WINNING TEAM of a New
York City upscale fragrance company!
Seeking ambitious and motivated individuals with wholesale experience in luxury
goods. A fragrance background a plus.
Please mail resume to:
Fairchild Publications, Box#M 1028
7 West 34th Street, 4th Fl
New York, NY 10001
DICKSON ACCESSORY GROUP, INC.
SALES EXECUTIVES
Be Part of our Private Label and
Private Brand Global Expansion!
We are seeking experienced Sales Professionals with
established contacts within mass and mid-tier stores, to sell
Handbags, Small Leather Goods and other accessories.
E-mail resume to: sdemasi@dicksonag.com
Exquisite High-End
Neckwear
Men’s neckwear company seeks established account executives to expand retail
presence of this line of beautiful neckwear. Fax or E-mail resume or bio with
cover letter to Brenda.
anthonycorey@charterinternet.com
Fax 978-772-0186
www.anthonycorey.com
Growing Contemporary Women’s
Apparel Company is Seeking:
SALES EXECUTIVE
Top-notch Sales Pro with specialty and
Dept. store connections. Minimum 5 yrs.
experience in contemporary market.
SALES ASSISTANT
Must be able to multi-task, be highly
organized and ambitious. Minimum
2 yrs. of sales experience.
Please fax resume to: (212) 354-6052
ssaral@alarashirt.com
Off Price Sales
Men’s and Children’s Off Price wholesaler seeks salespeople to solicit the
off price trade. Some experience necessary and knowledge of computers are
preferred. Salary/commission package
commensurate w/ exp and following.
Please call or e-mail with any questions
212-239-6563 garysteiner239@aol.com
SALES (2) $$$$$$
(1) Jr Market. (1) Kids. Both Key Accnts.
Jobs@TheFashioNetwork.com
Sales Assistant
Apparel Mfg seeks exp’d, organized
person to assist top sales executive.
Must be Excel and Photoshop literate.
Fax Resume to 212-971-2277
Sales Assistant
Leading accessory wholesaler seeks
highly self-motivated individual for
sales assistant position working directly
with National Sales Mgr. Indiv must
have a minimum of 2 years exp. with
department and specialty stores. Resp.
include sales analysis, account & order
maintenance. Ideal candidate must be
computer proficient with excellent
communication skills as well as an
ability to multi task in a fast paced
environment. Please fax resume with
salary requirements to Mr. Jay @
212-213-4296
Sales Executive - Sweaters
Vertical sweater co. seeks motivated
Sales Exec. w/ proven track record &
est’d relationships w/ Dept. & Specialty
stores. Fax resume & salary history to:
(626) 932-1822, Attn. HR/Dept.
SALESPERSON
Better women’s sportswear manufacturer seeks a highly experienced salesperson for its private label division.
Need 10+ years sales background &
strong relationships in this area.
Please fax resume to (212) 868-8189
SALESPERSON
Fashionsnoops.com, a leading NY-based
online fashion forecasting service, seeks
exp’d indivs to sell site subscriptions.
Base + commission. Contact Itay:
201-797-7601, info@fashionsnoops.com
SALES $$$$$$
Tween/
Teen
room
Décor
&
Accessories. Licensed & Generic exp
with mass or mid-tier accts. Benefits +
Lots of room to grow !!
Call Laurie 212-947-3399
or e-mail laurie@karlyn.com
KARLYN FASHION RECRUITERS
Sportswear Sales Exec
SR. SALES EXECUTIVE
Est’d Imp Co. seeks aggressive/exp’d
Sales Exec for Budget Price Missy/
Plus Sizes Sptswr. Must have current
contacts w/ Speciality Chains/Mass
Retailers and Pvt Label. Excellent
Sal/Comm & benefits. Great Oppty!!!
Please Fax Resume: 212-840-2796/
Email: RG@argeesportswear.com
SUNGLASS SALESPERSON
Est. license driven accessory company
seeks salesperson for sunglasses division.
Family company atmosphere. Req.
computer skills, creative thinker, aggressive. Min 5 years sales exp selling junior
chains, drug, mass, dept stores. Travel req.
Email: elliotm@paneyewear.com
LILITH
French women’s designer boutique
located in Nolita seeks PT leading to
FT position if desired. Requires fashion
retail experience & prefer a client base
Contemporary men’s wear seeks exp’d following. Please call for appointment:
(212) 925-0080 or Fax: (212) 925-0255
distributor/acct exec, well established
contacts w/ major dept stores to handle
private label. Must have 5+ yrs exp &
have excellent organizational, communication & follow-up skills.
Fax resume 212-279-9888
Sales Executive
Part Time Sales
Specialty Store
SALES EXECUTIVE
Major private brand womens sportswear
mfr. with overseas factories seeks
proven Sales pro with existing
business, account base and strong
contacts. Our NY office offers complete
in-house supports in design, fabric
development, tech design, pattern &
sample making, QA/QC, financing,
plus competitive sourcing, LDP pricing,
on-time delivery history. Please fax
resume to Joe @ (212) 239-1610
Los Angeles based denim company searching for the right
Independent, enthusiastic Salesperson to fill the position.
Strong communication and organizational skills needed.
Must have current store following with
major department and chain stores in denim.
Minimum of 5 years experience is required.
Please fax resume to: (213) 747-4014 or
E-mail: JIX1313@prodigy.net
James Cured by Seun
Leading contemporary denim company
seeks an experienced and aggressive
West Coast Road Rep. Candidate must
possess ability to thrive in a fast paced
environment as well as be able to develop
Est’d. Updated Women’s Sportswear Co. and maintain new and existing accounts.
seeks a motivated, exp’d. Salesperson Contemporary denim/West Coast territory
w/strong relationships. Excellent salary knowledge a must!
+ commission. Confidential. Fax/E-mail: Competitive compensation package.
516-576-1003 / jobs@dani2inc.com Email resume to: kim@jamesjeans.us
Sales /Executive & Assitant
Top designer sportswear company has
2 open positions: Account Executive &
Sales Assistant. Must have prior experience in higher priced lines. Excellent
growth and compensation opportunity.
Please email or fax resume:
emhiring@yahoo.com / (212) 695-9483
INDEPENDENT SALES REP
Immediate opening, p/t sales, 15 hours
weekly. Specialty leather accessories
store on Upper East Side. Must be experienced with high end clients, hands
on, team player. Computer skills a plus
but not a must. Please fax resumes to:
212-794-3910
Sales/Management
Upscale Ladies’ Store
seeking motivated/exp individual.
Fax 212-290-8010
HIGH ENERGY DESIGNER
Contemporary, Junior, or Missy.
Excellent
Please call 212-273-9650
Shipping/Import Coordinator
Exp’d. in Fashion/Apparel industry. Can
deal w/vendors, freight forwarders, and
customs brokers. Exp’d. in Word, Excel,
and Lotus Notes. Can multi-task and
prioritize. Looking to learn and grow.
Seeking salary mid 40s. Call or E-mail:
718-745-2522 / GLynchNYC@aol.com