News
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August 30, 2007
Neiman's Puts Chicago On The Cusp
Neiman Marcus opened a new Cusp concept store near Chicago this month. The new door, in the suburb of Northbrook Court, is the fourth Cusp Neiman’s has opened in the last year. The high-end department store chain said that it is testing demand for the specialty stores before it opens more locations.
Cusp caters to a younger customer who seeks cutting-edge contemporary fashions in a more intimate setting.
Posted by Blacks at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)
August 29, 2007
L.A. Retailer Ron Herman Bets On Vegas
Los Angeles-based retailer Ron Herman just opened a new store in Las Vegas to cater to tourists and vacationing Angelenos. The 3,000-square foot Ron Herman store is located at The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, which has become one of most important shopping destinations in Vegas.
The new store carries only women’s wear, with brands such as Acne Jeans, Stella McCartney and Jovovich-Hawk.
Ron Herman has five other locations in the Los Angeles area: in Beverly Hills, Costa Mesa, West Hollywood, Brentwood and Malibu.
Posted by Blacks at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2007
Frank Tell To Launch Signature Collection
Designer Frank Tell is launching his own signature collection which will debut at New York’ Pure Project on Sept. 6. The 20-year old is busy creating a 16-piece line that includes dresses with a 20s, 30s and 40s influence.
Tell is showing flowing chiffon in solid colors with an updated vintage feel. The line will wholesale from $175 to $450.
Posted by Blacks at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)
August 27, 2007
Bloomingdale's Continues Its Growth Spurt
Bloomingdale’s is opening a new concept store in Chevy Chase, Md. next month as part of a larger expansion plan that could see the addition of new doors across the country and abroad.
The Chevy Chase unit, due to open Sept. 27, features a regionally upgraded assortment and an abbreviated home section organized by lifestyle rather than department. Bloomingdale’s plan is to use new concepts to increase its footprint in previously untapped markets.
The department store chain has recently opened four new stores – three in California and one in Massachusetts – as part of it growth push.
Posted by Blacks at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2007
Gap Surprises With Earnings Rise
Gap reported a 19 percent increase in its second quarter earnings to $152 million this week, marking its first profit rise in two years. The struggling San Francisco retailer said that same store sales were down 5 percent in the quarter, but it made up for losses by trimming staff and expenses.
Reaction to spring/summer goods was mixed, Gap said, adding that its fall inventory should bring in a stronger performance.
It will be interesting to see how the company fares over the next few quarters under the direction of new chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy.
Posted by Blacks at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2007
Liz Puts An End To Sigrid Olsen's Wholesale Business
Liz Claiborne will no longer wholesale its Sigrid Olsen line, choosing to keep it only in its retail channel. The move could be in preparation for a sale of the brand. Last month Liz Claiborne put Sigrid Olsen and 15 of its other brands on review, leading to speculation of a possible sell-off.
Sigrid Olsen was carried at over 180 department stores, generating a volume of $15 million. The line will stop shipping after the holiday season.
Posted by Blacks at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2007
Saks Trims Losses, Increases Sales In 2Q
Saks Fifth Avenue managed to trim its losses in the second quarter of the year while increasing sales by 15 percent to $694 million. The department store chain reported losses of $25 million, down from $52 million a year ago.
Meanwhile, same store sales increased 13 percent due to turnaround efforts, which included increasing margins and taking fewer markdowns.
Posted by Blacks at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2007
Badgley Mischka Launches Daytime Dress Label
Badgley Mischka is banking on its success in evening wear to launch a daytime dress label called Badgley Mischka Platinum Dresses. The new label is priced more moderately than their signature line and is due to arrive in department stores and specialty shops in January.
The colorful dresses will retail from $325 to $450 and come in nearly two dozen styles, shipped 10 months out of the year.
The label underscores the strong dress trend we’ve reported on for the last four seasons. Blacks continues to believe that dresses will play an important part of women’s wardrobes going into fall and beyond.
Posted by Blacks at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2007
Karl Lagerfeld Accessories To Bow In Fall '08
Karl Lagerfeld has teamed with Accessory Network Group to design, manufacture and distribute a line of accessories. The Karl Lagerfeld line will feature handbags, luggage and leather goods in two collections: designer and contemporary. The designer collection will offer handbags starting at $1,000 and the contemporary line will start at $350. The bags will feature exotic skins, treated leather and special hardware.
The line is set to debut in fall of 2008 and will be distributed and major department stores and select specialty shops.
Posted by Blacks at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2007
Saks Opens Shoe Dept. With Its Own Zip Code
Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan unveiled its massive new shoe floor this week, featuring 1,000 to 2,000 shoes on display and 10,000 square feet of selling space.
The 8th floor is so expansive it merits it own zip code – 10022-SHOE – which is also the name of the department.
Saks said that footwear is one of its fastest-growing categories and it decided to revamp the department to fit in more designer brands. It now carries shoes from over 50 vendors and offers substantial presentation space to showcase the different lines.
Posted by Blacks at 09:40 AM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2007
Earnest Sewn Opens Second Manhattan Location
Premium denim brand Earnest Sewn is opening a second location is Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The new 1,400 square foot store is in a historic building on the corner of Orchard and Broome and will be designed to evoke the brand’s Americana image.
The store, which opens next month, will also feature an in-store flower shop operated by floral designer Denise Porcaro, who does arrangements for well known restaurants and celebrities.
Posted by Blacks at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2007
Macy's Q2 Profit Plummets 77 Percent
Macy’s second quarter profits fell 77 percent to $74 million, leading it to cut its outlook for the rest of the year. The company, which just changed its name from Federated Department Stores, cited weak sales and acquisition adjustments for the loss.
Macy’s acquired May Department Stores in 2005 and has been in the process of rebranding them under the Macy’s banner.
Posted by Blacks at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)
Erin Snow Swings Into New Sportswear Categories
High end skiwear brand Erin Snow is expanding into other sport categories such as tennis, sailing and golf.
The expansion is aimed at targeting active, well-heeled women year round with luxe sportswear such as sailing jackets and tennis dresses.
The new collections will initially be distributed to 20 specialty stores and some high-end department stores, with plans to widen distribution later on.
Posted by Blacks at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2007
J. Crew Launches Luxury Line
J. Crew is stepping into the luxury market with the release of a new Collection line featuring higher priced, limited edition items. J. Crew Collection will launch with its own Website this fall and a Collection store in slated to open in New York next spring.
The retailer has selected a 2,500-square foot unit on Madison Ave. to showcase its new concept. If the initial Collection store does well, more locations could be in the works.
The company already tested consumer reaction to its luxe line in J. Crew stores, saying there was demand for items such as its $595 cashmere jacket and $1,950 silk gown.
Posted by Blacks at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2007
Ferragamo Loses Head Women's Wear Designer
Top Ferragamo women’s wear designer Graeme Black has left the company, according to recent reports. Graeme is expected to concentrate on his own self-named women’s wear brand which he launched in fall 2005.
Ferragamo has yet to comment on Black’s departure or name a likely successor.
Posted by Blacks at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2007
Department Stores Report Strong Comps For July
Department store chains fared well in July, reporting same-store sales that exceeded expectations. Saks Fifth Avenue reported a 14.9 percent gain, while Nordsrom’s sales climbed 9.4 percent. Neiman Marcus saw an increase of 8.3 percent for the month, and released preliminary annual results with sales up 8.9 percent to $4.4 billion.
Mass market retailers did not do as well, claiming they were hurt by a late start to the fall school semester which took a bite out of back-to-school sales.
Posted by Blacks at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2007
St. John Taps D&G Exec As New CEO
St. John has tapped Glenn McMahon as its new CEO, filling the vacancy left by Richard Cohen when he left the company in 2006.
McMahon is currently president of Dolce & Gabbana USA and will start in his new position Sept.1.
St. John said it selected McMahon for his good product sense and deep experience in women’s wear. Previous to his position and D&G, McMahon was president of Ellen Tracy and vice president at Donna Karan.
Posted by Blacks at 09:20 AM | Comments (0)
Istithmar Wins Barneys Bidding War
Dubai-based private equity group Istithmar won its battle for Barneys New York on Thursday after rival suitor Fast Retailing dropped out of the race.
Istithmar has agreed to pay Barneys’ parent Jones Apparel Group $942.3 million for the upscale retail chain. Istithmar raised its original $825 million offer after Japan’s Fast Retailing made a bid of $900 million.
Further details of the sale have yet to be disclosed.
Posted by Blacks at 09:03 AM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2007
Jones, Istithmar Reach New $942M Agreement
In the face of competition from a Japanese rival, Dubai-based private equity group Istithmar has raised its bid for Barneys New York to $942.3 million. Jones Apparel Group, which owns Barneys, previously agreed to an $825 million bid from Istithmar, but reconsidered after getting a higher offer from Japan’s Fast Retailing.
Under the new agreement with Istithmar, Fast is allowed to make one more offer for Barneys before Jones decides if it will accept the Dubai group’s bid.
Posted by Blacks at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)
True Religion Reports Increased Sales, Lower Profits
True Religion saw a sales increase of 16.3 percent in the second quarter of the year, indicating continued demand for premium denim. However, costs took a significant bite out of the Vernon, Calif. company’s profits, which rose just 3.7 percent to $5.1 million.
Administrative and sales costs ate up most of its earnings. The company spent a significant amount of money improving its retail stores and hiring Goldman Sachs to investigate a possible sale of the business.
Meanwhile, international sales plummeted 39.7 percent, partially due to weak demand in Japan and the U.K. The company said it was also hurt by an earlier start on fall shipments.
Posted by Blacks at 09:21 AM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2007
Online Sales Of Jewelry, Watches Surge In Q2
Online sales of jewelry and watches surged 32 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to a recent study by ComScore.Total retail e-commerce grew 23 percent in the second quarter compared to a year-ago.
The figures indicate that there’s still strong momentum in online sales. Even with moderate growth for the rest of the year, the U.S. is expected to rack up over $200 billion in online sales, ComScore said.
Posted by Blacks at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)
August 06, 2007
Designer Abboud To Launch New Sportswear Line
Designer Jospeh Abboud is returning to the apparel business with the launch of a new sportswear line called Jaz. The line, which will launch in fall ’08, is Abboud’s first foray into fashion since leaving his eponymous company in 2005.
To produce the line, Abboud is acquiring Massachusetts shirt maker Alden Street Shirts and New York sportswear company Merrill Sharpe. Merrill Sharpe will be renamed Herringbone Sportswear Co.
Abboud has also lined up three licensees: Cardinal of Canada for outerwear, Jack Victor for tailored clothing and J.S. Blank & Co. for neckwear.
Posted by Blacks at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
Fast Retailing, Istithmar Raise Bids For Barneys
The bidding war for Barneys New York has heated up, as both of its suitors raised their offers over the weekend. Japan’s Fast Retailing upped its bid for the upscale department store to $950 million from $900 million, and Dubai-based Istithmar made a new offer of $900 million.
Jones Apparel Group, which owns Barneys, accepted Istithmar’s original offer of $825 million in June but the company is now weighing its options. If it backs out of the deal, it will have to pay a termination fee of $22.7 million.
Posted by Blacks at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2007
VFG Gets Income Boost From Hugo, Valentino
Valentino Fashion Group’s income surged 18.3 percent to 58.3 million during the first half of the year, driven by strong sales of the Hugo Boss and Valentino brands.
Sales at Hugo Boss grew 11.5 percent while Valentino saw an 8.2 percent rise.
VFG is bullish about its performance for the remainder of the year, predicting a growth rate of 10 percent. The company is benefitting from direct retail sales and an upgrade in its computer systems.
Posted by Blacks at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2007
Jones Mulls "Superior" Bid For Barneys
Jones Apparel Group reported a second quarter loss of $47.1 million, compared to income of $36.6 million a year ago. At the same time the company said that it’s still mulling Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.’s $900 million bid for Barneys New York.
Jones already accepted Dubai-based Istithmar’s $825 million offer, but Jones’ board recently dubbed Fast Retailing’s bid as “superior.”
It remains to be seen which suitor will get the upscale retail chain and if the transaction will boost Jones’ bottom line.
Posted by Blacks at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2007
Claiborne's Q2 Earnings Tumble 65 Percent
Liz Claiborne’s second quarter earnings plummeted 65 percent due to a slowdown in sales of many of its “partnered brands,” which the company is preparing to sell. The partnered brands include Ellen Tracy, Sigrid Olsen and Laundry By Design.
The company’s direct brands, such as Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and Lucky Brand jeans fared much better, with a sales increase of 25.5 percent for the quarter.
Claiborne’s total sales for the quarter ended June 30 came in at $1.13 billion, up 0.5 percent from a year ago. Net income fell to $13.6 million, compared to $39.4 million last year.
Posted by Blacks at 09:20 AM | Comments (0)
