News
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April 30, 2008
L&T Revamps Stores, Considers New Markets
Lord & Taylor has laid out plan to expand into new categories and markets. The retailer is hoping to convert 100,000 square feet of its New York flag ship into a home furnishings department featuring Fortunoff home shops and jewelry. It’s also opening 47 Fortunoff jewelry departments in its stores in February.
At the same time, L&T is looking for ways to expand abroad, and is said to be considering a licensing model. While no deals are in the works yet, the company said that several groups have shown interest in partnering in international markets.
Posted by Blacks at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2008
Sigerson Morrison Opens In Malibu
Sigerson Morrison opened a new 1,500-square foot store in Malibu featuring the brand’s signature footwear and handbags as well as footwear from Belle. The store, located in the Malibu Country Mart, sits among other California-style brands such as Juicy Couture and Ron Herman.
Sigerson’s footwear line ranges from about $400 to $1200 while its handbags run around $500 to $1600.
Sigerson exces said that they had luck opening new locations in rough economic times, when rents are down. The company hopes to soon open two new stores in San Francisco and Europe.
Posted by Blacks at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)
April 28, 2008
Lim Steps Into Japan With Tokyo Flagship
Philip Lim opened a new flagship in Tokyo, serving as his first step into Japan. The 2,230-square-foot store features the full range of 3.1 Philip Lim merchandise, including women’s and men’s apparel, jewelry, accessories, and even children’s clothes.
Lim has plans to open 8 more stores in Japan over the next five years, as well as 12 shops within shops.
The Tokyo store is Lim’s second flagship; his first is in New York. He plans to open a third boutique in LA in June.
Posted by Blacks at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)
April 25, 2008
Gucci's Sales Slip On Product, Supply Issues
Sales at Gucci dipped 3.3% in the first quarter of the year to $770 million as luxe brand faced issues such as slower traffic and supply chain troubles. Gucci said it also missed the mark by focusing on its high-end products instead of the middle-range goods that consumers are clamoring for.
Gucci parent PPR said that it would work on overcoming these problems in the quarters ahead. Meanwhile, PPR’s other luxury brands showed much stronger growth for the period ended March 31.
Yves Saint Laurent reported sales growth of 20% to $95 million while Balenciaga offered high, double-digit growth.
Posted by Blacks at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2008
Joe's Jeans Steps Into Retail With Chicago Store
Joe’s Jeans is venturing into retail with the opening of its first branded store in Chicago. The almost 1,900-square foot space, due to open in August, will showcase Joe’s premium denim line and complementary collection pieces.
The company is planning to open 50 new doors in the next five years, saying that margins in retail are higher than in wholesale. Even with lower margins, Joe’s managed to report a 75% sales increase for 2007 to $63 million.
Posted by Blacks at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2008
Coach Reports Sales Spike, Plans 40 New Doors
Coach’s third-quarter income spiked 8.3% to $162 million on sales that jumped 19% to $745 million.
Comps for the period ended March 29 were up 9%. Riding on the wave of success, Coach detailed plans to open up 40 new doors over the next year. It has developed a new store format called “the gallery” in which all of Coach’s merchandise is easily viewed in one place.
The company declined to give specific projections for the rest of the year but said it expected double-digit growth.
Posted by Blacks at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2008
Bergdorf NY Opens Balenciaga Shop
Bergdorf Goodman has opened a Balenciaga boutique in its Fifth Avenue store, offering ready-to-wear, handbags, jewelry and accessories. The 720-square foot space is Balenciaga’s first shop-in-shop in the U.S. It sits next to Bergdorf’s Prada store and features French furnishings in a deco theme.
The Balenciaga pieces start at $225 and reach almost $16,000 for an exclusive gown. Bergdorf said that Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquière is one of the most influential designers today and it is pleased to offer his work.
Posted by Blacks at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2008
Levi's Plans To Stir Up Its Product Mix
Levi Strauss & Co. is looking to expand out of its core denim and Dockers base by adding a larger percentage of tops, footwear, accessories and outerwear to its mix.
Bottoms currently account for 87% of its total sales and the company hopes that it can increase revenue by adding new merchandise.
Levi’s CEO John Anderson has said that he wants to see the mix change to 50% bottoms. The company plans to make a big push in tops and has already started to put them front and center in stores.
Posted by Blacks at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2008
Armani Names Laguardia New U.S. CEO
Bruno Laguardia was named the new CEO of Giorgio Armani in the U.S., replacing Bridget Ryan Berman.
Laguardia hails from Trimil, a joint venture between Ermenegildo Zegna and Armani to produce and distribute Armani Collezioni.
In his new role, the executive will be charged with growing the company’s revenue in the U.S., which has recently slowed. He will also work to expand the company’s retail footprint and better familiarize the U.S. market with Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani.
Posted by Blacks at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2008
LVMH Sales Surge, Led By Leather & Fashion
Sales at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton climbed 12% to almost $6 billion in the first quarter of this year, led by leather and fashion goods.
Sales in these categories jumped 18% thanks to demand for brands such as Marc Jacobs, Fendi, DNKY, Celine and Pucci.
The company also reported strong performances in Asia and Europe, although Japan is still flagging. LVMH predicted continued strength in its retail businesses despite slow U.S. economic growth.
Posted by Blacks at 09:58 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2008
Granoff Leaves Liz For Kenneth Cole
Kenneth Cole has recruited Liz Claiborne’s Jill Granoff as its new CEO in an effort to get the company back on track. Granoff, who is currently executive vice president of direct brands at Liz, will replace Kenneth Cole himself in the CEO role. However, Cole will remain chairman and chief creative officer of his company.
Granoff has a challenge ahead, considering that Kenneth Cole’s profits fell 73.5% last year while revenues dipped 4.8%. Granoff is expected to streamline the company's operations and work on retail and brand building.
She takes on the new post May 5th.
Posted by Blacks at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2008
Marc By Marc Jacobs Takes On The Continent
Marc By Marc Jacobs is expanding its footprint in Europe with two new shops in Paris and one in London, which are scheduled to open later this year.
In Paris, the company is opening separate stores for women’s wear and men’s wear on the Place du Marché Saint-Honoré. The London store, on South Audley St., will cater to both men and women.
In addition to these wholly-owned entities, Marc plans to open new franchised units in Madrid and Milan near the end of this year and beginning of next year.
Posted by Blacks at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2008
Mountain Hardware Opens Brick & Mortar Store
Columbia Sportswear’s Mountain Hardware Website is expanding offline with its first retail store. The outdoor company opened a 3,000-foot store in Portland, Ore., earlier this month, featuring equipment, apparel and footwear in a rustic setting.
The store also contains computer kiosks where customers can look up outdoor clubs and nonprofits.
In addition, 10% of all sales in April will go to Multnomah County’s Friends of Outdoor School, providing outdoor education to sixth graders.
Posted by Blacks at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2008
Armani Plans 50 New Doors As Profits Spike
Profits at Armani increased 17% last year to $396 million on revenues that climbed 8% to $2.2 billion. The company said that it saw consistent growth across its product line and in all sales regions.
Armani said it plans to open 50 new stores worldwide this year, in more mature markets. It opened 49 new doors last year.
The company also predicted that wholesale orders for its fall collections would increase by 7% this year, thanks to the diversity of its product line.
Posted by Blacks at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2008
Bluefly Launches Boutique Fashion Site
Fashion Website Bluefly.com is expanding into the boutique business with the launch of b*fly.com. The new site will feature contemporary styles geared toward a younger audience, such as denim, casual dresses and graphic tees.
Bluefly made its mark by selling designer clothes at discounted prices. It said that the new site is aimed at people who want to mix-and-match separates and don’t necessarily need to wear high-fashion goods.
Posted by Blacks at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2008
Levi's Looks Abroad For Sales Growth
Levi Strauss and Co. saw its earnings surge 12% in the first quarter to $97.1 million, aided by a reduction in its restructuring charges and interest expenses.
The San Francisco-based company reported a 4.4% increase in revenue to $1.08 billion. Looking ahead, however, it said that it sees most of its growth coming from overseas and the women’s market.
Sales in the U.S. and Japan have been slowly declining, forcing the company to look to new growth markets, such as China.
Posted by Blacks at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2008
NRF Predicts Boom In Online Apparel Sales
Although sales have slowed for brick-and-mortar retailers, online sales of apparel, footwear and accessories are expected to climb to $22.7 billion this year, according to National Retail Federation estimates.
In 2007, only 10% of the sales in these categories were done online but that figure is expected to reach 12% this year, presenting a distinct opportunity for apparel and accessories retailers.
Total online sales are projected at $204 billion this year, up from $175 billion last year, as bargain hunters and convenience shoppers continue to flock to the Net.
Posted by Blacks at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2008
Banana Republic Opens NY Monogram Store
Banana Republic opened its first upscale Monogram store in New York this week featuring its BR Monogram better collection. The 3,000 foot store on Bleecker St. offers pieces at 30% to 40% above Banana’s regular price point. The collection features luxury fabrics and detailing.
Banana is aiming for customers who want to be fashionable on a budget. Whether the concept will takeoff and lead to more stores remains to be seen.
Posted by Blacks at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2008
Rei Kawakubo To Design Capsule Line For H&M
H&M has signed up another star collaborator to make a capsule collection for the fast-fashion chain. Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo has agreed to make a one-time Comme des Garçons line that will go on sale at H&M in November.
The collection is still being designed but is supposed to contain both basic and complicated pieces.
The Comme des Garçons collection is timed to correspond with the opening of H&M’s new Tokyo store. The Swedish company is busy pushing into international markets as sales continue to climb.
Posted by Blacks at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2008
Lululemon's 4Q Earnings, Sales Soar
Athletic apparel retailer Lululemon saw a 16-fold increase in earnings for its fourth quarter to $14.6 million on revenues that doubled to $105.1 million.
The Canadian company pinned its success on great store locations and the healthy living trend. Comps for the period ended Feb. 3 came in at 41%.
The company plans to open 35 more stores in North America this year as well as launch an e-commerce site.
Posted by Blacks at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)
April 02, 2008
Talbots Announces Three-Year Restructuring Plan
Talbots has set a three-year plan to overhaul its business by updating its fashions and concentrating on categories such as plus size and collection.
The Retail chain plans to expand the plus size category in its Misses stores as well as open 35 new Talbots Woman locations. The new Talbots Woman units will open in premium outlet locations over the next five years, the company said.
Talbots is also moving to a design-driven model with a good, better and best pricing structure, it said.
Posted by Blacks at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2008
Prada's Group Profits Soar 66% In 2007
Prada’s 2007 profits climbed nearly 66% to $174 million, thanks in part to strong demand in Asia. The group, which owns the Miu Miu, Prada and Car Shoe brands, reported a sales increase of 14% to $2.27 billion for the year ended Jan. 31.
The company got a boost from sales of leather goods and accessories, which increased 25% in the period.
Meanwhile, sales in the Asia-Pacific region increased 42%, compared to growth of 10.8% in North America.
Posted by Blacks at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
