BURKLE BUYS WEBSTER STAKE/2 L’OREAL’S HUBER PROMOTED/8Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • June 8, 2007 • $2.00

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Diamond DaysGiorgio Armani Parfums aims to build its Emporio Armani fragrance

franchise in the U.S. and bolster it in the rest of the world with the

new women’s fragrance Emporio Armani Diamonds. The launch is

set for September and the sales target is a ranking in the top

fi ve globally. For more, see page 9.

WWDFRIDAYBeauty

See Neiman’s, Page 22

Luxury Rocks ’n’ Rolls:Neiman’s Net Up 47%Despite CompetitionBy David Moin and Jeanine Poggi

Luxury retailers are ratcheting up their games, but Neiman Marcus

Group Inc. is unfazed by the widening competition.

For the third-quarter ended April 28, Neiman’s said Thursday that earnings jumped 47 percent to $59.5 million from $40.5 million in the year-ago period.

Total revenues grew 8 percent to $1.07 billion from $99.3 million, and same-store sales rose 6.1 percent.

“We are very, very pleased with our results for the quarter and our ongoing positive results, and we are reaching new levels of performance that we are

WWD.COM2 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

WWDFRIDAYBeauty

GENERALNeiman Marcus Inc. said third-quarter profi ts climbed 47 percent to $59.5 million on strong sales in its retail and direct marketing divisions.

Investor Ron Burkle has taken a stake in jeweler Stephen Webster with the aim of building its retail network and expanding its product lines.

After a tough April in which weather and the loss of Easter cooled business, same-store sales showed signs of a rebound in May.

FASHION: Resort is the season for easy pieces and designers such as Derek Lam, Peter Som and Alexander Wang are delivering them in several ways.

BEAUTY: Jimmy Choo has inked a worldwide fragrance deal with Paris-based Selective Beauty, with a women’s scent to bow in spring 2009.

L’Oréal intends to put Emporio Armani on the fragrance map in September with the launch of its new Diamonds women’s scent.

● EXPO POSTPONED: The initial edition of Denim Expo, Italy’s first trade exhibition entirely dedicated to denim, will be held in January instead of later this month. Organizer Rimini Fiera said in a statement that the shift was made to “diversify its launch strategies,” and to redefine a “new format and time slot” to “meet the demands of big international fash-ion companies” that have expressed interest in the fair. Fiera also said ready-to-wear and accessories fair First Alternative would be scheduled on a yearly basis. The launch edition of First Alternative was held last January in Rimini, on Italy’s Adriatic Coast, and was scheduled to run June 30 to July 2. The next edition is now slated for winter 2008.

● TOUGH TARIFF TALK: European and American textile in-dustry groups on Wednesday jointly called for the U.S. and European Union to oppose deep tariff cuts for the sector in the global trade talks because such cuts would boost China’s mar-ket dominance. Eurocoton and the National Council of Textile Organizations said substantial tariff cutting would “slash exist-ing real market access and put at risk the livelihoods of hun-dreds of thousands of U.S. and EU textile workers.” The organi-zations said they wanted the U.S. and EU to support a sectorial solution that would provide “for tariff reciprocity at levels that would still preserve attractiveness to existing preferential tar-iff rates, rather than to slash them.”

In Brief

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WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2007 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

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“I have won a lot of honors — and I’m not so young, as you can see. To receive this at this time in my life is a real honor.’’

— Pierre Cardin, winner of the CFDA International Award

Quote of the Week

Burkle Links With Stephen WebsterBy Samantha Conti

LONDON — Ron Burkle may be eyeing Dow Jones Cos., but he’s added another bit of bling to his luxury portfolio.

The founder and managing partner of the Yucaipa Cos. has taken a stake in London jeweler Stephen Webster with the aim of building up its retail network worldwide and expanding the label’s product lines.

The deal was signed Wednesday, and an announce-ment is expected today. As re-ported in February, the billion-aire supermarket magnate and owner of another London jew-eler, Garrard, was interested in investing in Webster.

“With the appropriate fi nan-cial support, the growth pros-pects for Stephen Webster with-in the luxury jewelry market are extremely compelling,” said Burkle. “We are very excited about the partnership.”

Webster added, “The new investment and expertise of Yucaipa will allow us to expand

to our full potential and realize our vision for the future.”

A spokeswoman for Stephen Webster declined to talk about the size of Yucaipa’s invest-ment, whether it was a major-ity or minority stake, or exactly how much Burkle paid. She did, however, say there were “im-mediate plans” to open Stephen Webster stores in New York; Kiev, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Second units here and in Moscow are also in the works, as is a new, lower-priced bridge line.

Asked if there would be any creative or commercial linkups between Garrard and Webster, she said, “No, not at this stage.”

The playful, outspoken Webster, whose clients include Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz, has just celebrat-ed 30 years in the business. He’s never had a major shareholder or backer and until now has grown organically.

Webster, 46, made his name working with vibrant, semipre-cious stones such as citrine,

chrysocolla and tanzanite for cocktail rings and pendants. He also makes delicate silver and diamond pieces shaped like thorns, and witty, Gothic designs such as poison rings and gargoyle cuff links. Later this month, his “Burning Rocks” collection of men’s jewelry for De Beers will be launched. The line is fi lled with rough diamonds with a rock ’n’ roll edge and features bracelets, pendants, rings and what Webster calls “conversion” pieces that can be worn in a variety of ways.

The designer has more than 60 points of sale worldwide, including wholesale and fran-chise accounts in the U.S., U.K., Russia, Dubai, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. In the U.S., he has a bustling business with Neiman Marcus.

In 2005, Stephen Webster’s sales were 4 million pounds, or $8 million, and in 2006 they doubled to 8 million pounds, or $16 million. Yucaipa purchased Garrard in the fi rst half of 2006, for an estimated $20 million to $30 million.

Kellwood CEO Expects Boost From AcquisitionsBy Amy Zimmerman

ST. LOUIS — Robert C. Skinner Jr., president and chief executive offi cer of Kellwood Co., told the annual shareholders’ meeting Thursday that the company was not satisfi ed with fi nancial results for 2006, but was making progress toward its goal of succeeding as a brand-focused enterprise.

Discussing the acquisition of high-end brands Vince and Hollywould, Skinner said he expected both to yield positive contributions. Kellwood is evaluating new product classifi cations for Vince, including a men’s wear line that will be launched at wholesale in the fall, and is examining the possibility of opening Vince retail stores, he said.

Skinner recognized two Kellwood brands for exemplary results in 2006. Baby Phat, the label of St. Louis native Kimora Lee Simmons, grew across 29 product categories, and Simmons recently was honored as designer of the year at the American Image Awards. Gerber Childrenswear reached record levels of sales and earnings and was recognized as the vendor of the year in its category by Wal-Mart and Target.

For fi scal year 2006, net sales were $1.96 bil-lion, down 1 percent from 2005. The decrease was attributed primarily to a $39 million decline

in women’s sportswear. Sales in men’s sports-wear increased 5.4 percent, to $525 million, and Kellwood’s other soft goods segment, which in-cludes Gerber Childrenswear, increased 3.1 per-cent, to $329 million from 2005. Net earnings rose to $31.4 million in 2006 compared with a $38.4

million loss in 2005. Net earnings from continuing operations increased to $21.1 million in 2006 compared with $18.8 mil-lion the prior year.

First-quarter earnings are to be re-leased today.

After the meeting, Skinner told WWD that Kellwood was continuing to look for opportunities to acquire brands that will expand across multiple product catego-ries. Dropping lines — the company dis-continued Izod women’s sportswear in 2005 — remains a possibility.

“We manage a portfolio of brands, so we are al-ways looking at how we improve the performance of the total portfolio,” Skinner said. “That can mean investing in brands, it can mean acquiring new ones, and, at certain times, it can mean exit-ing businesses. That is a continual reevaluation of our brand portfolio with an eye toward making it stronger.”

Plans remain to close a Kellwood distribution center in Chico, Calif., in August, but Skinner said no other plant closings were imminent.

House Bill Seeks to Ease Export TaxesBy Kristi Ellis

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers, seeking to give American com-panies some relief from the ad-verse impact of globalization, has introduced a bill to elimi-nate billions of dollars in taxes that most foreign countries im-pose on U.S. exports.

Reps. Bill Pascrell (D., N.J.), Mike Michaud (D., Maine), Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.) and Walter Jones (R., N.C.) pro-posed the Border Tax Equity Act, which they said would strengthen domestic production by eliminating an “unfair tax burden” levied on U.S. exports and services. The bill directs the U.S. trade representative to negotiate a remedy through the World Trade Organization for U.S. fi rms that face a value-added tax assessment when they

export products to countries that assess the taxes.

If U.S. trade negotiators fail to reach a remedy by January 2009, the bill directs the gov-ernment to assess offsetting taxes on imports of goods and services equal to the amount of tax rebates exporters in those countries receive when they ship products to the U.S. In ad-dition, the federal government would issue rebates equal to the amount of value-added taxes paid by U.S. exporters to foreign countries.

“Differential treatment of direct and indirect taxes under international trade rules puts U.S. producers at a profound disadvantage,” Jones said at a press conference Thursday on Capitol Hill.

“This bill, if nothing else, will accomplish an education com-ponent for Congress and for the

general public as to the inherent unfairness of the international trade structure,” said Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition.

Importers contend that the bill takes the wrong approach in addressing differences in tax systems around the globe and the correct approach would be to overhaul the U.S. tax system.

Stephen Lamar, execu-tive vice president at the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said the legislation would be a “recipe for disaster” because if the U.S. imposes off-setting tariffs on imports from countries that assess value-added taxes, it would most like-ly lead to a WTO dispute and potentially billions of dollars in sanctions levied on U.S. manu-facturers.

Robert C. Skinner Jr.

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Luxe Sector Buoys Split May CompsBy Liza Casabona

May same-store sales gave out some mixed signals. Despite higher gasoline prices and a slowdown in

the housing market, sales improved overall after a dis-mal April in which poor weather and the loss of Easter volume cooled comps.

Still, May same-store sales continued to refl ect a split between luxury and moderate consumers. Positive re-sults in the department store sector, particularly Saks Fifth Avenue, and at specialty chains were driven pri-marily by luxury customers. Moderate chains that reg-istered declines, such as Macy’s and J.C. Penney Co., and mass retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which reported a modest gain, bore most of the impact of mac-roeconomic factors.

“Individual companies making the right decisions on promotions and displays and inventory will continue to consolidate market shares,” said Richard D. Hastings, vice president and senior retail analyst with Bernard Sands. He said the best bets for the future were likely to be wholesale clubs, Kohl’s Corp. and luxury and premi-um specialty retailers that had innovative products, such as Saks, Nordstrom Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc.

As tracked by WWD, sales fi gures in stores open at least a year in the department store sector fared the best, increasing 5.3 percent. Mass merchants posted a 4.1 percent gain. Specialty stores, held back by widely varied results, posted a 0.5 percent increase.

The results are largely in line with predictions dat-ing from the start of the year that luxury would fare well, the moderate side would show a slowdown and the lower end of the retail industry would lag because of the limited spending ability of core customers, said Kevin Regan, senior managing director and retail specialist at FTI Consulting.

“What we’re seeing on a macro level is that sales growth has been slowing for several months,’’ Regan said. “We believe the housing sector slowdown has been a key cause. It’s obviously affecting some of the key sec-tors in retail.”

The luxury side of retail continues to thrive, which could help insulate the industry from the full effects of current economic pressures, he said. The bulk of dis-cretionary spending for apparel and accessories is still driven by affl uent consumers who continue to spend.

May comps were released as U.S. stock markets suf-fered their biggest losses in three months amid concerns about higher interest rates aimed at curbing infl ation.

Same-store sales growth as tracked by TNS Retail Forward rebounded to 2.6 percent growth in May, from an April decline of 1.5 percent.

“This provides some evidence that April was a fl uke and shoppers aren’t ready to check out of this economic cycle,” Frank Badillo, senior economist and director of the Retail Forward KnowledgeBase, said in a statement. “As long as job and income growth is sustained, at least for the upper-income households, then that should help offset the impact of high fuel prices, the weak housing market and other drags on the economy.”

Department stores were driven mostly by strong numbers from the upscale end of the sector, according to Retail Forward’s analysis. The fi rm said warehouse clubs, drugstores and dollar stores posted better-than-average monthly comps. However, it also noted that ap-parel and accessories stores, as well as discount depart-ment stores, lagged last month.

“Overall, in total, the numbers are decent,” said Janet Hoffman, partner in the retail practice Accenture. “Specialty is still having its challenges.”

Predictions that consumer spending was slowing could be premature, some industry experts said. The blue-col-lar consumers most affected by rising gas prices and the cooled housing market have less to spend, but consumers in the top income brackets appear to be unfazed.

“Retailers announced mixed same-store sales results that were an improvement from April, which indicated that the consumer is alive and well,” Christine Chen, analyst at Needham Co., said in a note. “While May was important as a barometer for the health of consumer spending, it is the least important month of the second quarter.”

Sales strength for the retailers that did well was driv-en by the right fashions in key categories, Chen said. Dresses, knit tops and shorts were important in May and are expected to be key items during the early back-to-school season, as well, she said.

Luxury stores again provided a bright spot for the department store sector. Saks reported a same-store sales increase of 37.5 percent, beating its guidance of low-double-digit growth for the month as well as ana-lysts’ expectations. The company said sales were driven by women’s designer sportswear, “gold range” apparel, handbags and women’s shoes.

May sales at Nordstrom gained 6.3 percent, beating both its guidance for the month and Wall Street’s expec-

tations. Analysts said the growth was driven by women’s designer apparel and accessories as well as men’s de-signer apparel. Neiman Marcus reported a 6.6 percent increase.

Midtier department stores were less consistent. With the exception of Kohl’s, which reported a comps in-crease of 10.5 percent, the sector lagged.

Macy’s sales declined 3.3 percent, compared with its guidance of fl at numbers to a drop of 2 percent and the Wall Street consensus of a 1 percent fall. The miss comes in the midst of Macy’s challenge to integrate stores acquired in its merger with May Department Stores Co. and efforts to rebrand itself as a national de-partment store chain.

“While we were disappointed with sales in the month of May, the increased promotional marketing support currently being implemented for the Macy’s brand is ex-pected to improve sales trends in June and July,” Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive of-fi cer, said in a statement.

J.C. Penney and Dillard’s Inc. both reported declines of 2 percent for the month.

The mass merchant sector was buoyed by strong per-formances at the wholesale clubs as well as at Target Corp. and TJX Cos. Inc. Target’s same-store sales in-creased 5.8 percent, and TJX’s were up 5 percent. Industry experts said Target still benefi ts from offering lower prices, but has the added cachet of being seen as a fashion-oriented company, which insulates it from some of the pressure on purely price-driven discounters.

Wal-Mart reported a 0.3 percent increase for its dis-count stores open at least a year, in line with its guid-ance, but just under Wall Street’s expectations. The dis-counter said apparel and home merchandise continued to be soft last month, but it expected to see a gradual improvement in those areas in the third quarter that will accelerate in the fourth quarter. The company said its customers’ worries about gas prices had increased since the beginning of the year.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. reported increases of 4.1 and 7 percent, respectively.

Specialty retailers also were mixed. American Eagle Outfi tters Inc. reported a 5 percent increase in same-store sales, in line with some expectations and below others. The company said in a statement that customers had reacted positively to key categories in the summer assortment in May, helping to drive an improvement in comps over April.

Aéropostale said sales gained 1.9 percent. “We con-trolled our promotional cadence and level of invento-ry, resulting in gross margin increases over last year,” Julian Geiger, chairman and ceo, said in a statement. Geiger said the company believed it was well-positioned moving into the back-to-school selling season.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported a 5 percent de-crease. AnnTaylor Stores Corp. was also off, with a 4.6 percent decline. That was an improvement over April, when there was a 12.8 percent decline.

Gap Inc.’s divisions were uneven. The fl agship Gap was down 7 percent, Banana Republic increased 3 per-cent and Old Navy dropped 3 percent. Limited Brands Inc. also reported varied results — a 5 percent boost at Victoria’s Secret, a 5 percent rise in total apparel and a 3 percent drop at Bath & Body Works.

The bulk of the summer is expected to show the same mixed results.

“Consumers are still going to be very cautious,’’ said Regan of FTI Consulting. “There’s nothing out there giv-ing people reason to believe that a turnaround is immi-nent. There will continue to be moderate growth with-out anything of consequence causing things to happen one way or the other. I don’t see anything causing any pattern changes.”

MAY APRIL MARCH

2007 2006 2007 2006

% Change % Change % Change

DEPARTMENT STORES BON-TON 1.2 -4.1 -15.8 -3.8DILLARD’S -2.0 3.0 -14.0 6.0MACY’S INC. -3.3 9.2 -2.2 2.3GOTTSCHALKS -3.8 2.8 -0.8 1.9KOHL’S 10.5 3.1 -10.5 16.8NEIMAN MARCUS 6.6 5.4 1.0 10.2NORDSTROM 6.3 7.8 3.1 15.0J.C. PENNEY -2.0 11.1 -4.7 10.6SAKS 37.5 0.8 11.7 10.1STAGE STORES 1.7 4.0 -14.8 12.4AVERAGE: 5.3 4.3 -4.7 8.2

SPECIALTY CHAINS ABERCROMBIE & FITCH -5.0 3.0 -15.0 7.0AEROPOSTALE 1.9 -1.1 -14.0 15.9AMERICAN EAGLE 5.0 11.0 -10.0 20.0ANN TAYLOR -4.6 12.0 -12.8 6.1BANANA REPUBLIC 3.0 3.0 -13.0 8.0BATH & BODY WORKS -3.0 12.0 -2.0 15.0BEBE -3.0 1.6 -9.0 0.1BUCKLE 8.8 -3.8 1.8 10.7CACHE -2.0 6.0 2.0 0.0CATO 2.0 -2.0 -21.0 7.0THE CHILDREN’S PLACE 4.0 18.0 -2.0 7.0CHICO’S FAS -2.9 7.2 -7.3 5.2CHRISTOPHER & BANKS 4.0 8.0 -12.0 0.0CITI TRENDS NA 10.8 NA NACLAIRE’S NA 4.0 -6.0 8.0DEB SHOPS 0.2 1.4 -4.7 6.5DRESS BARN 10 9.0 -6.0 12.0GAP (U.S. STORES) -7.0 -5.0 -14.0 4.0GYMBOREE NA 24.0 -5.0 9.0HOT TOPIC -6.1 -6.0 -9.1 3.4LIMITED BRANDS (TOTAL APPAREL) 5.0 -9.0 6.0 3.0MOTHERS WORK -3.6 5.5 -14.8 3.6NEW YORK & COMPANY NA -5.2 -11.4 3.7OLD NAVY -3.0 -8.0 -20.0 10.0PACIFIC SUNWEAR 6.4 -2.6 -16.5 14.1RITE AID 1.7 4.0 2.1 3.3UNITED RETAIL 4.0 9.0 -8.0 11.0VICTORIA’S SECRET 5.0 16.0 -4.0 8.0WALGREENS 6.4 9.8 9.2 8.0WET SEAL 1.9 -8.3 -9.6 10.9WILSONS -25.0 -9.1 -20.0 -16.8ZUMIEZ 11.2 18.2 3.0 17.0AVERAGE: 0.5 4.2 -7.8 7.1

MASS MERCHANTS BJ’S WHOLESALE CLUB 4.1 4.2 1.2 5.5COSTCO 7.0 9.0 6.0 5.0ROSS STORES 5.0 5.0 -7.0 6.0STEIN MART 2.5 1.0 -13.9 8.0TARGET 5.8 5.7 -6.1 12.0TJX COS. 5.0 4.0 -1.0 6.0WAL-MART (DISCOUNT STORES) 0.3 2.3 -4.6 3.4AVERAGE: 4.2 4.5 -3.6 6.6

TALLY:UP 29 36 10 44FLAT 0 0 0 2 DOWN 15 12 37 2 TOTAL 44 48 47 48

SOURCE: COMPANY REPORTS

MAY SAME-STORE SALES

Kohl’s Corp., which saw comps increase 10.5 percent, was an exception among midtier department stores.

6 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

It’s a Cinch

’Tis the season for easy pieces, and designers are delivering them in a variety of ways. Derek Lam,

inspired by a recent trip to Kyoto, Japan, showed languid dresses with understated baby kimono sleeves,

obi waists and subtle draping. Peter Som, meanwhile, said he channeled “natty, old-school elegance mixed

with an indulgent spoonful of Seventies decadence,” which translated into soft shorts with frayed edges and oversize bows on tops. Alexander Wang looked to water sports and aerodynamic design for his collection, featuring slight twists of fabric and shots of neon. “The twisted details evoke the laid-back nature of wet hair

knotted in a towel,” said Wang. For Thakoon Panichgul’s fi rst resort

lineup, the designer took a “sporty safari on an acid trip,” playing

with layers and round shapes. One Thakoon standout was a bright

fl oral camoufl age top paired with a multipocketed hooded jacket and broken-in rolled shorts. Roberto Cavalli also offered some soft,

fl owing shapes, but he ushered in sexy, shorter lengths, too, as well

as a bold lynx motif.

Peter Som

Derek Lam

WWD.COM7WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

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8 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

The Beauty Report

Huber, Chapoulaud Promoted at L’OréalBy Pete Born

NEW YORK — Edgar Huber, who has led the Luxury Products Division of L’Oréal USA since 2003, has been promoted to a senior po-sition at the international group’s Paris head-quarters. His successor here will be Valerie Chapoulaud, who has been European zone di-rector of the division.

Earlier this week, Huber said he would as-sume a senior position in charge of business development in the Luxury Products Division in Paris, reporting to Marc Menesguen, president. His new appointment will take effect Aug. 1.

Huber arrived here in early 2002 as president of Kiehl’s Since 1851, owned by L’Oréal. He moved up to his current position in September 2003 as president of the Luxury Products Division. Huber made his mark by crafting a growth strategy for Kiehl’s, both in the U.S. and overseas. When he arrived, Kiehl’s had two freestanding stores and now it has more than 60, stretching across Europe and through Asia.

Later, as president of the luxu-ry group, he expanded that busi-ness with annual mid-single-digit increases, growing the combined volume to a formidable $1.68 mil-lion in retail sales, according to industry sources.

He created the Specialty Brands Group, based on Hudson Street in TriBeCa, which included Kiehl’s, Giorgio Armani Cosmetics and Shu Uemura — all aimed at specialty and freestanding stores. As the depart-ment store world consolidated with the merger of Federated Department Stores and May Co., Huber led a diversifi cation of distribution with the opening of freestanding stores — fi ve for Lancôme alone — the initiation of e-commerce business and the expansion into specialty store chains. The refocusing of the Biotherm business in the U.S. out of department stores and onto the Web as its sole American channel led to a banner month in April, and industry sources said that brand did more than $300,000 on the Internet

alone for the month. As a group, L’Oréal’s luxury brands now do

25 percent of their volume outside department stores, which had been 100 percent of the busi-ness fi ve years ago, according to Huber. He also takes pride in having “developed more balance in the brand portfolio,” with less reliance on Lancôme’s powerhouse sales than in the past. He quotes The NPD Group in pointing out that the Giorgio Armani fragrances did only $3 mil-

lion less than the combined fra-grance businesses of Chanel in the U.S. last year. This spring, Armani placed three men’s fragrances in the top fi ve and a women’s scent in the top 15.

Huber also nurtured the better business in specialty stores like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. Prior to his stint in the U.S., Huber worked for L’Oréal in Europe, beginning in the Active Cosmetics Division in 1992 in Paris. He spent the next four years in various marketing posi-tions in France and Germany be-fore joining the Luxury Products Division. He relocated to London to take the helm of Lancôme be-fore being named the general manager of the Luxury Products Division in the U.K.

His successor, Chapoulaud, joined L’Oréal in 1984 and spent her early years in fi nancial and sales positions. She was named general manager of Biotherm in Italy in 1994, and then joined the Biotherm International devel-opment team in Paris two years

later. In 2002, Chapoulaud was appointed gen-eral manager of luxury products for the Asian zone. She moved up to her current position in the European zone in 2005.

When she relocates here, she will report to Laurent Attal, L’Oréal USA president and chief executive offi cer.

“I defi nitely will miss the teams,” Huber said of his coworkers. “They are strong and profes-sional teams with good spirit. I also will miss the professionalism of the retailers here and the American can-do spirit.”

LONDON — Jimmy Choo is trying out scent for size.

The high-end footwear and accessories brand has inked a 10-year worldwide fragrance licens-ing deal with Paris-based beauty manufacturer and distributor Selective Beauty SAS.

A debut women’s scent is scheduled for spring 2009. The move into fragrance is part of a strategy to grow Jimmy Choo, which was acquired by pri-vate equity fi rm TowerBrook Capital Partners ear-lier this year, into a luxury lifestyle powerhouse. Financial terms of the Selective Beauty deal were not disclosed.

“We thought of two products that could re-fl ect very well the sexiness of Jimmy Choo — one was eyewear and the other was perfume,” said Robert Bensoussan, who this week passed his title of chief executive of Jimmy Choo to Joshua Schulman. As reported, Bensoussan, who contin-ues to be a member of Jimmy Choo’s board, plans to focus on building a portfolio of luxury brands with TowerBrook.

“We launched our handbag line nearly four years ago and already Jimmy Choo has evolved from a shoe brand to a global luxury brand,” added Muriel Zingraff, director of new product development and licensing at the fi rm. “It was natural to go into fra-grance as it allows us to express a different facet of the brand.”

The license will fall into Selective Beauty’s luxury division, which also in-cludes the John Galliano and Agent Provocateur beauty businesses. “It’s such a fabulous brand with incredible star quality,” said Jim Ragsdale, managing director of Selective Beauty’s luxury division. “It’s glamorous, it’s chic and a bit fl ashy. It’s something that makes every woman dream.”

In line with Selective Beauty’s other luxury brands, Jimmy Choo fragrances will be sold in a maximum of 2,000 to 3,000 doors worldwide. In contrast, beauty products by brands in its prestige division, which include MaxMara and Trussardi,

are sold through 9,000 to 14,000 points of sale.“Our top priority is to create exceptional product and to control the distribu-

tion network,” said Corrado Brondi, president of Selective Beauty, adding that Jimmy Choo scents will be sold through high-end specialty and department stores in the U.S. and U.K., two key markets for the brand. Elsewhere in Europe, prestige perfumeries also will be tar-geted.

Beauty is one of a number of areas that Bensoussan sees Jimmy Choo entering in the fu-ture. He also suggested jeans, lingerie, swimwear, jewelry and furs could be in the cards, as well as eyewear.

“I believe fragrance is a way of expanding the client base,” he said. “We hope it will attract many more people to the Jimmy Choo concept, especially people who would like to own a piece of the Jimmy Choo world but who can’t necessar-ily spend the minimum $500, which today is the basic [entry price] for a Jimmy Choo product.”

In addition, Zingraff noted beauty products likely will appeal to the brand’s existing clien-tele. “Jimmy Choo is a lifestyle brand,” she said. “Ladies who wear our shoes and [carry] our bags already have fragrances. For us, it’s a refl ection of how we compliment the lifestyle of our clients by allowing them to dress in Jimmy Choo from head to toe.”

“This exciting new partnership will not only give us the ability to meet the de-mand for a fragrance, but also achieve my original vision for Jimmy Choo to be one of the most treasured luxury brands,” said Jimmy Choo founder and president Tamara Mellon in a statement.

Jimmy Choo is already on a skyward sales trajectory, according to Bensoussan, who noted turnover for the fi rst fi ve months of this year are up 40 percent year-on-year for a projected full-year volume of more than 130 million euros, or $174.95 million at current exchange.

Executives declined to reveal projections for the brand’s debut scent. However, Bensoussan was decidedly bullish.“We are very ambitious,” he said.

— Brid Costello

Choo Signs Scent Deal With Selective Beauty

A year after launching his Waterford home collection, Marc Jacobs is dipping a toe into the home fragrance market.

The designer and his fragrance licensee, Coty Prestige, are launching a limited edition scented collection in September that could well become a permanent addition to Jacobs’ beauty lineup.

Room Fragrance Mist, $65 for 10 oz., is designed to scent rooms and linens. Scent Decanter with Sticks, $65 for 10 oz., diffuses fra-grance into the air. And Moisturizing Hand Wash, $30 for 10 oz., is a gentle, hydrating cleanser.

“Marc loves to entertain, and his Waterford line inspired us,” said Michael D’Arminio, vice president of global marketing for the Marc Jacobs and Vera Wang fragrance brands at Coty Prestige. “We took a risk with Marc’s Splash fragrances — that type of formulation

[popular in the Seventies] is unusual, but Marc’s versions blew out the door. We think it will be the same for his home products. So many people talk about home fragrances, but they can be a challenge to do in department and specialty stores. But if anyone can do it, Marc can. Right now, these products are limited edition, but we would love to see them head into the permanent Marc Jacobs scent family.”

The home products feature a blue-tinted blend of Tropical Rain Accord, passion fl ower and beech amber that was concocted by International Flavors & Fragrances.

In the U.S., the products will be available in about 200 specialty store doors. Bloomingdale’s will have a one-month exclusive on the products, and in October they will head into Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom. Globally, the prod-ucts will be available in Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, among other markets.

D’Arminio declined to discuss sales projections, but industry sources estimated that the line could do $5 million at retail globally.

— Julie Naughton

Jacobs: Making a ‘Marc’ in Home

Valerie Chapoulaud

Edgar Huber

The Marc Jacobs Home collection.

The Choo deal will

yield a scent in 2009.

9WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

WWD.COM

Armani Aims to Put the Bling in EmporioBy Michelle Edgar

The Giorgio Armani brand has become a beauty power-house, particularly in men’s fragrances. But the design-

er’s youthful, trendier label, Emporio Armani, has been another story. Now Armani’s licensee, L’Oréal, intends to put Emporio on the fragrance map in September with the launch of its new Diamonds women’s scent, with a boost by Beyoncé Knowles, who will sing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in a TV spot.

L’Oréal is shooting for a top-fi ve global ranking. While L’Oréal does not break out fi gures, that high a ranking would require a global retail volume of 150 million euros, or $201 million, for the fi rst full 12-month period.

“I wanted a fragrance that refl ects the sparkle, strength, brilliance and sexiness of the Emporio Armani woman,” said Armani in a statement. “It is for a 21st-century woman who is independent, confi dent, strong and feminine.”

Giorgio Armani Parfums, a division of L’Oréal, hopes to build on the beachhead established in the women’s market by the last feminine launch, Armani Code for women. “We established a leadership position in the men’s category and a strong foothold in women’s after the launch of Armani Code. This project allows us to reach a whole new audience,” said Serge Jureidini, president of the Designer Fragrances Division, L’Oréal USA. “The Giorgio Armani brand has such great equity, and this launch includes the most ambitious plans for a women’s fragrance under the Armani umbrella.”

While Armani Code for women ranked in the top 15 at the end of last year, the fragrance climbed to ninth by Mother’s Day. Ava Huang, vice president of Giorgio Armani Parfums, added that there is “an opportunity to build the overall Armani empire beyond what just Giorgio stands for.” L’Oréal executives did not provide numbers, but indus-try sources estimate that the women’s Code did more than $30 million at retail in 2006, the year after its launch. On the men’s side, Armani has three fragrances in the top fi ve.

“This feminine fragrance is a new vision for the Emporio line and it expresses a new vision of femininity with a se-ductive, dynamic and assertive way that is complimentary to Giorgio Armani women,” said Renaud de Lesquen, internation-al brand president of Giorgio Armani Parfums and Cosmetics.

De Lesquen added that although Armani has experienced some diffi culty in the women’s category, Armani Code proved to the market that the brand was able to attract new customers.

“Armani Code for women in Europe ranks as top fi ve in some of Europe’s major markets including Germany, Italy and the U.K.,” de Lesquen said.

Jureidini attributes the Emporio’s struggle to gain trac-tion in the U.S. to the company’s focus on developing the Giorgio collections. “There’s so much potential under the Giorgio Armani name, so we wanted to build the fragrance category,” said Jureidini. “Being in such a strong position now, we feel it’s the right time to build the Emporio brand.”

Emporio Armani Diamonds will launch globally in about 20,000 doors and make its debut in 2,500 U.S. department store doors in September. Industry sources estimate that the massive launch could place Diamonds among the top-fi ve fragrance brands with $50 million in fi rst-year U.S. retail sales. Huang said the launch is also an attempt to reintroduce the Emporio brand to the American market. “Although Emporio Armani has a large presence across Europe, the U.S. has an extremely limited distribution in boutiques, select Sephora doors and online,” said Huang.

“Emporio Armani is about a relationship and lifestyle,” said Huang, who added that Emporio targets a slightly younger demographic, between the ages of 25 and 40, while Giorgio aims at consumers 35 and older.

Created by perfumer Thierry Wasser of Firmenich, Emporio Armani Diamonds is categorized as a gourmand fl oral, featuring top notes of lychee and raspberry; middle notes of rose, freesia and lily of the valley, and bottom notes of vetiver, cedar wood, patchouli and vanilla. De Lesquen added that this launch is a reinterpretation of the diamond symbol as an “excess of luxury, but with more audacious, optimistic, irresistible and irreplaceable facets.”

The clear fragrance bottle and colorless juice were de-signed to emulate a diamond gem. Emporio Armani Diamonds will be available in three sizes: 1 oz. for $39.50, 1.7 oz for $49.50 and 3.4 oz for $69.50. The fragrance will also be available in an ancillary shower gel for $35 and a body lotion for $39.50.

“In the same way that [Marilyn] Monroe’s song ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ is a classic, so is the femininity of a rose,” said Nathalie Duran Thienot, vice president of international marketing of Giorgio Armani Parfums and Cosmetics. “We’re using the rose but in a very gourmand way, like a fl ower that can be eaten.”

As the face of the fragrance, Knowles will be featured in the print and television advertising campaign.

“Beyoncé is pure sensuality,” said Armani. “She has that ability to mix it up: young and sexy or elegant and sophisticated, but always with incredible charisma and magnetism. She’s been so successful at crossing boundaries from music to fi lm to fash-ion, and as a result, she’s become an icon for the generation.”

The TV advertising campaign, shot by Jack Nava, and the print campaign feature Knowles wearing an Armani dress and shoes encrusted with Swarovski crystals. Industry sources estimate that the print and TV advertising cam-paign will cost around $10 million.

The TV campaign will appear mainly on cable, while the print campaign will launch in about 15 September women’s fashion, beauty, lifestyle and entertainment books. Some 50 million scented impressions will also be distributed.

PARIS — Amatokin, an antiaging serum that uses stem cell technology to renew skin cells, has been fl ying off perfumery shelves in Europe and the U.S.

Industry sources estimate the prod-uct, which was developed by Voss Labor-atories, based in Salt Lake City, generated sales of 1 million euros, or $1.4 million at current exchange, in its fi rst two months on sale in Sephora’s top 14 stores in France and at sephora.fr. That perfor-mance was achieved despite the product’s hefty price tag of 190 euros, or $258, per 30 ml.

Amatokin bowed in the U.S. in April at Bloomingdale’s and in the U.K. in May at Harvey Nichols. Its distributor, Basic Research, also handles the antiaging product Strivectin.

Executives at the firm said consumer interest in the product, which targets the 35-year-old-plus set, was huge, and cited a waiting list of 250 people at Harvey Nichols be-fore the product went on sale there. Industry sources esti-mate it will generate between $5 million and $7 million at retail in its fi rst year.

“When you apply Ama-tokin cream in a local ap-plication, it initiates the re-lease of very, very powerful growth factors responsible for cell proliferation,” said Louis Rinaldi, chief cosmetic development offi cer of Voss Laboratories. “It contains a peptide that produces a fi ngerprint of solid evidence showing our bodies’ own stem cells are being used to renew skin tissue.”

Rinaldi claims this is the first time such stem cell markers have been shown to appear in skin tissue following a topi-cal cream application. In other words, the peptides in the cream purportedly renew the biological processes of the skin in the same way as a stem cell.

Such claims have sparked controversy.“Of course, there’s a lot of controversy

about this,” said Rinaldi, adding such is-sues delayed Amatokin’s launch in the U.S. “This is such a revolutionary technol-ogy, people ask how can you use it in such a trivial fashion — for beauty and vanity? We take the opposite line. Beauty is not vanity; healthy, good, young-looking skin is not vanity. A young, functioning heart is not vanity, and skin is the body’s largest organ. To maintain its health and integrity is not vanity at all.”

— Ellen Groves

Serum Claims to Be Stem Cell Stimulus

MILAN — Ferragamo Parfums has a new man lined up for fall.After launching a scent called F by Ferragamo Pour Femme last

year, the Florentine fashion house will launch F by Ferragamo Pour Homme in September.

The scent is a long-awaited addition to the fi rm’s fragrance portfo-lio, said Luciano Bertinelli, division director of Ferragamo Parfums.

“Finally, we have a strong men’s scent that was missing in our fragrance collection,” said Bertinelli. “This scent has fl air — it really captures who a Ferragamo man is.”

Ferragamo’s new men’s fragrance is expected to register great-er fi rst-year sales volume than F by Ferragamo Pour Femme, said Bertinelli. Industry sources estimate that fi gure could reach 15 mil-lion euros, or $20.1 million at current exchange.

Distribution for F by Ferragamo Pour Homme will start in September in Italy, Europe, Asia and the U.S. The fragrance will be rolled out to Latin America early next year. Ferragamo Parfums is using the launch to tap new northern European markets, including Norway and Switzerland.

Bertinelli said the U.S. rollout would come fi rst and be organized with Selective Beauty, Ferragamo’s new distribution partner. The U.S. distribution network is

expected to reach 400 points of sale.Created by perfumer Olivier Polge of International Flavors & Fragrances, F by

Ferragamo Pour Homme belongs to the amber-woody fragrance family. Top notes of apple and lavender are combined with a single heart note of black pepper from Madagascar, and labdanum is a leathery base note.

F by Ferragamo Pour Homme, which is an eau de toilette, will be available in three sizes: a 30-ml. bottle for $40, a 50-ml. bottle for $55 and 100-ml. bottle for $75. Ancillary products include an aftershave lotion, 100 ml. for $50, and shampoo and shower gel, each 150 ml. for $30. Prices are for the U.S.

F by Ferragamo Pour Homme’s packaging is modeled after that of the feminine fragrance, designed by Sylvie de France. The bottle and cap are transparent and encircled by a black strap with a metal tab etched with “Pour Homme.”

The launch will be supported by the same television advertis-ing campaign shot by Air agency in Paris for F by Ferragamo Pour Femme; however, an image of the new men’s fragrance will appear at its end. Television advertising will be focused in Italy, Korea and

Singapore.A print campaign showing model Donny Lewis laying on a bed with a gold sti-

letto and the fragrance fl acon in the foreground has also been slated. The print campaign bears the slogan “F for Fascinating” and was shot by Azim Haidaryan.

— Stephanie Epiro

Ferragamo Bolstering Men’s Business

F by Ferragamo Pour Homme

Beyoncé Knowles and

Giorgio Armani

Amatokin antiaging serum.

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By Julie Naughton and Molly Prior

With a guest list that included Sean “Diddy” Combs, Paula Abdul, Jane Seymour and singer John Legend, the FiFi Awards embodied the phrase

“starry, starry night.”The 35th annual awards ceremony on May 31, held for the fi rst time at

the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan, brought out those inspired by the overwhelming successes of recent celebrity fragrances from Combs, Sarah Jessica Parker and others. Several admitted that they were looking for fragrance deals, including Abdul and Zac Posen.

“At the right time, [fragrance] is defi nitely part of my dream and my plan,” said Posen. But the chief purpose of his appearance, he said, was to support Combs.

“American Idol” judge Abdul, who was a presenter at the awards, said she had been developing a perfume for the last seven months, and while the name is under wraps, she invited reporters to get close to her neck to smell the fi nished version. “I’m wearing my own scent. It’s fun, fl irty and chic, with some amber, rose and leather notes with a hint of vanilla,” said Abdul, who added the scent was aimed at a “sophisticated type of woman.” Abdul has been working exclusively with fragrance oil house Firmenich on her upcom-ing projects, including a fragrance for the teen and tween markets.

Théo Spilka, vice president of fi ne fragrance sales and new business de-velopment at Firmenich, was mum on who might market Abdul’s fragrance — which he called an “ambery-luscious” blend. But he said Firmenich had “narrowed it down to a short list [of marketers].”

Donna Karan, who was the evening’s Hall of Fame inductee, admitted that she and her late husband, artist Stephan Weiss, had ulterior motives for getting into beauty. “It was his idea to do this beauty company, not mine. He wanted something sustainable. He fi gured if we made it in the beauty business, then I wouldn’t have to sit and be designing collection after collection,” she said with a laugh.

Turning more serious, Karan added, “He told me that you need something as sexy as our own relationship. We liked to smell each other. The dream start-ed in our own bedroom. I feel I’m here on behalf of my husband, not for me.”

Leonard Lauder, chairman of the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., who gave Karan her award and applauded her accomplishments in beauty and fashion, said, “Donna knows what women want. Any woman who knows what other women want — she’s got it.”

Earlier on the red carpet, Lauder admitted he had dashed out of the house without fragrance that evening. “It’s better this way. The [Estée Lauder Cos. fragrance] brands won’t get jealous,” he quipped. “It’s like the Jewish mother who buys her son two ties. If he shows up to dinner wearing one, she says, ‘What, you didn’t like the other tie?’

Seymour, who wore a David Meister gown, Givenchy’s Amarige fragrance and a $1 million Chopard diamond necklace, reminisced about fragrances she did some years back with Max Factor, adding, “I’m ready for a new one.”

Refreshingly, few stars hid their ambitions for their scents. “I was about to start a riot in here if I didn’t tie [with Hermès; they shared the Fragrance of the Year/Men’s Luxe award],” said Combs, taking the stage after a pause between the reading of Hermès’ scent and the name of his own. Adding that mixology has always been part of his raison d’être, Combs added, “Back as a child, I liked mixing Kool-Aids like strawberry and raspberry to get the per-fect fl avor. I thought of Berry Blast before the Kool-Aid people did!”

“It was such a proud moment,” added Combs, who held an after party at The Box. “You don’t expect to win. This is truly a gift, to be respected and honored by this community. I’m very proud of the people that worked so hard and believed in me. I came in [to the fragrance industry] with a lot of respect and energy. I put out a product people respected and people liked. I owe a lot to the industry. They welcomed me with open arms.”

And he won’t stop anytime soon. “I have so many ideas for new fragranc-es,” Combs said. “I wish they could produce it quicker! I’m already on my fourth fragrance, but we’re only on production with our second one.”

John Demsey, group president at the Estée Lauder Cos., said of Combs, “Sean’s the real deal. His fragrance was number one across the board — among men’s and women’s scents. It’s very rare that a men’s fragrance would do more than a women’s fragrance. It’s the convergence of style, celebrity and pop culture.” Demsey revealed some news of his own: He’ll be married at a private ceremony for family on July 27. A rockin’ party for his friends is

10 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

Beauty-FIFI Awards WWD.COM

Continued on page 14

FiFi Does the Downtown Scene

Leonard Lauder and Donna Karan

Art and Beth Spiro

Sean “Diddy” Combs, Vera Strubi and

Jonathan Zrihen.

Bernd Beetz

Catherine Walsh and Michele Scannavini

Debbie Murtha

Cos Policastro, Andrea Robinson, Philip Shearer and Signe Gammeltoft.

Jane Seymour

and Robert Chavez

Scott Beattie

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www.iff.com

© 2007 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.

119 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 Tel: 212-246-3780Key Contacts: Bruce E. Teitelbaum, president, bruceteitelbaum@royalpromo.com • Ellen L. Friedman, vice president, ellenfriedman@royalpromo.com

ADVERTISEMENT

The Royal Promotion GroupGoing Global…A Worldwide Display of Perfection

With brands reaching across the globe, The Royal Promotion Group now brings retail innovation at a great value to their customers’ worldwide distribution.

After 16 years of creating displays, fixtures, collateral and retail environments, The Royal Promotion Group has created a worldwide network of offices in New York, New Jersey, California and now Hong Kong. “We’ve taken the creative DNA and exemplary service that RPG is known for and we’re executing it on a global basis at a competitive price,” affirmed founder and president Bruce Teitelbaum.

“Design and image has always taken precedence in every project we execute. People utilize our resources for every aspect of design, development, and manufacturing, whether the program consists of counter displays, fixturing, shop-in-shops or full free-standing stores. The Royal Promotion Group now operates as a full turn-key global manufacturer. We are able to offer solutions on a cost-effective basis both domestically and internationally,” he stated.

Going Global“The Hong Kong facility benefits both domestic and

foreign clients, by providing greater exposure, buying power and cost efficiencies,” Teitelbaum noted. “The firm continues to offer the best in strategic creative development, state of the art technology/engineering and full service production capabilities with a staff of 140 employees in Hong Kong and another 100 in New York and New Jersey.”

“The company’s employees have an international perspective and the ability to interpret worldwide lifestyle trends,” explained Ellen Friedman, vice president. “With a qualified team from the U.S., Europe and Asia, we are a true melting pot of diverse ideas and talents visible in the unique solutions for each project.”

“Growth is unlimited”, projected Teitelbaum. “Clients utilize our services for all their retail merchandising needs.”

Global Capabilities Open More Eyes to RPG’s Services

In a global effort, RPG produced a multitude of fixtures for the launch of Armani Exchange eyewear.

RPG developed a cohesive program, both for Safilo USA, the eyewear licensee, as well as for the A/X brand directly. Safilo’s program was executed in optical stores and department stores, while the A/X program went into Armani Exchange’s free-standing stores globally.

“RPG brought Safilo USA excellent service and flexibility in the Armani Exchange eyewear display program for opticians and retail customers,” explained Kimberly Chaveco, brand manager, Safilo USA.

RPG provides vision and design sensibility from a brand’s image to its product extensions, she noted, offering “experience and expertise in materials and technology with superior creativity” that keeps “products’ looking “fresh and appetizing.”

Globalization Takes Old Relationships to a New Level of Partnership

Partnering with Coty, RPG developed a global launch for Calvin Klein’s new master brand fragrances, CKIN2U.

“From the initial concept through the final design, development, execution and international launch, they consistently meet our needs even when faced

with challenges such as time constraints or changes in creative direction,” asserted Lori Singer, vice president global marketing, Calvin Klein

Fragrances at Coty Inc. When CKIN2U wanted to reach a

new, young consumer, RPG created a free-standing merchandising unit that

is also an interactive game table, she noted. “With RPG’s strong expertise and capabilities, they were able to deliver a qualitative, cost-effective unit. Not only was the fixture effective in testing and merchandising product, it provided true ‘retail-tainment.’

“RPG excels in taking inspiration from an initial marketing idea or package design and conceptualizing it into an in-store retail environment, ensuring a cohesive look,” Singer added.

“The firm has worked with Calvin Klein Fragrances for years. They understand the brand aesthetic and deliver unique, innovative and meaningful POS designs that stand out in the cluttered retail environment,” Singer remarked. “They are true partners and go above and beyond to meet our needs.”

Charming the WorldFor Tiffany & Co., RPG

developed the “Charmed By Tiffany” display fixtures. Peter

Tolin-Baker, vice president visual merchandising, Tiffany & Co., commended RPG’s “exuberant spirit and personable customer service.

“They provided excellent design support, communication and a high-quality product within a limited amount of time.”

Like many RPG projects, the program was conceived in New York, produced in China and executed both domestically and internationally.

RPG’s design team worked hand-in-hand with Tiffany & Co. and was always “patient and flexible” in the design process, he stressed. “They delivered a

fresh perspective, always remained sensitive to Tiffany’s established brand image and focused on consumers' positive store experience.”

As the World Gets Smaller RPG Continues to Build its Future

With a company as diversified and qualified, who could afford to not utilize their services?

With a list of clients including a “Who’s Who” of brands such as Benefit Cosmetics, Burt’s Bees, Casio, CosBar, Dolce & Gabbana, Glaceau, Issey Miyake, Jones Apparel Group, L’Oreal, Macy’s, Marc Jacobs, Mario Badescu, Mattel, Movado, Prada, Jean Paul Gaultier, Target, and many more, The Royal Promotion Group is applying its global merchandising expertise to all categories of the mass and prestige industries.

So What Will the Future Bring? RPG is committed to acting as a true

visionary to explore the latest global resources. As the world progressively continues to get smaller, RPG will continue to think big.

“Not bad for a company that started with just two people,” observed Teitelbaum.

“…And they’re still working together!” replied Friedman.

planned for Oct. 6. “It’s a double-header,” he joked of his impending nuptials. Daisy Fuentes — whose fragrance, Dianoche, was nominated, but didn’t win

— summed up the feelings of most also-rans with her succinct comment from the stage. “This sucks,” she said with a mock pout. “I really wanted to win!”

There’s always next year for Fuentes, who will release her second women’s fragrance in September. “It smells luxurious, expensive and feminine,” she said. Fuentes is also working on a show called Eco-Zone Project, which involves help-ing make celeb homes “green.” “I’m learning so much in the process,” she said.

Debbie Murtha, senior vice president of cosmetics of the Macy’s Merchandising Group, picked up the store’s Retailer of the Year award; Macy’s shared the honor with Sephora. Murtha called the award “a vote of confi dence in a tough overall year.”

Liz Claiborne’s Juicy Couture women’s fragrance had a big night, picking up three FiFi’s. L’Oréal collected four awards, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton took three and the Estée Lauder Cos. and Inter Parfums each took home two. Clarins, Hermès, Puig, Avon Products, Yves Rocher and Crescent House each received a FiFi, as well.

Forgoing the host of fragrances introduced last year, a number of starlets on hand had mixed their own scents for the occasion. In addition to a Calvin Klein gown, model and cooking show host Padma Lakshmi was wearing a neroli, jas-mine and geranium fragrance she “mixed” herself the morning of the event. She noted a new season of “Top Chef ” was premiering on the Bravo network this Wednesday and that she was fi nishing a new book, “Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet” that will include her memoirs as well as recipes.

Model Carol Alt, who happily hammed it up for the cameras as she gracefully sauntered down the red carpet in a slinky black number by Anna Molinari for Blumarine, said when it came to fragrance, she was keen on mixing her own by adding essential oils to sweet almond oil and then applying it to her skin for a healthy sheen. Alt, who just fi nished fi lming “The Man Who Came Back,” has a busy summer planned. The raw-food diet devotee is a partner with Arizona food company Apex to develop a line of supplements and snacks called Ra Nutrition, slated to be launched this fall. Eventually, she’d like to expand the effort to in-clude chemical-free body and hair care products.

Nautica Fragrances front man Carter Oosterhouse recently wrapped up a photo shoot in Long Beach, Calif., for a new ad for the fragrance brand, which is licensed to Coty Inc. He’s also shooting a new show for the HGTV network that’s tentatively called “Carter Can.”

Becki Newton, who plays Amanda on “Ugly Betty,” playfully explained why she was invited to present several awards that evening, declaring, “I smell really good at all times.” Aside from the Michael Kors scent she was wearing that night, she credits good genes for her sweet natural scent, saying jokingly, “I think I was just born smelling good and remained that way throughout my life. You can’t bottle it.”

“I appreciate anything feminine and involved with the senses,” said Newton, who sported a black Escada number. The actress, who is between seasons one and two of “Ugly Betty,” said her summer plans included sitting on a beach in Greece “as much as humanly possible.”

Legend, who performed that evening, admitted he also appreciates femininity, commenting, “When a woman smells good, it’s an aphrodisiac.”

— With contributions from Matthew W. Evans and Michelle Edgar

14 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

Beauty-FIFI Awards WWD.COM

Juicy Couture Takes Bow on FiFi’s StageContinued from page 10

Rochelle Bloom

Howard Kreitzman and Claudia Poccia

Thia Breen and Cedric Prouvé

Marc Rey

Christine Dagousset

Nicolas and Alexandra

Mirzayantz

Serge Jureidini

Jane Hudis and Lara Spencer

Steve Mormoris

Don Loftus

Paula Abdul

Ann Gottlieb

and Robin Burns

Zac Posen

Veronique Gabai-Pinsky

and Steve Stoute

Jane and Aerin Lauder

John Legend

WWD.COM16 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

The Beauty Report

An Organic Lotion Worthy of a SealBy Andrea Nagel

Nature’s Gate is launching for national distribution the first organic lotion range to bear the USDA Organic seal. The stamp is usually reserved for beauty prod-

ucts such as lip balm and body oils — items that don’t require many of the prohib-ited synthetic ingredients needed to hold water and oil together.

For a lotion to earn the organic seal — which is the same seal awarded to organic foods — is a big deal for the beauty industry, seeing that the four-item range, called Rainwater Organics, had to be 95 percent organic, excluding water and salt. The remaining 5 percent of ingredients must meet strict USDA regulations.

What also earned the line the coveted seal by the USDA’s National Organic Program is that it was manufactured in a facility that operates in accordance with USDA Organic rules,

which include how materials are received, warehoused, mixed, fi lled, cleaned and sanitized.

“Every aspect of handling is very specifi cally defi ned,” said Paddy Spence, chief executive offi cer of Nature’s Gate, which makes nat-

ural and organic personal care items. The facility is located in a 500,000-square-foot plant owned by Nature’s Gate’s parent, Levlad, based in Chatsworth, Calif. The lotion would not have earned the seal had it been processed like other Levlad beauty items, such as those under the Arbonne brand.

Choosing to fi rst produce lotions — as opposed to other beauty items — was strategic since “body lotion is the biggest category in personal care, it was unisex, has broad appeal and, most importantly, doesn’t need a surfactant.” For now, Spence said, there is no effi cacious organic surfactant he would want to use in a shampoo or soap formula.

Dr. Bronner’s, a Menomonee Falls, Wis., beauty manufactur-er, also makes lotions, lip balms and soaps bearing the USDA organic seal. However, these items are in small distribution and production.

Since word of Levlad’s or-ganic manufacturing capabil-ity hit the beauty street — the company can process 100 mil-lion units of organic items a year — its third-party beauty partners, including Sally Beauty, Victoria’s Secret and ProActive, as well as some “major beauty companies” have been inquiring about the organic process, Spence said.

While the cost of raw organ-ic materials and creating an or-ganic section in the plant was costly, Spence learned from watching the highs and lows of the organic milk category that competitive pricing was key.

“When organic milk first came out, it was twice the price of regular milk,” he said, and consumers were slow to accept it. “But when private label organic milk came out [at a lower price], the category ac-celerated.”

Rainwater Organics body lotions are $7.99 each and are available in four fl a-vors: Lemongrass Spice, Bergamot Patchouli, Citrus Ginger and Orange Zest Mint. Each features Açaí oil, which grows in the Amazon rainforest and is likened to grapeseed oil. Items ship this week to 1,000 supermarkets and natural food stores. In-shelf merchandising units will promote the USDA Organic seal. More than 500,000 samples of the products are being distributed, too. Packaging is made of 25 percent post-consumer regrind (recycled plastic), and labels are printed with soy ink.

Spence said he found that supermarkets, rather than mass outlets and drugstores, seemed more receptive to organic beauty items. He attributed this to the fact that supermarket buyers were already familiar with the popularity and profi tability of organic items.

Procter & Gamble is closing its Stamford, Conn., manufacturing and

administrative site in early 2010, the com-pany announced yesterday.

Stamford is home to more than 615 full-time employees, and is where the beauty giant’s retail hair color and Clairol Professional products are made and man-aged. Production of products, such as the Nice ’n Easy, Hydrience and Natural Instincts brands will be moved to two com-pany-owned sites, one in Andover, Mass., a Gillette plant, and one in Mariscala, Mexico, a Wella plant. Clairol Professional will be overseen at P&G’s Woodland Hills, Calif., offi ces, where Wella is based, and retail hair care will move to Cincinnati, where the fi rm’s headquarters is located. P&G acquired Gillette for $57 billion in 2005 and Wella in 2003 for approximately $7 billion.

According to a statement issued by the company, the decision to consolidate was “based on the results of a study to deter-mine the best location of administrative and manufacturing operations to ensure the long-term success of the P&G hair care business…and enable P&G to cre-ate better long-term economics, generate additional manufacturing scale, a more robust research and development infra-structure and greater organizational ca-pability.”

The company is offering transfers to approximately 200 employees. The re-maining 415 positions will be eliminated. By the time of the closing, more than 180 employees will qualify for retirement. Employees that do not transfer “will re-ceive separation support including pay and benefi ts for up to 12 months, outplace-ment assistance and a retraining allow-ance,” the statement said.

— A.N.

P&G’s Close of Stamford Site in 2010 to Affect 615A new makeup line brings together Japanese aesthet-

ic and Western technology to treat skin as well as beautify it.

Created by makeup artist Danielle Vincent, Kimiko Cosmetics is designed to be an optimistic answer to women who don’t want just to cover fi ne lines. Every product in the 50-plus item line, from the Treatment Concealer to the Sheer Tint and Lip Plumper and the Lifting Pressed Powder, is formulated to do much more. Each is infused with different herbs and extracts that are said to combat fi ne lines and puffi ness, but each also uses trademarked and patented complexes to fi ght the signs of aging.

Vincent came up with the idea for Kimiko while lis-tening to her clients praise and complain about their makeup.

“When I was unable to guide them to a product to ad-dress their concerns, a lightbulb went off. The trend is going [the way of cosmeceuticals], but I wanted to take it to the next level and put out a line that used high quan-tities of ingredients — and not just for [positioning]. We want to be the category leaders for something that is re-ally just starting,” Vincent said.

Kimiko’s concealer, for example, uses light-refl ecting pigments to conceal lines, but also contains three pat-ented ingredients, HydraFirmaLift, Renuva-Eyebright and Anti-Puff Rescue, to target fi ne lines, dark circles and puffi ness, respectively. The dual-end plumper uses dehydrated collagen molecules to plump lips — and for long-term effects, uses HydraFirmaLift. The powder, de-signed to even tone, aims also to lift and fi rm skin with HydraFirmaLift and vitamin E. Color cosmetics use HydraFirmaLift to hydrate and fi rm the skin, Vincent said.

Products have been tested by various third-party labs that supply Kimiko with cosme-ceutical ingredients, Vincent said. Ingredients in the line are used at or above levels that have been tested.

Vincent’s experience in the beauty industry in-cludes her work as a free-lance makeup artist for various brands, and ex-

tends to product development at Clean Beauty. She studied business, science and physics at the University of British Columbia. The 25-year-old’s ambitious streak was honed as a competitive singles fi gure skater.

This month, Vincent moved from her native Toronto to set up the fi rm’s headquarters in Manhattan, where she works the Kimiko counter several days a week at Takashimaya, the specialty retailer that this month took in her line.

Prices position Kimiko to compete with well-known luxury cosmetics brands, such as Chanel and Dior. The Treatment Concealer will sell for $39; the Sheer Tint and Lip Plumper, for $37, and the Lifting Pressed Powder, for $42. Kimiko also has a Lifting Puff Blush, Lifting

Eye Shadow Bento Box, Precision Plumping Lip Liner and a Super Fine Eyebrow Pencil — with a tip so fi ne it can create in-dividual hairs.

Kimiko’s packaging re-fl ects Vincent’s Japanese heritage. The circle logo on boxes is the symbol of Zen; the red Japanese character stamp is ki, which represents energy. Vincent had the stamp created by a Japanese cal-ligrapher from Tokyo who hand-carved the mold for the stamp from marble.

Kimiko, which blends three Japanese characters — ki, mi (beauty)

and ko (youth) — and is Vincent’s middle name, has been in development for

two years. Kimiko includes just under 50 items — not counting makeup

brushes — in 11 categories and is now funded by pri-vate investors. Vincent is

courting specialty retailers to sell her line, which she said

she wants to keep tight.— A.N.

Artist Creates Cosmeceutical Makeup Line

Makeup artist andKimiko creator Danielle Vincent.

Kimiko’s Lifting Puff Blush.

The industry’s fi rst nationally distributed organic lotion bearing a USDA Organic seal.

The lotion is manufactured in a facility that operates in accordance

with USDA Organic rules.

SKILLMAN, N.J. — The cashier at an Eckerd store here laughed as she waited for a credit card purchase to go through. “Maybe the new system will be better,” she chuckled. “I just got used to this one.”

For the second time in less than two years, this Eckerd store, located at 1375 U.S. Highway 206, is changing hands and will shortly become a Rite Aid. The deal marks the third time in 20 years this store has had new ownership. It originally was a Thrift store, which was purchased by Eckerd. Then Eckerd was snapped up by Brooks, which as of Monday is being absorbed by Rite Aid Corp.

Stores like this represent the future for Rite Aid, which with the $4 billion purchase of 1,850 Brooks-Eckerd stores will be able to better compete with industry leaders CVS and Walgreens. It is the lat-est step in a massive compression begun in the Eighties of the chain drugstore industry, which is now dominated by the three chains.

Without the doors the deal adds, Rite Aid would remain a distant player. However, some wonder if the deal is too big for Rite Aid to digest, especially since some industry pundits think the price was too much for unproductive stores. Many of the Brooks-Eckerd stores have struggled, especially at the front end.

For Rite Aid, the purchase boosts the Camp Hill, Pa., operation’s presence along the East Coast. Here in this central New Jersey town, the closest Rite Aid is more than 15 miles away. The chain still has opportunity in densely populated areas in many markets across the U.S. Mary Sammons, chief executive of Rite Aid, said the deal certainly closed gaps that existed with the competition in operating markets.

With the buyout, originally announced last August, Rite Aid operates 5,160 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. CVS now has more than 6,160 stores and Walgreens has about 5,700.

Rite Aid must divest itself of some stores as man-

dated by the Federal Trade Commission. The chain announced on Wednesday it would sell 23 stores to Kinney drugs, Medicine Shopper International, Big Y, Weis Markets and even competitor Walgreens.

The transaction changes the com-plexion of chain drugstore retailing and will have an impact on the beauty business. Rite Aid earmarked $1 billion to spend on rebranding and remerchandising the stores. However, several cosmetics manufacturers said Rite Aid was looking to them to help share the costs of updating the beauty departments. “What they are asking for is huge,” lamented one source. Rite Aid wants to have the stores under the Rite Aid logo and systems within 16 months.

While Walgreens and CVS have been adding more service and proprietary brands, Rite Aid has also been sprucing up, adding more components of its Customer World stores to its existing 3,300-plus stores.

While Rite Aid’s efforts may not be as talked about as those of its competition, the chain has certainly put a big-ger focus on beauty while adding new decor and improve-ments. Paramount has been using consumer research to

better understand what the Rite Aid consumer wants and how to deliver it. Beauty in new formats is front and center and features easy-to-read signs to help shoppers fi nd beauty items. Rite Aid also has publications touting beauty items within the store. The chain was the fi rst in the Eighties to offer what was widely knocked off — a money-back guarantee on color cosmetics.

Vendors singled out many categories where Rite Aid has become among their most impor-tant stores, such as nail care (including artifi cial nails), bath and body and fragrances.

Many industry eyes are on Rite Aid as it de-cides what to do with the derm centers Brooks-Eckerd operates. These large boutiques are space- and labor-intensive, and Rite Aid will

have to scrutinize the return, especially as the chain tries to boost front-end sales. On the positive side, of course, are the margins the upscale products deliver. Suppliers said Rite Aid’s beauty depart-ments were more productive

than Brooks-Eckerd’s — suggesting the Rite Aid model will prevail.

There will also be jockeying among cosmetics ven-dors. Those doing business with Rite Aid will hope to get instant accessibility to Brooks-Eckerd. Those in Brooks-Eckerd hope to maintain their footage. Industry experts are divided on the outcome. Some think the bigger brands will squeeze out fl edgling suppliers; others think Rite Aid will look solely at productivity, which could open the doors for some manufacturers with strong sales-per-foot strategies.

WWD.COM17WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

WWD.COM

Third Time’s the Charm for Drugstore

The current Eckerd drugstore located at 1375 U.S. Highway 206 soon will be a Rite Aid.

WWD.COM18 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

The HBA Report WWD.COM

By Rachel Brown

LESS PRODUCT IS MORE IN JOHN PAUL MITCHELL SYSTEM’S LATESTadvertising campaign.

The Beverly Hills, Calif.-based professional hair care company is following its 2007 ad campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz sans sham-poo bottles and styling aids with a teen campaign fo-cused on sponsored athletes’ and select Paul Mitchell Schools students’ charitable efforts. The newest ads, primarily aimed at 15- to 30-year-old consumers, are scheduled to appear in Cosmo Girl, Teen Vogue and Seventeen starting in September.

“That doesn’t sell one product, but it tells you about our culture,” John Paul DeJoria, chief executive offi cer and co-founder of JPMS, said of the Leibovitz campaign, which made its debut in April Vogue re-fl ecting his dedication to family and nature. “If we do the same thing with the youth of America, they will get that message.”

Photographer Steven Lippman, who has shot for PureOlogy, Neutrogena, Anne Cole and Paige Premium Denim, captured eight images for the youth-oriented campaign, dubbed Head for Change, last Sunday and Monday at Sunset 5 Studios in West Los Angeles. Stephanie Kocielski, artistic director for Paul Mitchell, handled hair, Glen Jackson did the makeup, and Paul Beahan was in charge of the wardrobe.

The images’ subjects were outfi tted in black and white, and were photographed with objects highlighting their activities. For instance, Paul Mitchell Schools stu-dent Natasha Vranic, a fashion enthusiast who champions women’s issues, was draped in cloth printed with the phrase, “Giving Back is the New Black,” while fellow student Matt Fine, a drummer involved with the environmental organization American Forests, was pictured with a drum containing the words “Trees Rock.” Snowboarder Lindsay Jacobellis and surfer Holly Beck cradled, respectively, a snowboard and a surfboard with the slogan, “Every Drop Counts.”

Albeit subtle, branding is apparent with the John Paul Mitchell Systems logo below the sayings and the black-and-white color scheme, evocative of the brand’s packaging and former ad campaigns. “We used to advertise in black and white be-cause that is all we could afford,” said Robert Yates, a creative consultant to JPMS.

“We have gone back to our roots.” DeJoria, who has become synonymous with the brand in advertising, posed with

his daughter Michaeline during the shoot, who also was wearing “Giving Back is the New Black” gear. JPMS is not certain at this time whether the image will be used in the campaign. With hair pulled back into a signature ponytail, DeJoria strolled into

the studio casually dressed in jeans, a white linen jacket and black T-shirt, and complimented Lippman on the Jimi Hendrix playing in the background.

DeJoria declined to disclose the budget for the teen campaign and insisted, “If I didn’t sell one more product with this ad, it would be successful because people would know what we do and our culture.” However, Yates indicated that leaving products out of JPMS advertising has netted positive results, saying the company experienced its “best fi rst quarter ever” this year. The privately-held company does not pub-licly release sales fi gures, however industry sources said the company generates as much as $800 million in salon retail sales.

JPMS has tapped Paul Mitchell Schools’ students and athletes repeatedly to be featured in ads aimed at salon trade and sports-specifi c publications. But, the newest campaign marks the fi rst time the ads will reach magazines with broader circulations. Two- and four-page inserts, and singles of the ads

will run in the magazines, and ads with the athletes will still be placed in sports-related titles.

In addition to magazines, the students and athletes will be featured on a Web site that tells their stories with words, photos and streaming video, including footage of the photo shoot. Nanette Bercu, senior vice president of creative for JPMS, noted that imagery from the teen campaign would be taken on the road for stops at fi ve to eight college campuses and around 15 sporting events, where people will be able to learn about charities, most notably American Forests, the Waterkeeper Alliance and Invisible Children, and perhaps receive haircuts if they give small donations.

Paul Mitchell Schools student Rachel Burney, a model for the campaign who works with Invisible Children, which strives to improve the lives of children affect-ed by wars, won’t be able to make it to any events in the near future. She’s headed to Africa this month for the sixth time to visit schools in Uganda.

“I have already had malaria twice. Whatever,” shrugged Burney.

By Molly Prior

Like most Americans, Barbie, it seems, is a cross-channel

shopper.On the 3-inch heels of the fash-

ion doll’s partnership with MAC Cosmetics, Barbie has aligned herself with girls’ cosmetics maker Bonne Bell to create a beauty col-lection slated for the mass and mid-tier markets next year.

“It will be a girl-focused initiative that will bring fun to the cosmetics category,” said Richard Dickson, senior vice president of marketing, media and en-tertainment, worldwide, for Mattel Brands, the manufacturer of the 48-year-old doll.

The collection, tailored for girls six to nine years old but also suited for preteens, marks a return to Barbie’s traditional fan base. This spring, Barbie and MAC Cosmetics introduced a color cosmetics collection, called Barbie Loves MAC, for adults and a $35 MAC Barbie, which were sold in department stores and MAC boutiques. The effort got off to a robust start. Dickson noted that MAC Cosmetics sold through 70 percent of two months’ worth of inventory in two weeks, and some items, including Rocking Chick Lipstick, sold out within days.

“The cultural news that we created with the Barbie Loves MAC Collection proved the timing was right to connect back to the mass market and to the youth [heritage] of the brand,” said Dickson. He noted that several years ago, retailers and manufacturers discovered the youth market as an attractive audience with money to spend on the latest trends. Their en-thusiasm for the younger set has waned, however, leading to a slowdown in innovation. “We are going to shake things up a bit,” said Dickson. The details of the upcoming collection are still under wraps, but Dickson acknowledged that the Bonne Bell brand name would be promoted on the products and marketing materials.

Barbie, fi ttingly, has dabbled in beauty before. Past part-nerships have included bath and body lines with Cosrich Group and Lotta Luv, and there are deals now for Barbie-branded fragrances with Puig and personal care products by Waterjel.

Inherent in beauty is a little bit of role-playing, noted Dickson, adding, “That’s the fun of it.”

He declared, “Barbie, when it partners with the right brands, has the power to hit a cultural nerve. No other [doll] brand can do that.”

Barbie to Tout Mass AppealSoftSheen-Carson is keeping busy this sum-

mer with two efforts — one philanthropic, one consumer-oriented — that look to put the L’Oréal USA-owned ethnic beauty company in a stronger position to meet African-American women’s needs.

On June 23 in Orlando, Fla., SoftSheen is partnering with Essence magazine and the International Society for Hypertension in Blacks to sup-port heart health for Afr ican-American women. The part-nership will yield “Optimum Care ‘Cares’ 3K Walk,” named after SoftSheen’s leading hair care brand, and is aimed at raising awareness of African-American women’s health issues — and also getting women involved in fitness. Event organizers ex-pect between 300 and 500 participants.

SoftSheen’s president, Candace Matthews, takes these health issues to heart.

“We have realized that hypertension and heart disease are the number-one health-re-lated causes of death of African-American women. We’re very committed to bringing awareness out about this,” said Matthews.

According to the American Heart Association Web site, these health issues ap-pear to be the result of a higher proportion of African-American women exhibiting the risk factors for earlier mortality — cigarette smok-ing, hypertension, diabetes, high blood cho-lesterol, inadequate physical activity and obe-sity. Black women also tend to have a higher resting blood pressure, and their chance for heart disease is 72 percent higher than that of Caucasian women of a certain age.

Select Optimum Care relaxer packages this fall will promote the partnership and also con-

tain a “heart bracelet” to bring focus to ISHIB that can tell consumers where to fi nd addi-tional information on heart health. A percent-age of proceeds from the sale of these relax-ers will go to ISHIB. An advertorial discussing the partnership of SoftSheen, Essence and ISHIB will be in September magazines. Health screenings and tutorials with mass retailers are being hammered out.

The spark to tar-get heart health came from Tricia Green, an assistant marketing manager for relaxers and skin care at SoftSheen. “I challenge my team to touch the communi-ty,” Matthews said.

SoftSheen also is looking to keep women looking good by way of its annual Style Tour. Past tours visited four to five cities, where styl-

ists camp out in re-tailer parking lots and at community events to educate consumers on SoftSheen prod-ucts. This year, SoftSheen will visit 13 cities. The tour will include the usual Style Plex, a tent decked out with stylists and products, as well as two SUVs that have been converted to mini salons. The Style Tour begins Friday in Manhattan at the Times Square Duane Reade and will continue on to mass retail-ers and beauty supply stores in Memphis; Charlotte, N.C.; Philadelphia; Washington; Atlanta; Jersey City, NJ; Chicago; Baltimore; New Orleans; Oakland, Calif.; Los Angeles, and Houston.

“Word of mouth is critical to the growth of ethnic hair care,” Matthews said, who added that company spokesperson Kelly Rowland will appear at some Style Tour events and also broadcast its radio ad spots.

— Andrea Nagel

SoftSheen Takes Consumers to Heart

JPMS Ads Feature Culture, Not Product

The Barbie logo.

John Paul Mitchell System’s latest ads target 15- to 30-year-olds.

Optimum Care relaxers promote heart health.

20 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

Media/Advertising

Pearlstine: On the RecordBy Jacob Bernstein

NEW YORK — Norman Pearlstine never seems to raise his voice. He rarely smiles or frowns, and if he is perturbed by anything, it does not show. Though he is a social guy who attends movie screenings put together by Peggy Siegal and dinners thrown by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, guests who sit next to him often come away with little sense of who he really is. Don Logan, Pearlstine’s former boss at Time Inc., once compared his employee to a supercomputer, a compliment that captures both Pearlstine’s voracious appetite for knowledge and what might be described as a cer-tain inscrutability.

Fittingly, Pearlstine now works as a senior adviser at the $54 billion private equity fi rm Carlyle Group, where his role is the subject of much speculation. Many believe he is looking to buy back his old company, Time Inc., and take it private, but he pooh-poohs the notion. “Everything I hear from Time Warner is that Time Inc. is not for sale,” he said. “I have not spent a minute thinking about Time Inc. since I’ve been here.”

For anyone wondering what he’s doing at Carlyle, Pearlstine is playing his cards close to the vest. “I work with the U.S. buyout fund evaluating potential transactions,” he said vaguely. “I spent several months looking at the Tribune Co., other things as well, some of which I obviously can’t talk about.”

Obviously he can’t talk about it. In fact, he seems to like the subject of himself so little it’s a wonder he recently completed his fi rst book, “Off the Record: The Press, the Government, and the War Over Anonymous Sources” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), which hits shelves June 26. The book grew out of the fact that two years ago, dur-ing the Valerie Plame investigation, Pearlstine agreed to turn over a Time magazine reporter’s notes to the special prosecutor’s offi ce. What followed was the most wither-ing personal attack he had experienced in his entire life, so he felt compelled to re-spond to his critics.

Using a series of First Amendment cases in which journalists fought subpoenas from the government, he argues that his decision in the Plame incident was not a break with the journalistic priesthood, but a response to a unique set of circumstances. Call it the Norman Pearlstine nonattack attack. Clinical and legalistic, endlessly complex yet logical, it’s a perfect extension of its author.

“This was the hardest decision I ever made,” he said over the course of an hour interview at his offi ce. “This case took over my life. I started out very rigid about what I thought our course of action was. And the level of introspection I ended up bringing to the subject led me to conclusions that were surprising to me and that I thought would be surprising to a broader audience, as well.”

Not everyone seems convinced there is a broader audience — Pearlstine broke with his first publisher, Nan Talese, at Doubleday, over what appeared to be concerns Doubleday had about the commercial viability of the book. But the size of the book’s readership seems less important to him than getting the opportunity to explain a deeply misunderstood choice.

His argument goes something like this: First, the reporter, Matt Cooper, sent out e-mails on the Time Inc. servers detailing his conversations with administration offi cials I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and Karl Rove about CIA agent Valerie Plame, whose identity was leaked by Bush administration offi cials trying to discredit her husband, a critic of the invasion of Iraq. By sending out the e-mails, Pearlstine argued, Cooper turned his notes into company property and threatened dozens of employees who became potential per-sons of interest to Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor handling the case. “Putting the source’s name in an e-mail makes it almost impossible to protect,” said Pearlstine.

Second, Rove and Libby were not whistle-blowers, but instead were using the promise of confi dentiality to smear a whistle-blower.

Third, while Cooper promised not to use administration offi cials’ names in a story, this was not the same as meeting them in an abandoned parking lot and making a promise to go to jail for them.

Fourth, many of the journalists who pilloried Time Inc. for folding its hand be-longed to news organizations that sidestepped the whole problem by testifying early on and not making a big deal about it. Who were they to question Time Inc.’s journal-istic integrity? (“In the end,” Pearlstine pointed out, “Tim Russert testifi ed, Walter Pincus and Glenn Kessler [of the Washington Post] testifi ed.”)

Fifth, there’s a difference between disagreeing with the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Time Inc.’s case, and choosing to break the law after the court’s decision had been rendered. In other words, you fi ght the law in court, but if you lose, you abide by the ruling.

The last point may not convince all of his colleagues, but it’s a fairly under-standable response given Pearlstine’s personal history. His father was a lawyer in Pennsylvania, and Pearlstine worked at the fi rm in high school, fi ling documents. “It was always assumed I would go work there,” recalled Pearlstine.

After his freshman year at Haverford College, Pearlstine went to work at the Evening Chronicle in Allentown, Pa., and got hooked on newspapers. “I got this charge,” he said. Though family pressure led him to law school, Pearlstine reversed course after graduation and took a job as a copyboy at The New York Times in 1967.

Four months later, he started in the Dallas Bureau of the Wall Street Journal. His work quickly got noticed, and he was transferred to Detroit in 1970 and Los Angeles in 1971, where he lived next door to the television producer James Brooks, who became one of his closest friends.

“He made the best four-alarm chili I’ve ever had,” Brooks recalled. After that came stints in Tokyo and Hong Kong, where Pearlstine was tapped to be

the number two on the launch of the Journal’s Asian addition. He left for Forbes in 1978, but returned to the Journal in 1980 as national editor. After launching the European edi-tion, he was promoted to managing editor of the fl agship and moved back to New York.

In the top job, Pearlstine presided over a remarkable group of young journalists,

many of whom are leaders of the profession today. Almost unanimously, they praise Pearlstine as hands on, tough and supportive.

“He would tell you, ‘Great job,’ and then say, ‘But one person I would have called was…,’” recalled Jane Mayer, a current staff writer at The New Yorker.

“I think I owe my career to him,” said James B. Stewart, who won the Pulitzer in 1987 for his work under Pearlstine in the Michael Milken insider trading scandal.

Pearlstine also was known for being a bit wilder than most Journal executives. As a reporter, Pearlstine disappeared for a month and a half while doing a story on a hog-farm commune. He later admitted he’d been doing peyote and embracing free love. “I took some vacation, that’s all,” he said. “They didn’t know where I was.”

As national editor, he often went drinking with cub reporters at Sammy’s Romanian and One Fifth Avenue, where he often did tricks for the staff. “He was the only person I ever met who could peel a banana with his bare toes,” Mayer recalled.

“I gave up that trick in 1982,” Pearlstine retorted. In 1988, Pearlstine married the sex columnist Nancy Friday, which burnished his

nonconformist reputation. (The two divorced a couple of years ago, and he is now married to Jane Boon, an industrial engineer. He has never had children.)

Toward the end of his Journal tenure, a slightly more elusive Pearlstine began to emerge. “You had to learn to be more managerial,” said Pearlstine, who goes into the second person anytime he’s asked to reveal something personal about himself. “If you’re determining people’s pay, you can’t just go drinking with your friends.”

Perhaps adding to the idea that work and play ought to be conducted separately, the Journal’s top executive, Peter Kann, became involved with Karen Elliott House, a bulldoz-ing reporter who moved over to the executive side and later went on to run the company.

Pearlstine and Kann had been best friends, but the relationship between Pearlstine and House was tempestu-ous and the friendship with Kann soon fi zzled. In 1992, Pearlstine resigned from the Journal (though he helped start Smart Money for it) and set up a media consultan-cy business with Barry Diller and Marvin Davis. In 1994, he accepted an offer from Gerald Levin to come to Time Inc. as the company’s editor in chief.

In his first 18 months on the job, Pearlstine removed six out of eight managing editors at the company, many of whom later complained that Pearlstine was inscrutable.

“Some people say that and it’s strange because I think of myself as quite emotion-al,” Pearlstine said. “I guess I have to know people well to show that side. I think it’s possible to be emotional without displaying emotion. I think you can experience things wonderful or terrible at an emotional — as opposed to intellectual — level, but you might want to keep those experiences per-sonal instead of displaying them. I think it’s fair to say I hide my emotions, but I don’t think of myself as unemotional.”

In any event, Pearlstine clearly made some smart moves at Time Inc. The installation of Walter Isaacson at Time maga-zine led to a revival that lasted until 2000, when he was promoted. Lesser known but equally signifi cant is the role Pearlstine played for In Style and its fi rst managing editor, Martha Nelson.

“After the fi rst few issues, [future chief executive] Ann Moore wanted to fi re her, and Norm put his foot down,” said one former Time Inc. editor.

Other successes included the installation of his former Journal colleague, John Huey, at Fortune, and later, moving Nelson over to People magazine. (“He’s not a gusher,” Nelson admitted. “But it never bothered me.”)

The last part of Pearlstine’s tenure is harder to assess. He retired from Time Inc. at the end of 2005, when he was succeeded by Huey as editor in chief. But some of the magazines were adrift even before Pearlstine’s exit. Fortune has been through three editors in the last three years, contributing to a sense that it lacks direction and goes too soft on the people it covers. Time magazine recently reduced its rate base, changed editors, and did a sweeping redesign, though the reaction in media circles has been lukewarm.

In fairness to Pearlstine, some of Time’s troubles are shared by competitors like Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, both of which are also struggling in the Internet age. Still, that hasn’t erased the notion held by the industry that the quality of the journalism at Time is partly to blame for its decline.

In fact, many people who held this opinion seized upon Pearlstine’s decision to turn over the notes, arguing it was proof Time Inc. was no longer serious about quality journal-ism. They included former Time magazine writer Robert Sam Anson, New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Rich and the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam.

Pearlstine, of course, disagrees with them. “Most of the people who came to that position were not careful readers of Jim Kelly’s Time or Walter Isaacson’s Time,” he said. “The fact that there were entertainment divisions at Time Warner had nothing to do with the journalism.”

But does he believe it? Six months ago, Pearlstine moderated a panel on the future of news, at which he

was quoted as saying that “the highest-quality publications are getting some kind of protection” from the problems of public ownership and short-term profi t demands. (Many thought it was an indication he wanted to buy back Time Inc.)

And on the middle of Pearlstine’s desk sits a copy of Chris Anderson’s book, “The Long Tail.” The book has become something of a byword in business. In a nutshell, Anderson argues that the future of business is selling less of more. The argument ap-plies to music (where there are more niche artists but fewer blockbuster successes) as well as things like independent fi lm, HBO and the Robb Report. And, when asked what it says about a mass market company such as Time Inc., Pearlstine sounds again like a company spokesman.

“Look at the ratings of ‘American Idol,’” he said. “A large number of people still want to have a conversation about the same thing. I’m actually more sanguine about the future of magazines than I am about newspapers.”

Norman Pearlstine

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WWD.COM21WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

A VIEW FROM THE TOP: Oscar de la Renta appreciates a good view. On Wednesday, the designer accepted the fi rst-ever Biella: The Art of Excellence Award at a party hosted by Esquire, the Italian Trade Commission and Italian region of Biella on the airy 44th fl oor of the Hearst Tower, where guests enjoyed a sun-drenched view of Central Park and the Hudson River. After Esquire publisher Kevin O’Malley gushed like a docent about the towers eco-friendly features and Lord Norman Foster design, de la Renta referred to the tower as a “spectacular place” and added there was double meaning to O’Malley’s informative description of the tower. “I think you were trying to tell us this building cost a lot of money,” he said. Biella singled out de la Renta for his work two days after the designer shared this year’s CFDA award for Womenswear Designer of the Year with Proenza Schouler. Of the tie, de la Renta felt “it was so great and terrifi c to be sharing the award with such young and talented designers,” but admitted he was especially fond of Proenza designer and co-founder Lazaro Hernandez, since they both hail from the same part of the world. When asked if Hernandez was also Dominican, the designer said, “No, I think he’s Puerto Rican. But it’s all the same,” he laughed. Hernandez actually is Cuban and was raised in Miami. — Stephanie D. Smith

WE DID IT FOR THE READER: Bonnie Fuller has a long list of celebrities she’d like to thank for making her job easier. Near the top of her list sits Paris Hilton and Tom Cruise and his “ridiculous couch-jumping incident.” Fuller, who had a bad case of strep throat, spoke to a group of magazine editors and wannabes on Wednesday night at Mo Pitkins, as part of an event for the networking group Ed2010.

At the gathering, young, mainly female, magazine hopefuls sipped cocktails called The Bonnie, in honor of Fuller. The drink had a mix of Stoli citrus and vanilla vodka, fresh lemon juice, with a touch of sugar and mango juice. Fuller, who passed on the drink for hot tea, said, “Eat your heart out Paris Hilton because you’re not going to be able to have one tonight.”

During her talk, Fuller referred to her new book several times (and signed copies for interns who spent a good chunk of their weekly paychecks to buy it). She also imparted the “you can do it” pep talk, by recalling her own beginnings, including how she was denied entry into journalism school in Toronto but was accepted into law school, so she went for one year. After she quit, she approached the Toronto Star for a general reporting job, but the only open position was for a fashion reporter. The “knobby-kneed, no style” Fuller took on the assignment, although she was “fashion-impaired.” As for her current role at

American Media Operations, Fuller refused to answer questions about Janice Min’s recent “Faux Biz” attack on competing celebrity tabloids and tried to steer clear of the recent retouched Star cover, “Jen’s $5 Million Tell-All!” that showed Jennifer Aniston holding a stack of papers that, when retouched, could double as a manuscript. Fuller’s defense? “The type [on the paper stack] was distracting and blurry.” — Amy Wicks

SUMMER CROP: Intern season marks a time when editorial assistants fi nally have someone on whom to look down, a halcyon time of brownnosing and connections-mongering, of angling for thankless tasks. Magazines, no strangers to nepotism, have invited in the usual mix of strivers and the well-placed. At Teen Vogue, Arthur Demarchelier (son of Patrick) is installed in the design department, while Vanessa Williams’ daughter Melanie Hervey is interning at Allure. Michael Loeb, whose grandfather Marshall edited Fortune, Money and the Columbia Journalism

Review, broke with the family dynasty to intern at Business Week, while Lily Newhouse is interning on the business side at Allure.

For the rest of the intern pack, there’s the new Intern Memo, an e-mail newsletter started by brothers Will and Theodore Bressman, both media-savvy recent graduates of Harvard — the former a manager at video broadband site LXTV.com, the latter a freelance writer and former New York Observer intern. Perhaps that explains why the thrice-weekly newsletter, which includes tips and interviews, also features the travails of a certain Intern Samantha. She works at a travel magazine for a “lunatic boss, who laughed like a hyena and couldn’t stop talking about how print media is a dinosaur.” (Before travel magazine editors start narrowing their eyes at their recent arrivals, it may be helpful to know the brothers say “Samantha” is a composite of several people’s experiences.) Through no marketing except word of mouth and a Facebook group, the list is nearly 3,000 strong into its second week. “We felt that [the newsletter] shouldn’t be just utilitarian or didactic, but that there was something universal about the experience of being an intern,” said Will Bressman. “The combination of feeling at times like you’re a spare part, at times like they’re counting on you to do the work that they don’t want to do, and of pretending to know what you’re doing.” — Irin Carmon and S.D.S.

SHINING CITY: The July issue of Vogue will be the fi rst magazine to showcase Escada’s new fall/winter ad campaign. Photographer Greg Lotus shot Swedish model Elin Skoghagen with a glittering nighttime New York cityscape at a penthouse in Chelsea and the Cunard Building. The campaign will integrate all product lines — Escada, Escada Sport, accessories and eyewear. Sara Maino of Italian Vogue and Escada creative director Damiano Biella styled the campaign, which will run in other fashion, lifestyle and society magazines later this fall. — A.W.

MEMO PAD

WWD.COM22 WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

VAL SPEAKS OUT: Valentino Garavani and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti have spoken out for the fi rst time since Italian investment fund Permira bought control of Valentino Fashion Group from the Marzotto family this month, which has sparked another round of speculation that the designer could be preparing to retire after his 45th anniversary bash in Rome in July. Valentino and Giammetti chose their words carefully when talking about the future creative direction of the house. “I’m not thinking of retirement. In the future, we’ll see. I love my work too much. There’s still a lot to do,” Valentino demurred during an interview at his sumptuous Roman headquarters on Thursday. Giammetti, true to form, called Valentino irreplaceable and downplayed the succession issue. “Valentino is Valentino. Valentino is the man behind the brand and its creative force,” Giammetti said, adding that any other designer brought into the mix would merely be a creative director and not an outright replacement for Valentino.

TO CATCH A THIEF: After stealing money and art in the fi rst two fi lms, respectively, what kind of heist are Clooney, Pitt and Damon going to pull in “Ocean’s 13”? Why, a jewelry heist, of course. Tiffany & Co. supplied the fi lm with several pieces of jewelry inspired by its Majestic diamond necklace for the fi lm, which comes out today. The jewelry belongs to hotelier Willie Bank, played by Al Pacino, who has a penchant for pricey diamond necklaces. Each piece is kept in a shrine to his success and has fi ve impressive diamonds — akin to the fi ve stars his hotels are awarded.

SCHOOL OF FROCK: Budding designer Victoria Beckham laid down her needle and scissors to take a look at the work of young creatives at the annual Graduate Fashion Week awards Wednesday in London’s Battersea Park. Beckham, clad in a patterned minidress from Giles Deacon, joined Alber Elbaz and Glenda Bailey to select the joint winners of the Graduate Fashion Week Gold award, Jasper Sincha Chadprajong and Nicholas Thomas. The designers, who both showed men’s wear collections, were awarded 10,000 pounds, or $20,000, each to support their design career. Zandra Rhodes, Henry Holland, Jimmy Choo, Stuart Vevers, and Mulberry chief executive Lisa Montague also presented awards.

Fashion Scoopsproud of,” Burt Tansky, president and chief execu-tive offi cer, told WWD. “We work very hard to get these kind of results, and we have potential to im-prove further. We are not changing anything. What we do, we do well. We understand the customer, know what she wants and we serve her well.”

During a conference call, Tansky cited hand-bags, designer jewelry, dresses, women’s shoes and the men’s categories as leading segments for the last quarter.

Neiman’s main rivals — Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Barneys New York — are expanding with more doors and show-ing strong results, as well.

“We haven’t felt any of the impact of that,” Tansky said. “It takes more than buying merchan-dise to get it sold properly. It has to be accompa-

nied by service, follow-through and developing a relationship with customers. Those are the ingre-dients our customers expect. It takes a great deal more to be successful at the top range of fashion than just buying goods and putting it out on the fl oor. You have to be able to sell it profi tably.”

Asked for his outlook on fall, Tansky said, “We continue to be opportunistic about levels of busi-ness as we go forward. We’re pleased with our selection of merchandise. Based on an early view of designer offerings, fall could be a good season. Goods are starting to roll in now and [deliveries] peak in August and September.”

Operating earnings for the quarter were $162.6 mil-lion up from $133.1 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusted operating earnings were $180.6 million, a 20 percent increase from $150.6 million. Neiman’s believes adjusted operating earnings, which exclude amortization, acquisition costs, non-cash charges and other costs, is a more meaningful representation of the company’s economic performance.

For the nine-month period, earnings rose 30 per-cent to $127.8 million from $98.6 million. Operating earnings reached $444.6 million from $307.7 mil-lion, while adjusted operating earnings were up 21 percent to $494.6 million from $408.8 million.

Sales climbed 9 percent to $3.41 billion from $3.13 billion. The quarter’s results refl ect the pur-chase of the minority interest and the sale of Kate Spade LLC for $62.1 million in December 2006, as well as the sale of Neiman’s majority interest in Gurwitch Products LLC in July 2006.

Dallas-based Neiman’s was taken private in

October 2005 by investor group TPG Capital and Warburg Pincus LLC.

The company reached $631 in sales per square foot. “We achieved these improvements during a pe-riod of opening new stores, which is generally less productive in the fi rst couple of years,’’ Tansky said.

He also said operating margins hit a new third-quarter record — 16.8 percent compared with 15.2 percent a year ago.

Sales at the Neiman Marcus stores rose 4.8 per-cent, while the Bergdorf Goodman unit posted an 11.1 percent gain. Tansky also said the Internet business has been soaring, rising to $121 million in sales last quarter, though the Horchow cata-logue division has been “a little bit diffi cult and the home business nationally seems to be a little bit soft.” Tansky said strength on the Internet has offset weakness in the catalogue business, which

experienced a planned decrease in sales volume. “We have both eliminated catalogues and circula-tion to certain customers that didn’t meet accept-able profi tability levels.”

Tansky credited the strong earnings to a com-bination of leveraging expenses, improving mar-gins and a greater proportion of full-price selling. Operating margins improved 150 basis points from last year, and were 18.5 percent of sales, an all-time high for the business.

He said the smallish, 80,000-square-foot Austin, Tex., store started off with great momentum and can expand by 35,000 square feet. A unit in Charlotte, N.C., also opened last fall. Additional locations are planned. They are: a 100,000-square-foot unit in Natick, Mass., in the fall; a 120,000-square-foot unit in Topanga, West Los Angeles, in fall 2008 and a 120,000-square-foot store in fall 2009 in Bellevue, Wash.

“Oyster Bay [on Long Island] has shifted due to ongoing permit delays,” Tansky said. It’s now seen opening in the fall 2010. A 90,000-square-foot unit in Princeton, N.J., is planned for 2010.

Over the past year, Neiman’s has opened three smaller Cusp units, selling contemporary merchan-dise. “We plan to open a fourth in Northbrook, Ill., in next couple of months,” Tansky said. “We continue to make adjustments to this model. It’s in the early R&D stages. We are very pleased with the changes.”

Tansky also stressed the importance of remod-els. When a store has a 10th anniversary, Tansky ex-plained, it needs some updating and the level var-ies. We prefer to remodel and expand the store, if its appropriate to the sale and the community it’s in.”

By Robert Murphy

PARIS — Say Cartier, and most likely expensive diamonds or watches will be the fi rst things that spring to people’s minds. But if Bernard Fornas, president of Cartier International, has his way, women also will start to crave handbags when they hear the name.

Cartier is making a serious effort to ramp up its sales in the high-margin category with the launch of a new fashion-for-ward bag called Marcello. It will be available in Cartier stores worldwide in mid-June and is the fi rst major bag launch for the Richemont-owned house in years.

“Cartier was strong in leather goods in the 1980s,” said Fornas in an interview in his offi ce here. “In the 1990s, we lost some of that ground. Our focus turned to other categories.”

Many people would be hard-pressed to conjure an image of a memorable Cartier bag, even though the brand has more than its fair share of other iconic products, from the Love bracelet to Tank watches.

Marcello, developed by an in-house accessories team led by Marlin Yuson, a former Calvin Klein designer, is meant to reverse that situation. It will come in three sizes — small, medium and large — and will be decorated with Cartier’s double C insignia on one side. Its shape is somewhat square at the base, but curves into a triangle at the edges and is fi nished with a fl ying buttress-like detail at the top.

“It’s a traditional bag with an attitude,” said Fornas. “It’s a bag that can be worn by trendy women around the world, as well. We wanted this bag to be a signature.”

Cartier traditionally has avoided “fashionable” details in handbags, adopting a more ladylike, timeless approach. Marcello is a departure in that it will come in seasonal colors and treatments. The introductory delivery, for example, will be of-fered in tan, midnight blue, pink and even a zebra ponyskin.

Prices will range from 750 euros, or $1,005, for a basic small bag to 1,200 euros, or $1,600, and up for a large bag, depending on details and materials. Custom-made

bags also will be available, starting at around 1,500 euros, or $2,010, and going high-er depending on treatments, which could include hardware in gold or platinum.

Bespoke kits, which Yuson likened to paper-doll sets with cutouts of leather and different hardware options from which customers can build their own bags, have been dispatched to all of Cartier’s 250 shops around the world.

“Cartier is number one in bespoke jewelry. We have bespoke fragrances. We do custom watches,” said Fornas. “We thought we should be able to do custom-made bags, too. We want to be able to create a woman’s dream bag.”

Fornas declined to provide sales targets for the bag. And he did not say how much of Cartier’s total business was generated by leather goods. Nonetheless, he said the bag’s introduction marked a “signifi -cant” effort to grow a business with “incredible potential.”

“We want to sell hundreds of thousands of these bags,” he said.

Fornas did not enumerate media plans, but he said a robust advertising campaign would begin in July in most major fashion publications in the U.S., and this month in Japan. In September, a worldwide media rollout will begin.

Young French writer Amanda Sthers and budding singer Sophie Auster, the daughter of writer Paul Auster, were photo-graphed wearing the bags for material that will be disturbed to the press.

Cartier’s fi rst podcast, with Vogue, which includes a visit to the factory in Florence where the bags are produced, will go live later this month.

In celebration of its second annual Love Day today, Cartier has commissioned multimedia expert John Maeda to create love.cartier.com, a Web site dedicated to love. The site bows today and will be active through Love Day’s third anniversary next year.

On the site, eight artists answer the question, “How far would you go for love?” The Love Gallery features their responses. Contemporary artists Flavia Da Rin, Zoe Mendelson and Yako Takeyama express their visions of love in all forms — pho-tography, drawings, video — and one artist even expresses his idea of love in a blog format. Also appearing on the site are 12 interactive short fi lms directed by French fi lmmaker Olivier Dahan.

— With contributions from Caroline Tell, New York

Cartier Fashion-Forward Bag Bows

Neiman’s 3rd-Quarter Net Rises 47%

Cartier’s new Marcello bag.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon in “Ocean’s 13.”

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Continued from page one

“It takes a great deal more to be successful at the top range of fashion than just buying goods and putting it out on the fl oor.”

— Burt Tansky, Neiman Marcus

23WWD, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007

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