AZAGURY-PARTRIDGE EXITS BOUCHERON/2 Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • May 7, 2004 • $2.00

WWDFRIDAYBeauty

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NEW YORK — Estée Lauder turned back

to the Eden Project, an English

conservatory, to glean proprietary notes

for its newest scent, Beyond Paradise for

Men. It had done the same last year for the

women’s version. Beyond Paradise for Men

will be launched in August, and it could do

upward of $25 million at retail in its first

year in the U.S. For more, see page 4.

By Ross TuckerNEW YORK — Forget that the stockmarket fell 69 points on Thursdayand that April comparable-storesales were down from March. Thereare luxury goods and colorful

fashions in stores — and shoppersare gobbling them up.

Clothing and shoes were a brightspot in an otherwise tepid April,which was chilled by an earlyEaster as well as abnormally low

temperatures in key markets. Infact, the apparel sector has reporteddramatic growth — $20 billion on ayear-over-year basis — so it isn’tsurprising that comps flexed muscle

Fashion Boom: Luxury Shoppers Nourish Strong Comp-Sales

See High, Page 14

Today, the first of a three-scent trilogy from Avon.

For more, see page 6.

▲

GardenOf Eden

By Miles Socha

PARIS — In the first high-profiledesigner exit of the post-Tomand Dom era at Gucci Group,Boucheron creative directorSolange Azagury-Partridge saidThursday she’s leaving the jew-elry, watch and fragrance house.

“It’s been three roller-coaster,amazing years,” the London-baseddesigner told WWD. “But therewas another change happeninghere, and I just thought it wasthe right time for me to changeas well and go back home.”

Azagury-Partridge was allud-ing to the recent exits of creativedirector Tom Ford and chief exec-utive Domenico De Sole, and theappointment last month of Chris-tian Bedos, the fourth chief exec-utive at Boucheron since it wasacquired in 2000 as part of theItalian firm’s acquisitions spree.

Azagury-Partridge plans totake a long holiday and then de-vote her energies to her signa-ture business, based out of theboutique she established in 1995in London’s Notting Hill neigh-borhood, where the likes of

Madonna, Kate Moss and SirElton John come in search of herquirky, bright baubles.

“It’s a very healthy littleshop,” she said. She declined todivulge sales figures, but noted,“I’m up 100 percent on last year.”

Bedos, who started at Bouch-eron Monday, said he hasn’tmade a decision regarding suc-cession. In the interim, he said

the house, founded in 1858, has arich archive and plenty of freshdesigns “in its drawers” to sus-tain it in the coming months.

Although Boucheron has pre-sented new collections of finejewelry during the last two Julycouture seasons with extrava-gant parties in the Place Ven-dôme, no event is planned thissummer, he noted.

Azagury-Partridge’s depar-ture is the latest blow to a brandthat has been struggling.

Earlier this year, Gucci Groupscotched an ambitious retail roll-out, opening a Bottega Venetaflagship in Manhattan in a FifthAvenue space originally ear-marked for Boucheron. Mean-while, year-old shops in Honoluluand San Francisco were shut-tered, which contributed to a $12million restructuring charge atGucci in the fourth quarter. As ofMarch 31, there were 25 Bouch-eron locations. At one time, GucciGroup had envisioned a networkof 60 to 65 locations by 2005.

The retrenchment has fueledspeculation Boucheron may be

Azagury-Partridge Leaves Gucci’s Flock

By Marc Karimzadeh

NEW YORK — De Beers LV andIman have parted ways.

The contract between theSomalian-born businesswomanand model and the diamond re-tail venture between LVMHMoët Hennessy Louis Vuittonand the De Beers Group ex-pired last month and will not berenegotiated.

“We had a two-year contract,which was over in April, and thenew advertising strategy for thecompany is not to use a celebri-ty,” a De Beers LV spokeswomansaid Thursday. “Most companiesdon’t use the same celebritiesfor long periods of time.”

The relationship was filledwith controversy from the start.Shortly before the first De BeersLV boutique opened onLondon’s Piccadilly in 2001,Survival International, a non-governmental organizationbased in London, plastered animage of a Kalahari Bushwoman

over Iman’s with the phrase:“The Bushmen Aren’t Forever.”

Survival claims diamond min-ing is related to the relocation ofBushmen in Botswana’s CentralKalahari Game Reserve. De

Beers Group and the De Beers LVjoint venture have repeatedly de-nied the claims.

In a statement, Survival sug-gested Iman quit due to its cam-paign to make her end her associ-ation with the diamond firm.

“We are thrilled about thisnew development. We havebeen campaigning solidlyaround this issue for years, andare very pleased that Iman willno longer be representing DeBeers,” said Stephen Corry,Survival’s director.

While Iman couldn’t bereached for comment, the DeBeers LV spokeswoman said:“Survival has been saying overthe past two years that Iman’scontract was in jeopardy. Thetruth is that the Bushmen issuehas nothing whatsoever to dowith diamonds or De Beers LV.And Iman investigated the com-pany thoroughly before she everagreed to be our style icon andwas very comfortable with beingassociated with the company.”

De Beers, Iman Marriage Ends in Divorce

By Samantha Conti

LONDON — Burberry today will name BrianBlake as worldwide president and chief operat-ing officer, effective June 1.

The appointment confirms a WWD report onMonday.

Blake, 48, will replace Tom O’Neill, whostepped down last month to become chief execu-tive officer of Harry Winston. Blake will reportto Rose Marie Bravo, Burberry’s ceo.

At Burberry, Blake’s responsibilities will in-clude global oversight of the company’s whole-sale, retail, licensing and manufacturing opera-tions. He also will be a member of Burberry’sexecutive committee, along with Bravo andchief financial officer Stacey Cartwright.

“I look forward to working with Brian to takeBurberry to its next level, explore new growthinitiatives and maximize the tremendous poten-tial that this business represents,” said Bravo ina statement, pointing to Blake’s experience

across all business disciplines and in regionssuch as Asia.

As reported, Blake was part of Domenico DeSole’s original team at Gucci, where he workedfor 17 years. He left the Italian company lastmonth along with De Sole and creative directorTom Ford. Most recently, he was executive vicepresident of Gucci Group, president and ceo ofGucci Group timepieces worldwide, as well ashead of the jewelry house Boucheron.

Before that, Blake served as president andceo of the Gucci division worldwide, and presi-dent and ceo of Gucci America, a post he tookover after De Sole was promoted to ceo of theentire group. Before joining Gucci, Blake spenta decade at Lord & Taylor in merchandising andstore management positions.

“It is exciting for me to have the opportunityto work with Rose Marie Bravo and the team tocontinue the momentum and challenge the busi-ness through its next phases of growth and de-velopment,” Blake said.

Burberry Appoints Brian Blake

GENERALSame-store sales for major retailers eased back in April, as coolertemperatures in key markets tempered consumer spending.

Former Gucci Group executive Brian Blake is expected to be named todayas worldwide president and chief operating officer of Burberry.

Solange Azagury-Partridge said she’s leaving today as creative director ofBoucheron, the jewelry, watch and fragrance firm, a unit of Gucci Group.

BEAUTY: Estée Lauder is launching a companion to its 2003 blockbusterfragrance with a men’s scent called Beyond Paradise for Men.

SUZY: Brad Pitt and his Achilles’ heel...Kitchen Confidential on the FrederickLaw Olmsted Awards...The Multilingual Paul McCartney.

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WWDFRIDAYBeauty

● TRADING UP: Wendy Wieland-Martin, 50, has been promotedto the new post of vice president of international trade servicesat Kellwood Co. Wieland-Martin, who had been director of tradeservices, will oversee custom and trade compliance and govern-ment relations for the firm. She reports to Tom Austin, presidentof Kellwood’s operating services division, who said, “Her ex-pertise in international trade will help strengthen our presencein international markets.”

● FLUX AT FERRE: Now that IT Holding chief Tonino Perna hassold Romeo Gigli and Gentry Portofino, he has more time to ded-icate to his group’s other brands, namely Gianfranco Ferré. AnIT Holding spokeswoman said Perna would take a more activerole in the day-to-day managing of Ferré. “Formally, nothing haschanged. Tonino Perna has always been involved in the runningof Ferré, but he wants to dedicate more time to its develop-ment,” the spokeswoman said. As for Ferré’s current chief exec-utive officer, Enrico Mambelli, the spokeswoman said it’s possi-ble that in the future, Mambelli’s role could slightly change. AFerré spokeswoman, however, said everything was status quowith Mambelli’s position and he would be attending the officialopening of the new Ferré boutique in New York next week.

● SQUINTING SALES: Eyewear group De Rigo’s first-quartersales dropped slightly to 139.2 million euros from 139.9 millioneuros a year ago. In dollars, sales were $174.2 million versus$150.2 million last year. Figures have been converted to dollarsat average exchange for the corresponding quarters. The compa-ny said sales grew 6.1 percent on a comparable basis, meaningresults of the now defunct Eyewear International Distributionjoint venture with Prada are stripped out of first-quarter 2003figures. Strong sales growth in markets such as the far east andsome European countries such as France, Greece, Germany andSpain drove wholesale sales up 1.9 percent for the quarter.Retail sales in the first quarter rose 5.7 percent on growth at DeRigo’s U.K. retail chain Dollond & Aitchison and Spanish chainGeneral Optica.

● MOVES AT JONES: Jones Apparel Group Inc. has named AndyCohen group president of its L.E.I. and Energie divisions, suc-ceeding Spencer Rosenheck, who left the company. Most recent-ly, Cohen was president of Energie, and before that, president ofLiz Claiborne’s Shelli Segal division. Cohen reports to IsaacDabah, group chief executive officer of the Polo Jeans Co.,Gloria Vanderbilt and L.E.I. divisions of Jones. In a relatedmove, Peter Caminiti was named president of sales for L.E.I., re-porting to Cohen. Most recently, Caminiti has been vice presi-dent of sales for L.E.I.

In Brief

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Obituary ....................................................................................................9

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WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 20042

Iman

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LIFE. IT’S A GREAT GAME.

THE FRAGRANCE FOR MEN

–ANDRE AGASSI

The Beauty Report

NEW YORK — Estée Lauder is looking to revisitParadise this fall with its latest men’s scent.

Beyond Paradise for Men, a companion to Lauder’s2003 blockbuster women’s entry, will bow in August.The women’s scent is said to have exceeded sales of$60 million at retail in the U.S. and $100 million at re-tail globally its first year on counter, and while Lauderexecutives wouldn’t comment on projected sales vol-umes, executives say they are hoping for a similar suc-cess with the men’s scent. Industry sources estimateLauder is looking for a volume of more than $25 mil-lion at retail in the U.S. with the juice.

The men’s and women’s scents are primarily gearedat consumers in the 18-to-34 age group, part of the com-pany’s continuing goal of attracting edgier consumersto the 59-year-old Lauder brand, noted PatrickBousquet-Chavanne, the group president at Lauderwho oversees the Estée Lauder brand. “When we start-ed this project, our vision was to bring a new genera-tion to the counter,” he said.

According to Daniel Annese, vice president of mar-keting, North America for Estée Lauder, the brand metthat goal with the women’s juice — and the pieces ofthe puzzle are in place to achieve a similar goal withthe men’s scent, he emphasized. “Our market researchconfirms that 40 percent of the consumers [who pur-chased the women’s fragrance] were under 30, and 66percent of those who bought the fragrance in its firstfour months [on counter] had never purchased anEstée Lauder [branded] fragrance. With the men’s fra-grance, we are out to outdo ourselves again.”

Janet Cook, president of Estée Lauder NorthAmerica, was among those who urged the launch of themen’s scent to take advantage of the gains establishedby the women’s. Another staunch advocate was one ofthe scent’s co-creators, Evelyn Lauder.

“The response to Beyond Paradise was so positivethat we felt we should introduce a companion as soonas possible,” said Lauder, who is senior corporate vicepresident of the Estée Lauder Cos., adding that the fra-grance is classified as a prismatic wood and comprisesa number of unique notes that are proprietary toLauder. “This mix is so unusual that your nose doesn’tpick out specific ingredients; it simply registers as asensual, yet comforting, fragrance.”

Karyn Khoury, senior vice president of corporate fra-grance worldwide for Estée Lauder, concurred, sayingthe aim was to use exotic ingredients to formulate thejuice, just as was done with the women’s version. Toachieve this goal, the team turned back to the EdenProject, a Cornwall, England-based conservatory hometo more than 100,000 types of exotic plants and flowers

that are grown in specially designed biomes. Lauder hadalso obtained ingredients for the women’s juice from theconservatory, and has a deal with the conservatory todevelop additional ingredients from that source.

The scent, developed by Khoury and Lauder in part-nership with Quest International, opens with notes ofEden’s Mist, a watery, fresh ingredient captured fromthe biome; jaboticaba fruit, a tart Brazilian ingredient;Eden Buchu, a green, slightly citrus element, and an in-gredient the team called the Wave Accord: a blend ofmint, mandarin and mousse de mer. The heart of thefragrance is a Mediterranean Accord, a blend of laven-der, Provence sage, tarragon and thyme absolute, andcistus, a balsamic woody-smelling element. The dry-down is made up of Eden Vetiver and golden MelaleucaBark, both captured from the Eden Project’s biomes,and beechwood, oakmoss and Indonesian patchouli, allto add richness. Eden’s Mist and Melaleuca Bark werealso used in the women’s juice.

But while the men’s scent shares a few el-ements with the women’s, it is not intendedto be its twin, said Peter Lichtenthal, seniorvice president of global marketing for EstéeLauder. “Beyond Paradise exceeded all ofour expectations — not since Pleasures havewe hit the jackpot the way that we have inthis scent,” he said. “But while we wanted toexpand the message, our primary goal was tocome up with a leading men’s fragrance thatcould also stand on its own.”

Beyond Paradise Men will be available intwo sizes of eau de toilette spray, 1.7 oz. and3.4 oz., for $49.50 and $69.50, respectively; a3.4-oz. After Shave Balm, $39.50, and a 3.4-oz.After Shave splash, also $39.50.

The scent’s bottle mirrors the ombre rain-bow hues of the women’s, although BeyondParadise Men’s colors — deep blue, purple,green and red — are richer than the pastelsof its feminine counterpart. Ancillaries will

be bottled in containers in hues of blue and green. The brand has also signed Jon Passavant, the model

who had served as the face of Intuition for Men, to aspokesman deal, only the second time the Estée Lauderbrand has had an official male spokesman. The first occa-sion was with actor Bruce Boxleitner in the late Eighties.

Passavant will begin appearing in Beyond Paradisefor Men’s print advertising, which was overseen byAerin Lauder, the brand’s global vice president of ad-vertising. The first placement is expected in August, al-though the bulk of the print advertising will begin inSeptember magazines. While TV has been used forwomen’s, it is not currently planned for men’s, althoughthe brand is planning to run TV ads this fall promotingthe women’s juice. Passavant also was the face ofIntuition for Men, launched two years ago. While noneof the executives would comment on numbers, industrysources estimated $8 million to $10 million would bespent on advertising and promotion for the men’s scentin its first year on counter.

“We wanted to revisit the fantasy elements we ex-plored with the women’s scent,” said Noel Robinson,vice president of global fragrance marketing for EstéeLauder. And because about half of all men’s scents areactually purchased by women, noted Annese, the cam-paign will be targeted at men and women. The printcampaign will be the largest the brand has ever donein the men’s category, he said, and will appear inSports Illustrated, ESPN and Maxim.

Cinema advertising — which the brand employedfor the women’s launch last year — will be used again,this time promoting both juices, and radio is alsoplanned, noted Annese.

Sampling will be a big part of the campaign, withupward of 25 million scented strips over a five-monthperiod planned. The scent will be available in Lauder’s2,200 U.S. department and specialty stores; like thewomen’s juice, it will be available at Lauder countersand at the fragrance bar.

— Julie Naughton

WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 20044

The Beyond Paradise for Men ad.

Lauder to Return to Paradise

NEW YORK — Von Berg Professional Cosmetics, a two-year-old Munich-based beauty marketer, will introduceits first men’s fragrance, a scent called AbsoluteDecadence, next month.

Absolute Decadence, a mix of citrus, lavender andwoody notes, is set to bow at Nordstrom and Burdines-Macy’s in the U.S. on June 1, and in Germany andCanada in July. The fragrance is then due to roll out tothe rest of Europe and to additional U.S. retail chains inthe fall, eventually reaching 500 U.S. doors, includingSephora, Macy’s West and Parisians.

It’s Von Berg’s third fragrance — the company’s two

women’s entries, Decadence and Sheer Decadence, werelaunched in the fall and spring, respectively. Givaudanhas blended all three of the scents.

Peter von Berg founded the company in 2002. VonBerg, who was originally in the medical field, crossedover into the beauty industry after entering the microder-mabrasion arena in Europe. Von Berg, self-described asa cosmeceuticals firm, also markets a treatment collec-tion and color cosmetics with skin care benefits.

The company’s U.S. arm, based in Naples, Fla., is pro-jected to have total revenues of $10.5 million this year.

— Matthew W. Evans

Von Berg to Enter the Men’s Fragrance Market

5WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2004

By Pete Born

NEW YORK — Nicholas Perricone, arguably themost widely known of the superstar dermatolo-gists to enter the skin care business, has his sightsset on the next plateau: Madison Avenue retailing.

But when the 2,100-square-foot store opensin early September after Labor Day, it will notbe the typical exercise in shop-keeping.Perricone has been viewed, at least among thedermatologists, as the pioneer in studying howinflammation interrelates with aging. He hasauthored three books on his theories and thefourth, titled “The Perricone Promise,” is dueout in October. He also conducts TV lecturesover the Public Broadcasting System, havingdone three so far. His approach, therefore, is farfrom traditional.

Perricone, who graduated from Yale MedicalSchool and holds close to 30 U.S.patents stemming from his re-search with at least another 14pending, sees himself as a scien-tist and an educator, as well as adoctor. He views the quest forbeauty as a three-tiered pursuit,consisting of internal and exter-nal factors. The Perriconemethod boils down to manipula-tion of diet, application of prop-er nutrients and exercise andthe external application of high-potency and sometimes high-priced cosmeceutical products.

“The future is that we’ve gotto provide a true and real serv-ice,” Perricone said in a recentinterview. “Beauty is a three-tiered program, or four-tiered. It’s what you eat, it’s taking supplements, nu-tritional drinks; it’s giving topicals. And you have toteach people lifestyle changes. To truly be a beautycompany of the future, you’ve got to be able to pro-vide what really works,” he said, emphasizing thathis prescription is a highly integrated package.

Perricone’s products can be highly advancedand steeply priced, as in the recently launchedNeuropeptide category of facial skin care products.A 2-oz. bottle of Neuropeptide Facial Conformer,designed to decrease the appearance of lines andwrinkles, retails for $575 a bottle. Neuropeptidesare tiny strings of amino acids that develop brain

cells and ultimately skin cells, forming what hecalls a “brain-beauty connection.” According toPerricone, neuropeptides control flow of blood tothe skin, theoretically providing a glow.

A Neuropeptide Facial Serum Prep, priced at$175 for 6 oz., is being launched, and two moreproducts in the series — a contour cream and aneye product — will be introduced in conjunctionwith the debut of the Madison Avenue flagship.

In addition to his Web site and a fledgling for-eign distribution, Perricone distributes his linethrough about 200 U.S. doors, the latest beingBloomingdale’s new SoHo location. Perriconealso does a strong business with Sephora, wherethe brand ranks number one among clinical skincare lines, according to Betsy Olum, senior vicepresident of marketing for Sephora USA.

The two highest-grossing Sephora doors forPerricone’s products are in San Francisco and

Boston, where the retailer hasbuilt shop-in-shop installationsfor the brand. “Perricone re-mains a top-performing brand atSephora and [it is] one of ourmost productive performers,”said Olum. “We expect continuedgrowth from the brand, based oninnovative new products, and anongoing loyal client following.

“The Perricone regimenstarter kit we developed with[Perricone] continues to be atop seller, allowing new Perri-cone clients to easily experi-ence the brand’s core regimen.The innovative new Neuro-peptide product has sold very

well, and the core regimen ‘power products’ —Face Firming Activator, Concentrative RestorativeCream and ALA Eye Complex — continue to be[among our company’s] top sellers.”

The new flagship, located at 791 MadisonAvenue at 67th Street, is being portrayed byPerricone and his executives as a library and in-formation center as much as a store selling hiscosmeceuticals. It is designed as an informationspringboard to advance Perricone’s philosophyand method, which the doctor calls the Perri-cone Prescription.

According to Marcie J. Krempel, executive vice

NEW YORK — Elizabeth Arden is thelatest beauty company to make it tothe stock car starting gate in an ef-fort to pep up a venerable brand —in Arden’s case, Halston Z-14.

Racing champion Jeff Gordon, afour-time winner of the NationalAssociation of Stock Car Auto Racing,or NASCAR, championship stock carrace, signed a deal Thursday to be theface of the 28-year-old fragrance, saidE. Scott Beattie, chairman and chiefexecutive officer of Elizabeth Arden.The contract is for three years, notedLauren Mennella, vice president ofprestige fragrances, in a telephone in-terview with WWD Thursday morning.

While Arden executives refusedto talk about financial terms of thedeal, industry sources estimated that Arden will spend at least $3 mil-lion over the life of the contract. Industry sources also estimated thatthe Halston Z-14 scent does about $10 million at retail annually.

Beattie isn’t the first to realize the appeal of a racing hero. RivalL’Oréal USA’s European Designer Fragrances division also uses thestrategy to promote its classic Drakkar Noir scent, signing DaleEarnhardt Jr. two years ago to front the fragrance.

According to Mennella, NASCAR associations “clearly have a power-ful impact” on product sales.

A NASCAR research study found that race fans are three times morelikely to try and purchase products from companies that align them-selves with racing and race car drivers. It is estimated that NASCARmerchandise alone racks up sales of more than $1.3 billion annually.

Mennella said that Gordon’s “universal appeal” will draw in “a newgeneration of users.”

“Jeff is one of the most accomplished drivers around,” saidMennella. “His sophistication fits perfectly with the upscale luxury her-itage of this fragrance. Like Halston Z-14, Jeff is daring and bold. Wefeel that he will open up a whole new audience for the brand. We seethis as a new chapter for the brand.”

The intention of the new campaign is to appeal to men 35-plus.“We hope we will get both older and younger consumers, but that is ourtarget age group,” she noted. The first ads will begin appearing inFebruary 2005, to coincide with the start of the Nextel Cup Racing sea-son at Daytona Beach, Fla., she said.

While Mennella wouldn’t comment on the projected ad spending — in-dustry sources estimated that it will be at least what L’Oréal spends on itsEarnhardt/Drakkar Noir ads, or an estimated $4 million or more — shenoted that Arden will make “a significant investment” in the campaign.

“We will be doing a huge variety of different things, including na-tional print advertising, special-edition packaging integrating Jeff, aswell as in-store displays featuring his image,” she said. Sales promo-tions with collectible items and a consumer sweepstakes are on tap aswell, she said. An extensive sampling campaign, with upward of onemillion scented pieces, is planned. But this sampling effort will kick offat rather unusual venues: racetracks around the country. “We want tosample this where Jeff’s fans are,” said Mennella. “There’s no placemore logical than the track for that purpose.”

Gordon will be featured in a new marketing campaign currentlybeing devised by the brand’s marketing team. According to Mennella,the mix will include the consumer sweepstakes, print advertising featur-ing Gordon and sales promotions with collectible premiums.

“I love wearing Halston Z-14 because it’s a classic American fra-grance that’s sensual, warm, earthy and truly distinctive,” said Gordon ina statement. “The relationship with Z-14 is especially significant consid-ering that 2005 will be the 14th year of my NASCAR racing career.”

Halston Z-14, a spicy juice with a bottle designed by jewelry designerand former Halston model Elsa Peretti, was originally released in 1976.

— Julie Naughton

Arden Starts Its Engines

Continued on page 8

Jeff Gordon

Perricone, the Retailer

A rendering of Perricone’s planned store.

Marcie Krempel, Nicholas Perricone

and Lynda Berkowitz.

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The Beauty Report

NEW YORK — With 118 years of practice, Avon ProductsInc. has demonstrated an aptitude for reinventing itself.

Changes enacted over the past four years are beingcredited for last week’s noteworthy financial report — inwhich Avon’s first-quarter earnings increased 49.7 percentover the year-ago period, and yearlong projections wererevised upward.

The increased focus on a sales-leadership program forassociates, a shift to make beauty categories a bigger per-centage of sales and the launch of Mark, a brand for youngwomen, all helped strengthen the performance of theworld’s largest direct-selling beauty company.

Avon executives are now fine-tuning a slate of initia-tives for the fourth quarter, including the relaunch of theAvon Color cosmetics line, a redesign of the salesbrochure and the introduction of a promotional and ad-vertising campaign starring actress Salma Hayek, to keepits marketing fresh.

William Susetka, president of global marketing at Avon,said emphasis remains on global growth, increasing theshare of beauty sales, and the expansion of the sales-lead-ership model to markets beyond the U.S., starting with theU.K. “The concept of leadership gives representativesmore earnings opportunities,” noted Susetka. Of the650,000 U.S. reps, 380,000 are now in leadership roles. Themodel gives representatives a financial incentive to re-cruit and train other representatives. “Our reps are recruiting other reps for us tohave more coverage of our products,” he added.

Avon, which also sells jewelry and clothing, has been heavily developing its domi-nant beauty segments, because “there are more loyal customers in beauty and it is acategory that does well in a service model,” explained Susetka.

In 2003, Avon’s net sales rose 10 percent to $6.8 billion, with beauty outpacing totalgrowth at 15 percent. From 61 percent some four years ago, beauty now accounts for67 percent of sales, or $4.5 billion, noted Susetka. In the first quarter of 2004, net salesgrew 19 percent to $1.75 billion, with beauty categories up 23 percent. “A big driverhas been skin care,” noted Susetka. Avon, he added, is the second-best selling skincare brand in the U.S. after Procter & Gamble’s Olay. He suggested that a new R&Dfacility in Suffern, N.Y., that will be operational in 2005 and is on the site of the origi-nal plant opened in 1897, will help keep Avon competitive in product development.

Worldwide, Avon’s business in Eastern and Central Europe is developing ahead ofschedule and should hit $1 billion in the near future. Russia has been particularlystrong with sales expected at $400 million this year. In Asia, China continues to be adominant region with sales climbing 25 to 30 percent, and the company recentlyopened Vietnam. Turkey has also been a hot market. Bob Briddon, group vice presi-dent, North American marketing, added that Avon has not only been expanding geo-graphically, but making existing businesses more productive. Sales in Latin Americagrew 17 percent in the first quarter.

Jill Scalamandre, group vice president, global marketing at Avon, remarked thatAvon, with 4.4 million sales associates worldwide, has an “incredible reach.” Sheadded that two out of five women globally, purchased an Avon product in 2003. Thebrand, she said continues to be built, “on the power of personal relationship.”

Making things personal has been central in the makeover of Avon Color, Avon’score cosmetics brand with sales of $1 billion. Packaging is being softened, from mini-malist, straight-line components in blue and white to curvy compacts and roundedlipstick tubes in cosmic blue, a midnight blue metallic shade. A new logo — a trun-cated A — is also being applied. Additionally, “intuitive technology” is being intro-duced to products throughout the line, with the intention of providing women prod-ucts that will deliver customized results. “This is to allow a woman to show her ownunique beauty,” said Scalamandre.

While some of the enhancements are chemical, others are psychological.NailWear nail enamel has a self-adjusting conditioner to add moisture where need-ed and True Color Powder Blush has a “self-liquefying complex” that blends in withthe color of the wearer’s skin. Whereas the new My Lip Miracle lipstick is “intuitive”in that it provides what Avon says women want — a host of benefits, such as long-wear, moisturization, shine and color. “It actually reads your mind and understands

you don’t like compromises,” according to Avon promo-tional materials. The new Perfect Wear Longlasting mas-cara that also lengthens, is a mind-reader in that it fulfills“needs of your hectic, busy lifestyle.”

Redefining itself in other areas, Avon plans to unveilits priciest fragrance this fall. The white floral scent is ac-tually the first of a trilogy named Today, Tomorrow,Always, that will be launched in three parts in October,February and May, respectively. Each is priced $29.50.Until now, Avon’s most expensive scent was $28. “We want-ed to take it a step further,” said Scalamandre, who de-scribes the fragrances as “a personal trilogy of love.” PartI reflects the love a woman has for herself; part II, a ro-mantic love or love that is shared; and part III, representslove that she creates. The scents, all designed byFirmenich, come in different shaped glass bottles, butshare a cap. Beginning in October, the scents will be sup-ported with print and TV advertising, featuring Hayek.

While it already has a $1 billion fragrance business,this is the first time Avon is advertising the category.According to Avon’s annual report, Treselle, a scent intro-duced last October, brought in global sales of $52 million.Today, the first in the trilogy, is expected to at least matchthat, industry sources believe.

Beyond appearing in advertising, Scalamandre stressedthat Hayek is playing a partnership role at Avon, including

lending her voice to its new foundation to fight domestic abuse. “She wanted to be apartner. She believes in our company values,” she said. “She [Hayek] thinks of womenas ‘divine creatures.’” In a promotional video for Avon, Hayek recounts a personalstory of a family she knew growing up in Mexico that was supported on the mother’sAvon earnings.

To make its primary sales tool more visually appealing, Avon’s upgradedbrochure has a larger page size, modernized design and stronger use of color. Hayekwill appear on the cover and throughout its pages, noted Briddon.

Meanwhile, the Anew Clinical franchise will unleash the latest in a series of at-home dermatologist-like treatments with Anew Clinical Deep Crease Concentrate,said to provide both facial line relaxing and line filling benefits. [See related story,this page.]

“We continue to put the brand into new places,” Susetka enthused. “Direct sellingis strong and getting stronger.”

— Laura Klepacki

WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 20046

NEW YORK — Avon wants to prevent another trip to the dermatologist.Under its Anew Clinical division, the company has already in-

troduced three products intended to deliver results typically asso-ciated with professional treatments — Line and Wrinkle Corrector,2-Step Facial Peel and Micro-Exfoliant. Line and WrinkleCorrector, the debut item in the line, has been available sinceSeptember 2003 and according to Avon reports, has reaped salesof $75 million.

Now it is ready to add a dual benefit item, that claims to relaxfacial lines like a Botox treatment while filling deep lines likeRestylane. Anew Clinical Deep Crease Concentrate with Bo-Hylurox will be available beginning in October. A 30-ml. bottle is$32. Recommended usage is twice a day. The key in-gredient, By-Hylurox, is a blend of natural, active in-gredients, according to Avon. The launch will be sup-ported with TV and print advertising, and sampling.

— L.K.

Avon’s Fourth At-Home Treatment

Avon Delivers Fresh Twists

A print ad for the Today

fragrance featuring Salma

Hayek and the new look of

Avon Color cosmetics.

Bob Briddon, Jill Scalamandre

and William Susetka.

Bob Briddon, Jill Scalamandre

and William Susetka.

Deep Crease

Concentrate

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7WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2004

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — Supermarkets have alwaysstruggled with the balance between selling groceriesand grooming.

And with discounters Wal-Mart and Target andclub stores such as Costco and B.J.’s taking a biggerbite out of grocery sales, supermarkets are starting toreevaluate departments — including cosmetics.

A newly opened ShopRite store here demon-strates where owner Wakefern Corp. weighs in on thedebate. While the store spans 100,000 square feet andhas everything from a pharmacy to a huge kosher de-partment and a boulangerie, it has a minuscule cos-metics department.

A broker familiar with ShopRite said the companyhas studied the productivity of every stockkeepingunit in the store. The result is that ShopRite canachieve optimal cosmetics sales with a tightly editedassortment. It is a vastly different strategy than thatof a four-year-old Wegmansacross the street, where there isa beauty department rivalingany drugstore chain. Wegmanseven merchandises L’Oréalmascara at checkout.

Area customers certainly havea big choice when it comes tofood, clothing and beauty needs. The ShopRite andWegmans here join Target, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart andKohl’s in this cluster of chain stores located off busyhighway Route 1. ShopRite hopes it offers just enoughbeauty to get its fair share of this competitive market.

ShopRite buyers have selected the fastest-sellingitems for its beauty assortment, which is located near,but not right next to, the pharmacy. There are two lin-ear feet of Sally Hansen nail products, one foot forBonne Bell, one foot for Almay, four feet ofMaybelline and four feet of Cover Girl. A closer in-spection of the choices shows the thinking — BonneBell to cover the youth market, Almay for sensitiveskin and Maybelline and Cover Girl for consumerswho find it convenient to pick up a favorite beautyitem on a food store trip.

Many supermarket merchants have long debatedthe importance of beauty. Although the category de-livers tasty margins, it is also space-intensive andslow-turning — an anomaly in the grocery businesswhere inventory is turned at a brisk pace.

According to Information Resources Inc., supermar-ket sales of cosmetics for the 52-week period endedFeb. 24 were basically flat at $497 million. Food storesproduce about 17 percent of the total $2.8 billion mass

beauty market, excluding Wal-Mart. Still, for manymanufacturers, food chains represent huge growth op-portunities. Revlon is rolling out its Revlon Expressfixture to help food chains get deeper into the businessand companies such as Markwins are also targeting thefood channel. Elizabeth Arden has just added itsElizabeth Taylor cosmetics line in Albertson’s.

Still, the issue weighs on the potential negativeimage impact to color cosmetics brands that widelydistribute in food stores, not the most glamorous ofshopping venues. Revlon which has been developingedited sections of best selling items for supermarkets,essentially to serve as a convenience shop, has hesi-tated to step into the burgeoning dollar store market.

While he didn’t directly address the image compo-nent, earlier this year Revlon executive vice presi-dent of sales, Paul Murphy said, “extension into agroup of retailers like dollar stores really needs to be

thought out. If all you’re doingis cannibalizing your currentbusiness with your heritage re-tailers, then it will probably addless contribution and thatwouldn’t necessarily be the bestthing to do.”

Supermarkets have certain-ly realized the dollars in skin, hair and bath. WhileShopRite limits cosmetics, the hair and skin caredepartments are massive. ShopRite has every sham-poo imaginable as well as a specialty bath depart-ment featuring The Healing Garden, VillageNaturals and Yardley.

Within hair care there is an interesting ethnic selec-tion that shows how ShopRite is attempting to reachout to African-American and Hispanic consumers.

A two-foot section is allocated to hard-to-findHispanic products ranging from Ms. Moya skincreams to a baby line called Para Mi Bebé. Includedin the Hispanic planogram are health-promotingteas, Heno de Pravia bath products and colognespopular in Spanish-speaking countries.

Next to that department is another two-foot sectionwith popular ethnic products such as Soft Sheen haircare, Ambi skin care and Dark and Lovely hair color.

ShopRite is using information gleaned from itsPrice Plus Club customer loyalty program to pinpointwhich stores require special ethnic departments. Thestore here serves a diverse population including alarge Jewish, Asian and Hispanic base.

The opening week traffic in the new store, originallyslated to be a Costco, was heavy — despite the multi-tude of nearby competitors. Several shoppers wereoverheard comparing and contrasting the store to thenearby Wegmans. One summed up what is becoming thedriving factor in choosing a store to shop. “It was easierto make a right turn into this center than a left turn toWegmans,” concluded one customer at ShopRite.

NEW YORK — Since Maybelline New York announced its new urban look and name inDecember, the brand has been busy.

In July, several products will launch, led by Dream Matte Mousse Creamy Natural Foundation,a compact mousse formula that will be available in 12 shades. The foundation is said to providefull coverage, and has a sponge-like appearance. The component is equipped with a screw-off top.

There is also XXL Mascara/Primer, a dual-ended volumizing and lengthening mascara;Forever Metallics Lites, a lighter version of the existing Forever Metallics Lipcolor line and MetalShine Lipcolor, a lipstick in a convenient pencil form. Additionally, Expert Wear Eyeshadow will

replace the brand’s existing Expert Eyes line and will feature a smoother, creamier texture and along-wearing, noncreasing formula.

Marti Bentley, merchandise manager of beauty and cosmetics for Duane Reade, noted that,in addition to the products launching in July, Maybelline has been rolling out new store displaysand she is hopeful for the brand’s performance. “I’m looking for both the new fixturization andthe new products to make an impact for the second half,” said Bentley.

According to ACNielsen and Homescan data, Maybelline represented 19 percent of the $3.7 bil-lion U.S. mass cosmetics market in 2003. It’s sales were up 0.2 percent to about $703 million.

In August, Maybelline New York will also present the “Chicks with Attitude” tour, which fea-tures outspoken female rockers, including Liz Phair, The Cardigans and newcomers Katy Roseand Charlotte Martin, to capitalize on Maybelline New York’s edgier image.

— Bryn Kenny

Maybelline to Unveil Mousse Makeup

Critical MassBy Faye Brookman

CHANEL ENDOWMENT: Chanel hasdonated $1.5 million to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, an

endowment that will establish the Chanel Prize for Achievement inObstetrics and Gynecology at New York-Presbyterian/Weill CornellMedical Center. Additionally, the grant will support overarchingclinical programs in the obstetrics and gynecology department,according to a hospital spokeswoman. Honors for outstandingachievement in obstetrics and gynecology will be presented at apublic lecture and luncheon later this year, where recipients —who will be selected by a committee, including the obstetrics andgynecology department chairman, a Chanel representative andleading physicians and researchers in the field — will deliverpresentations on their clinical and research work. In addition to theendowment, Chanel will donate gift bags containing Chanelcosmetics, skin care products and brochures on medical and infantcare to all women who give birth at New York-Presbyterian/WeillCornell. Some 6,000 babies are born there each year.

TOP OF THE LIST: L’Oréal chairman and chief executive officerLindsay Owen-Jones was the highest-paid executive heading afirm listed on the CAC 40 index of French industrial companieslast year, according to a ranking published in Le Figaronewspaper Thursday. Owen-Jones’ 2003 salary weighed in at $8million at current exchange rates, or 6.6 million euros.

CIRCUS LOOKS: Bumble and bumble and MAC Cosmeticsteamed up behind the scenes at the premier party for Cirque duSoleil’s “Alegria” in New York Thursday night. Bumble stylistLaurent Philippon and MAC senior makeup artist Patrick Eichlereach led teams that created hair and makeup looks for some 85performers who attended the soiree, which followed the openingnight performance of the show on Randall’s Island. It was thesecond year the Estée Lauder-owned brands have created looksfor Cirque du Soleil’s premier party in New York.

ZIRH APPOINTMENT: Zirh International has named Tim Greenevice president of marketing, a new position. Greene was mostrecently director of trade marketing for North America atUnilever Prestige. In his new position at Zirh, Greene will beresponsible for brand positioning, promotional programs andmanagement of the men’s grooming firm’s marketing staff. Hereports to Brian Robinson, president of Zirh International.

ROAD TRIP: Avon took the award for Best Mobile Marketingprogram at the Annual Event Experiential Marketing Summit inChicago last month for its “Let’s Talk Beauty Tour.” For twoyears, Avon has been touring the country in a mobile unitoffering women makeovers, free samples and personal beautyadvice. Avon was selected from among 240 entrants.

JUDGMENT DAY: Self Magazine tested 900 new beauty productswith some 1,200 readers. The massive undertaking resulted inthe selection of 56 “Best of” winners — across cosmetics, facialtreatments, hair products, tanning and hand-and-foot categories.This is the fifth year for Self’s Healthy Beauty Awards event, whichevaluates drugstore and department store brands. “Readers aremore knowledgeable about what they put on their skin than everbefore,” noted Elaine DeFarley, Self beauty director. Cover Girltook Best Mascara with Fantastic Lash; Sally Hansen’s Fast &Flawless Skin Brightener with Retinol was awarded Best SkinBrightener; Vera Wang was cited for its Silkening Hand Creme,while La Prairie’s Cellular Night Repair Cream was lauded as BestNight Cream. The full results appear in the May issue of Self.

TOP NOTES

Susan Duffy and Arie Kopelman of Chanel with Sloan Barnett,

Dr. Frank Chervenak and Dr. Herbert Pardes of New York-

Presbyterian Hospital.

N.J. ShopRite Examines Color

CORRECTION: Bare Escentuals retail sales have ex-panded from $6 million to $200 million in the 10 yearssince Leslie Blodgett joined the company. The numberswere incorrectly reported in this column on page 9,April 30.

The new ShopRite in Lawrenceville, N.J.The new ShopRite in Lawrenceville, N.J.

By Andrea Nagel

NEW YORK — Alternative fertility treatments are be-ginning to top the list of services in several spas andhealth and wellness centers in Manhattan.

As the cost of Western fertility treatments reachesin the tens of thousands of dollars per couple, and aswomen become more frustrated with their side effectsand sometimes inefficacy, natural health practitionersare stepping in to offer alternatives, such as acupunc-ture, reflexology and chiropractic care — for womenhaving problems conceiving.

Acupuncture is one of the most popular modalitieswomen are seeking, either to complement or replacetraditional fertility treatments. The age-old practice,research shows, can normalize the production of hor-mones in the pituitary gland, the master gland for en-docrine function, and can specifically help womenwho don’t menstruate regularly to resume ovulation,according to Dr. Pak H. Chung, a reproductive endocri-nologist and infertility specialist at the Center forReproductive Medicine and Infertility in Manhattan,which performs the highest number of in vitro fertil-ization procedures in the country.

Another benefit to acupuncture is its ability to in-crease blood flow to the uterus, which in turn strength-ens the uterine lining, a vital part of preventing mis-carriage. The third aspect where acupuncture mayhelp is in reducing stress. “In extreme cases, womendon’t ovulate if stressed,” Dr. Chung said.

Dr. Chung estimates that up to 15 percent of all cou-ples globally have infertility issues. “The human re-production system is not efficient,” he added, explain-ing that a healthy, young couple only has a 20 percentchance each month of conceiving.

While acupuncture is offered at many spas andhealth and wellness centers across the country, somespas are becoming known for their success rate inhelping women conceive through its use. At the Oasison Park day spa located at One Park Avenue, acupunc-turist Eunice Simmons said about 60 percent of herpatient list visits her for fertility help. Simmons, whoalso owns and operates Acupuncture on Park, has evendeveloped a support group on Monday nights for herpatients with fertility issues. “It can be so isolating,”Simmons said of the process women go through whentrying to get pregnant.

Seeking acupuncture “is a good way to incorporatethis [togetherness] on their journey. It’s really takingcare of the person rather than just the symptom.There’s also the group aspect of it, where women canexchange ideas. There is something to be said aboutfeeling that you are not the only one,” Simmons said.

Acupuncture, she added, serves as an affordable al-ternative or complementary service for women seekingtraditional Western fertility treatments, such as IVF.

“People are spending so much money [on Westernfertility treatments] that [acupuncture] is a drop in thebucket and it has such good results,” Simmons said.

Acupuncture treatments on average cost $75 to $85per 55-minute session.

Many of Simmons’ patients have had success in con-ceiving while undergoing acupuncture, including fivewomen who were recently in her Monday supportgroup, whom she said are all pregnant now. Three ofthe group members were receiving Western fertilitytreatments; two weren’t.

While Simmons claims glowing results on her pa-tients who receive acupuncture, it’s important to notethat there is no conclusive medical-based evidencethat acupuncture works.

As a scientist, Dr. Chung, and doctors like him, areunable to assume success based on anecdotal storiesand results. However, Dr. Chung did point to a Germanstudy published in the April 2002 issue of Fertility andSterility, which revealed through a random controlled

study that patients who were receiving IVF andacupuncture had a higher chance of success in con-ceiving versus those receiving only IVF.

But acupuncture is just one of many alternative fer-tility treatments women are now seeking. The OliveLeaf Wholeness Center on 145 East 23rd Street now of-fers a natural fertility program which uses holistichealth approaches to help women become pregnant.Olive Leaf, which is operated by Claire Altman, servesas an integrated health service center complete with

doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists and reflexolo-gists. The fertility program is led by Vera Krijn, a re-flexologist, who said she has helped 30 women to datein becoming pregnant.

The $1,000 package includes 10 reflexology treatmentswith Krijn, as well as nutritional and dietary advice.

“Reflexology helps with stress reduction, and stressaffects our reproductive system,” Krijn said. “The pro-gram is a holistic approach, so I include nutrition,such as vitamins, and advise not smoking or drinking.It is a multieffort approach.”

In Krijn’s initial consultation, she rules out any un-derlying factors to infertility, such as genetic oranatomic disorders. She recommends her patientsseek out Western means if they haven’t already doneso. Of her fertility client base, about 60 percent visither in addition to receiving Western fertility practices.

The trend for alternative fertility treatments alsomay expand into chiropractic care as small, independ-ent studies reveal that its practice can often promoteimprovements in fertility function, too. MadelineBehrendt, a chiropractor with a practice in Boise,Idaho, wanted to document what changes occur inwomen’s health under chiropractic care. She startedwith infertility because she believes the subject hasbecome a part of our social culture. “You hear about iton every TV show nowadays,” Behrendt said, referringto subplots in “Friends” and “Sex and the City.”

The retrospective, two-year study revealed that in11 chiropractic practices, 14 out of 15 women who hada history of having difficulty getting pregnant had be-come pregnant after receiving chiropractic care.

Among the women were sufferers of endometriosis,blocked fallopian tubes or amenorrhea. The 15th pa-tient was 65 years old and hadn’t menstruated in 40years, but began spotting after chiropractic treatment,claimed Behrendt.

Behrendt said the one commonality in all thewomen was that they suffered from vertebral sublux-ations — an interference of the nervous system,which can disconnect body and brain. “The nervous

system runs everything in the body, and…when we re-ceive a stress that we cannot recover from, it can cre-ate interference.”

Last week Behrendt traveled to Washington armedwith an overview of her study to discuss receivingfunding for bigger and more comprehensive studies.The positive feedback she received in Washington isnow leading Behrendt to pursue federal funding,which, she explained, takes up to a year and a half foran application to process.

Despite the hurdles, she is hopeful the future willdeliver something bigger.

“Almost every chiropractor has seen [these kinds ofresults] but we had to document it. There’s never beena study on chiropractic care on women’s health,”Behrendt said.

Already, wellness centers using chiropractic care asthe centerpiece for their healing approach are addingalternative fertility treatments to their menu. SeaChange Healing Center in Chelsea recently added athree-month fertility program to their roster, custom de-signed for each couple, whether they are just beginningto try to conceive or are having problems conceiving.

“Wherever they are in their journey, we canhelp,” said Deborah Musso, a chiropractor whofounded the center.

The program can employ acupuncture, massageand nutritional health, depending on the couple, butall will utilize network spinal care, an offshoot of chi-ropractic care, which Musso describes as an advancedhealing modality, one that, with low-force touches tothe spine, assists the brain in developing new strate-gies to eliminate and adapt to daily stresses.

About 85 percent of Musso’s fertility clients haveturned to her after Western therapies failed. In termsof chiropractic care for fertility, her success rate isnearly 100 percent, she claims, with patients seekingout acupuncture 90 percent successful and those seek-ing solely naturopath healing at Sea Change 85 per-cent successful. She added that, if something patholog-ical was detected, she certainly would stress that a pa-tient see a physician.

Musso said the trend toward nonmedical fertilitytreatments in wellness centers is consistent with othernatural therapies that have emerged over the years.She cited Sea Changes’ acupuncture facial, designedas an alternative to Botox, and the anticellulite treat-ment, as an alternative to liposuction. Musso said herfertility program can be explored with or without fer-tility drugs and hormones, which she describes assometimes unsuccessful and dangerous.

“If that’s what 6 million women are being told to do,my job is to provide an alternative.”

But at least one health and wellness director, who isalso a medical doctor, is skeptical. “I’m sure the wholeidea of reducing stress helps the concept work, but Idon’t know that there has been any random samplestudies [to prove efficacy],” said Dr. Steve Salvatore,director of the recently opened Juva Health &Wellness Center on 60 East 56th Street. Juva offersacupuncture, reflexology and dietary advice, but notunder the “fertility” umbrella.

“The packaging of services, which sounds like mar-keting, makes sense, but we don’t do that. I am verycautious because I don’t want to sell it, as somethingmay fail. I think if we package it we are saying thisworks,” said Dr. Salvatore.

When told of the successes many alternative ap-proaches are delivering, Dr. Chung said these storiesare why further study is appropriate.

“One should be reminded that acupuncture hasbeen around for many years, there is certainly a rolefor it. A very neutral way to make a conclusion is thatthe role of acupuncture has not yet been defined, how-ever, there are biological rationale that may workwhile also consulting with a well-qualified physician.”

The HBA Report

Spas Are Fertile Ground for Options

WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 20048

DeborahMusso

performsnetwork

spinal careon a

patient.

president of strategic planning and marketing for Perricone, the location will even be designedlike a library with four islands and four consultation rooms staffed by nutritionists or physiolo-gists. Perricone’s books will be on sale and TV monitors will be playing the latest PBS lecture.Selected nutritional foodstuffs also will be sold, along with all of the cosmeceuticals. The heartof the operation will be in-depth, one-hour consultations, which the company values at $500each. Included will be an ultraviolet examination of an individual’s skin structure.

Krempel added there will be a beauty concierge service and a VIP entrance in the rear. Alsounder consideration are ideas to expand the personal consultation service into clients’ homesand offices, with corporate programs.

Perricone also markets a professional line, with a higher potency of his over-the-counter reg-

imens, for dermatologists, and a sensitive-skin collection will be relaunched next year. An in-novative new sunblock will be introduced in February. The sales effort has been joined byLynda Berkowitz, a former Bobbi Brown executive who is now vice president of sales retail andprofessional products at Perricone.

All of this has helped Perricone build a business some industry sources estimate as havingreached $52 million in sales last year. He is said to have achieved a 16 percent increase thisyear, bringing his projected revenue total for 2004 to more than $60 million.

No one at Perricone would comment on the estimates, including another projection thatshowed the Madison Avenue store having to generate at least $1 million a year just to break even.

The company also is working on its overseas distribution. Perricone has had distribution inthe U.K. and Australia, but in September, the company will begin selling its products inFrance. Perricone has moved into Italy through Sephora, and planning is under way to debut inJapan. Perricone also intends to make a move in the travel retail market through DFS and theBritish-based BAA.

Perricone to Open Store on Madison AvenueContinued from page 5

9WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2004

NEW YORK — Fred Gompertz,better known in the fur district as“Mr. Fred,” died April 29 at theage of 80 at the Cabrini MedicalCenter’s Hospice Center here.

The cause of death was blad-der cancer, according to his son,Jeffrey.

Gompertz has cheated deathtwice, once as a teenager in NaziGermany and then again on Sept.11, 2001, after being stranded inhis Battery Park apartment.

In November 1938, after Nazitroops arrested Gompertz’s fa-ther, Leo, and brother Albert, thethen 14-year-old Gompertz hid inthe family’s home above its furshop in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.When his mother returned thefollowing day, he and some fami-ly members escaped through theDutch underground, and eventu-ally emigrated here to Washing-ton Heights in 1939.

After graduating from theFashion Institute of Technology,Gompertz and his father, whohad managed to join the familyafter being incarcerated for sixmonths, started sewing and re-pairing furs from their CabriniBoulevard apartment. In 1944,they founded LF Gompertz, a furbusiness.

But it wasn’t until the Sixtiesand early Seventies that theyounger Gompertz made hismark in the fur business by de-signing affordable, casual pieces,including some in psychedelicpatterns. With a client base as di-verse as Twiggy, Veruschka, Laur-en Bacall, Johnny Carson, SteinErickson, Jean Claude Killy andTricia Nixon, Gompertz built ahealthy following through hiscelebrity clientele. “When I was13, I drove with my father toGarrison, N.Y., because BarbraStreisand was filming “HelloDolly,’” said his son Ronald. “Shewanted a personal fitting, and Iacted as his assistant. Stuff likethat happened all the time.”

Gompertz also introduced ageneration of lesser-knownwomen to fur, said Dennis Basso“He was the father of creatingfur for the working girl. He madeit inexpensive and affordable.”Gompertz was widely known forhis “fun furs,” helping repositionthe category as groovy instead ofmatronly, his son Ronald said.

Instead of using pricy skins, heopted for affordable alternativeslike rabbit, fox and lamb, oftendyeing them bright colors.

A proponent of public rela-tions and marketing, Gompertzwas a member of the AmericanFur Industry, the group that pre-ceded the Fur Information Coun-cil of America. In his heyday from1960 to 1971, despite the buzzabout Mr. Fred’s “hundreds” ofcelebrity customers, and conceptshops at Lord & Taylor, BergdorfGoodman and I. Magnin, the com-pany’s business only tallied$300,000 annually in its prime inthe late Sixties, Ronald Gompertzsaid.

While running his fur business,Gompertz worked as a consultantfor Malden Mills in 1969 and 1970.Reached in his office Thursday,Aaron Feuerstein, chief executiveofficer of Malden Mills, said, “Hewas a fine man. He helped uswhen we were getting into the im-itation fur business.”

In 1971, LF Gompertz closed,after maxilength coats floppedand glutted stores’ inventory. Thefurrier spent the early Seventiesdesigning Mr. Fred fur coats forother labels, such as Mr. Fred forBen Thylon. In 1975, he took a jobwith Hutchinson International asdirector of its leather and fur di-vision and moved to Hong Kong.Returning to the U.S. in the earlyEighties, Gompertz opened astore on West 30th Street for furstorage and fur repair. Hestopped working after beingtrapped in his apartment formore than 30 hours following theSept. 11 attacks.

In addition to his sons Ronaldand Jeffrey, Gompertz is survivedby a brother, Albert.

— Rosemary Feitelberg

Famed N.Y. Furrier‘Mr. Fred’ Gompertz

NEW YORK — After a long absence, Elie Tahari is returning to the retailscene here. The designer has leased a 3,200-square-foot space at 417West Broadway between Prince and Spring Streets in a building thathoused the Mary Boone Gallery in the Eighties.

Tahari hasn’t operated a store in New York since his Madison Avenueboutique closed in the mid-Nineties.

The SoHo store, set to open this summer, is part of a larger retail expan-sion for the Elie Tahari Co., which now operates a scant five units in the U.S.

“This is a serious retail expansion,” said Rory Tahari, the company’screative director and wife of the designer. “We’re hiring a retail team.”

Although the strategy is still being formulated, there are plans to opena store in Chicago next month. The strategy includes opening both streetlocations and mall units.

Rory Tahari, who designs T-21, a line of urban sportswear made of in-novative fabrics such as double-faced jersey, said her collection also willhave stores of its own. The first will likely open in East Hampton, she said.

To fill the new stores, the company is developing categories such as acces-sories, handbags, shoes, outerwear, innerwear, swimwear and home products.

“This is really an important time for Elie,” his wife said. “Elie’s been inbusiness long enough to move to the next level.”

— Sharon Edelson

Tahari Sets Up Shop in SoHo

Continued from page 2on the selling block, which hasbeen repeatedly denied byPinault-Printemps-Redoute,which controls Gucci Group.Meanwhile, some luxury analystsare calling for drastic action tostem the flow of red ink. Bouch-eron’s losses are believed to haveswelled to about $30 million lastyear, as reported. Market sourcespeg Boucheron’s 2003 volume forjewelry and watches at around$40 million with perfumes gener-ating another $60 million.

On Thursday, Bedos dismissedthe disposal talk as “just rumors.”

Despite Boucheron’s troubles,

Azagury-Partridge had no regretsabout her tenure during a time ofexplosive interest and intensecompetition in branded jewelry.

“I feel like I’ve been to theuniversity of jewelry,” she said.“It was a very grown-up experi-ence, and it’s been a major edu-cation for me about fine jewelryand how big business works.”

Azagury-Partridge — who ar-rived at Boucheron around thesame time as Jade Jagger atGarrard and Reema Pachachi atDe Beers LV — helped establishher brand’s “haute” positioningwith a debut collection drippingwith emeralds, rubies, diamonds

and sapphires — at prices thatran into the millions.

In subsequent collections,she drew inspiration from Euro-pean history to create such ex-travagant designs as Ivy tiaras,rings with secret compartmentsand knitted gold mesh cuffs scat-tered with diamonds. But therewere accessibly priced pieces,too, including rings resemblingnibbled or melting chocolates.She also launched lines ofwatches and sunglasses, incor-porating symbols of the house,like the snake, which also ap-pears on the fragrance, Trouble,that bowed last month.

Azagury-Partridge Exits Boucheron

By Georgia Lee

ATLANTA — Retailers came tothe fall AmericasMart show in amore generous mood after sev-eral seasons of cautious buying.

Buyers said they were liftedby an infusion of color thatsparked spring buying and hasplanted a seed for fall. Atten-dance at the women’s and chil-dren’s apparel and accessoriesshow last month was up 19 per-cent compared with the previousyear, AmericasMart executivevice president Lawton Hall said.

Entertainment, including afree concert by Tony Bennett onthe second night in the mart’satrium, helped boost buyer atten-dance, Hall said. He estimated2,000 people came to the show,and said the mart will stage big-name entertainment events atleast two times a year.

Premiere, the twice-a-year ju-ried show, included Dana Buch-man and Perry Ellis, both newlines to the mart that also helpedattract buyers, Hall said. Thenumber of out-of-territory retail-ers increased 33 percent over lastyear, he said.

Mark Garland, principal of abetter-to-bridge sportswearshowroom under his name,picked up 35 new accounts, large-ly responsible for a 30 percent in-crease in sales compared withlast April, he said.

“Retailers have bought cau-tiously for so long and now thatspring-summer goods are retail-ing, they’re buying more for fall,”Garland said.

Buyers said after a long win-ter, March and April businesshad improved. Color was cited asthe driving force, along with fem-inine styling, texture and details,such as buttons, ribbons andhardware. Buyers bought colorfor fall in deeper, still vibrant,colors.

Tweed and textured suitshave performed well and shouldbe strong fall categories, buyerssaid. Jackets sold well, pairedwith dressy or casual bottoms orjeans. Skirts, another springbestseller, were picked up forfall with asymmetrical hems,wraps, pleats and embellish-ment that included hardwareand embroidery.

Retailers reported slightly in-creased budgets after years ofcost-cutting and conservativebuying.

Bonnie White, owner of aneponymous better-to-bridge spe-cialty store here, shopped with a

budget up 10 percent over 2003.Along with color, novelty topshave lifted sales, White said. Shebought at least six tops to everyone bottom, light-weight cash-mere blends and silk from OneGirl Who and Joseph A., and or-dered jackets in colorful tweedand suede fabrics from VotreNom, Elliott Lauren and EmilRutenberg.

White chose novelty skirts inall lengths for fall, based onstrong spring sales, from Forwearand other resources. In pants,she concentrated on styles made

in luxury Italian fabrics at AllenWaller and jeans with new wash-es and treatments by Beau Daw-son and Cambio.

While spring business is up,White said shopping is no longerthe primary source of entertain-ment for her customers. She saidsaid she “thinks out of the box,”with parties and events to lurecustomers.

Retailer Ben Belton, owner ofLibba’s, with four stores in NorthCarolina, said his customer baseis changing.

“There’s the customer we

grew up with and then there’sher daughter, and we’re trying toappeal to both,” he said.

Belton bought embellishedsweaters, hoodies and tweedjackets to pair with skirts orjeans. For his contemporary cus-tomers, Belton bought BCBG andjeans that offer an innovative fitor a higher rise by lines such asSeven and James.

In North Carolina, textile, fur-niture and technology firms haveclosed, resulting in high unem-ployment that hurt business,Belton said.

The economy in South Floridahas been more buoyant, saidKerri and Andrew Kovler, ownersof Teen Angel, with four stores, inDelray Beach, Fort Lauderdale,Pinecrest and Miami.

“Downturns in the stock mar-ket may cause people to buy less,but we carry lots of formalwear,and people will spend for specialoccasions,” Kerri said.

For teens, they chose specialoccasion, including jewel-tonegowns in off-the-shoulder silhou-ettes from Nicole Miller andJessica McClintock.

Buoyant Buying at Atlanta Market

On the runway in Atlanta, looks from Poleci and Meritage.

Obituary

Fred Gompertz (far right) with FITstudents in 1970.

WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 200410

Media/Advertising

SIGN LANGUAGE: American Media chiefDavid Pecker isn’t above jabbing a 195-foot-long finger in his competitors’ eyes. ComeJune 1, his company will take over a giantbillboard that runs along the eastern side ofBroadway between 51st and 52nd Streets.The space will be used to advertise AMItitles, which include Star magazine, theNational Enquirer, Shape and Men’sFitness. The billboard happens to be locatedcatty-corner from Hachette FilipacchiMedia, where Pecker was chief executivefrom 1992 to 1999. It’s also only a crosstown block away from WennerMedia, from whence Pecker plucked his editorial director, Bonnie Fuller, lastsummer, in preparation for taking Star head-to-head against Wenner’s UsWeekly, which Fuller had been editing. Until June 1, the lease on thebillboard belongs to Hachette — it was Pecker who made that deal, as well.“The minute we knew it was going to be available again, we wanted to get itback,” said Kevin Hyson, AMI’s chief marketing officer. “David always didlike Broadway,” said Hachette chief executive officer Jack Kliger. “It’s goodto have him back in the neighborhood.” — Jeff Bercovici

RAMP JUMPS THE SHARK: Ramp, the men’s magazine that started out as aMaxim clone before veering into GQ territory, is no more. Owner UniversalMedia quietly pulled the plug in March, 18 months after Ramp’s launch.Universal vice chairman Geoffrey Lurie said the 250,000-circulation titlewas unsuccessful at competing for ad pages with bigger players such asMaxim and FHM. “I guess the circulation of those magazines was morecompelling than the desire to appeal to a more mature audience,” he said.Richard Amann, who joined Ramp in February 2003 as president andpublisher, said Universal chairman Carl Ruderman “wasn’t willing to dolong-term what it took to be competitive in the men’s category.” Amannsaid he already is working on a new men’s magazine that will launch in thefall and go bimonthly in January. The magazine, which he described as“Euro-styled,” will be based in Miami and backed by a private investor whohe declines to name. “The concept is very clear in my head. It’sunoccupied space in the men’s market.” — J.B.

MEDIA MATCH: Chill some champagne: Meta-media power couple Jon Fineand Laurel Touby are engaged. Fine covers magazine publishing forAdvertising Age; Touby is the founder of Mediabistro.com, a journalismnews and career-advice Web site. The pair have been together since theymet at, yes, the annual Magazine Publishers of America convention inOctober 2002. “She thought I was the kind of sleazy guy who goes aroundhitting on girls at conventions,” recalled Fine. Touby said she was struck byFine’s stylish attire. “One of the things that attracted me to him was thathe looked like a gay man,” she said. On a recent Saturday evening, the twowent for a lavish meal at Daniel, ostensibly to celebrate Touby’s birthday.Full of food and wine, Touby fell asleep in the cab afterward, forcing Fineto delay his proposal until the following morning. The two have yet to set adate, but Touby is already pondering how she can put her event-planningexpertise to use. “If I could get a sponsor for our drinks, I might do that,”she mused. Fine thinks he can be of help as well. “I used to freelance atMartha Stewart Weddings,” he said. “Theoretically I should have retainedsomething.” — J.B.

NEW YORK — Four activistsaged 30 and under were honoredhere Wednesday night at the an-nual Reebok Human RightsAward ceremony. They spoke oftheir causes and challenges thatincluded imprisonment, deaththreats and harassment.

The award winners wereYinka Jegede-Ekpe, 25, an AIDSactivist from Nigeria; AhmadNader Nadery, 28, of Afghanistan,a member of the AfghanIndependent Human RightsCommission; Vanita Gupta, 29, anAmerican lawyer with theNAACP, and Joênia Batista deCarvalho/Wapixana, 30, of Brazil,who was that country’s first fe-male indigenous lawyer and whonow fights for her people’s rightsto their ancestral lands.

“I am accepting this award onbehalf of millions of Afghans wholost their lives and have sufferedduring the last three decadesunder the Taliban,” Nadery said.“Afghan women have been treat-ed as subhuman and it’s time wereach out to those deprived ofbasic human rights.”

There was some star wattageat the ceremony at LincolnCenter’s Alice Tully Hall. Amongthe presenters were JessicaLange, Gloria Reuben and LucyLiu, as well as Caroline Kennedyand Vernon Jordan. The eventfeatured video tributes abouthuman rights, and musical performances by singerNellie McKay and Jabali Africa.

“Our goal is to use the awards as an instrumentto make change,” Paul Fireman, Reebok’s chair-man and chief executive officer, told WWD. “Welike to encourage young people to get involved andalso show kids that they can make a difference.”

Reebok started the program in 1988, and haspresented awards to 76 people in 35 counties. Thepresenters each receive a grant of $50,000 to fur-ther their human rights work. The ceremony takesplace in a different city each year, and is sched-uled for London in 2005.

— Melanie Kletter

NEW YORK — Acoustically, Grand Central Terminal isa strain on even the best hearing, but Monday’sCitymeals-on-Wheels event there honoring three fash-ion types was a lesson in action, not words.

Jane Elfers, president and chief executive officer ofLord & Taylor, and Felicia Milewicz, beauty director ofGlamour magazine, were honored at Metrazur for theirsupport of the group that provides meals to home-bound New Yorkers. Ruth Finley, founder and publish-er of the Fashion Calendar, also was toasted for her 20years of service to the charity.

Many of the 17,000 meals that are served annually goto former garment workers, said Marcia Stein, execu-tive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels, after the presen-tation. “The people we’re feeding today helped buildthe apparel industry in the Twenties and Thirties.There was no Thailand [production] then. They’re thepeople who sat at those sewing machines. They’re veryold, terrific and proud of what they’ve done.”

Finley showed some pride, occasionally kicking a legout from her Chado Ralph Rucci skirt to show off her dec-orative Wolford legwear. Joe Green, one of her three sonsat the festivities, said, “When we were kids, she’d be mak-ing eggs for us in the morning and talking to Calvin Kleinon the phone. We had no idea how important she is.”

A regular Citymeals-on-Wheels volunteer, the rangyMilewicz, described climbing stairs in four-floor walk-ups and wondering how elderly inhabitants managed.Quoting an unknown writer, she said, “You have not

lived a perfect day even though you earned yourmoney unless you have done something for someoneelse who will never be able to repay you.”

Marylou Luther, Stan Herman, Lavelle Olexa andJohn Pomerantz were in the crowd. Milewicz’s col-leagues also showed up, including Glamour editor inchief Cindi Leive, publisher Bill Wackerman and hispredecessor, Suzanne Grimes.

The bash centered on giving, as in the charitable kind,but several guests gave Elfers kudos for spiffing up Lord &Taylor. Cleaning up pins from fitting room floors, rearrang-ing display racks and having someone to greet shoppersand stash their umbrellas are among Elfers’ efforts to up-

grade the Fifth Avenue flagship, they said over cocktails. Mark Mendelson, group president of Jones New

York, said, “She is a working woman with a husbandand a kid. She definitely understands what the cus-tomer goes through to shop.”

Accessories maven Elaine Gold said, “What they havedone with that store has made me as a vendor proud.”

At the end of the night, even Elfers admitted therehad been a lot of conversation about her store. “A num-ber of people said to me tonight, ‘You have me as a cus-tomer.’ In this crowd, that’s a great compliment.”

When Elfers admired food critic and Citymeals-on-Wheels founder Gael Greene’s earrings, brooch and ToniTennille-type hat, Finley — ever the ringleader — pipedup, “Maybe you should sell the earrings in your store.”

— Rosemary Feitelberg

Reebok’s Human Rights Stars

Felicia Milewicz, Ruth Finley and Jane Elfers.

Citymeals-on-Wheels Toasts Doers, Not Talkers

Award winners Joênia Batista de Carvalho/Wapixana, Ahmad Nader Nadery and

Yinka Jegede-Ekpe. Vanita Gupta is not pictured.

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“Our goal is touse the awards asan instrument tomake change.”

— Paul Fireman, Reebok

“You have not lived a perfectday even though you earnedyour money unless you havedone something for someoneelse who will never be able torepay you.”— Felicia Milewicz, Glamour

MEMO PAD

Paul Fireman with Lucy Liu, Jessica Lange and Gloria Reuben at the Reebok

Human Rights Award ceremony.

12

CRASHING THE PARTY: Friends ofJaqui Lividini held a cocktail party forthe Saks Fifth Avenue senior vicepresident of fashion merchandisingon Thursday night to celebrate her“imminent new arrival.” There wasone major no-show, though —Lividini, whose imminent arrival had,in fact, arrived the night before.Calliope Diane Speredakos weighed 7pounds, 10 ounces. “I don’t knowwhether it was the blackout or the fullmoon, but there were beds lining upwaiting to get into the birthing room”of New York Presbyterian Hospital,Lividini said by telephone. Her theoryon the baby’s quick arrival? “I’d worn5-inch heels throughout thepregnancy but last night was the firstnight I wore flats and that’s what didit.” The party went on, though,headed by Lividini’s longtime partnerJohn Speredakos, who proudly showedoff digital photos of his new daughter.Speredakos was there at her birth buthad to leave at 9 a.m. Thursday tohead off to his recurring acting roleon, of all things, “All My Children.”

TEXTBOOK CASE: Whether he’sdesigning a collection or doing aphoto shoot, it’s all as easy as A-B-Cfor Karl Lagerfeld. To wit: Themultitasking designer is the subjectof a new children’s book in Franceaimed at giving youngsters aninsider’s view of how fashion ismade. The 32-page book byEditions du Regard shows thedesigner preparing his spring 2004Lagerfeld Gallery collection — with

four youngsters in tow: at his elbowsketching dresses through to theprinting of silk and the fashion showat the Carrousel de Louvre. Butfashion is hardly child’s play. Thebook is recommended for those agesnine and older.

NAOMI’S VICTORY: Naomi Campbellhas won her long-running court battleagainst the Daily Mirror. On Thursday,the House of Lords, England’shighest court, ruled the Londontabloid invaded Campbell’s privacy bypublishing photos of her attendingNarcotics Anonymous in February2001. Campbell was initiallyawarded $5,250 in damages inMarch 2002, but that October theCourt of Appeal overturned the rulingin favor of the Mirror, and orderedCampbell to pay $1.1 million in legalfees. That’s when the supermodeltook her case to the House of Lords.On Thursday, three out of five lawlords ruled in her favor, with onedescribing the Mirror’s article as “agross interference” in her private life.“This has been a huge strain and nowI can get on with my life,” Campbellsaid in a statement Thursday.

Piers Morgan, editor of the DailyMirror, hit back at Campbell. “This isa very good day for lying, drugabusing prima donnas, who want tohave their cake with the media, andthen the right to guzzle it shamelesslywith their Cristal champagne,” hesaid in a statement. The paper willhave to pay more than $1.7 millionin legal fees, according to the ruling.

PRECIOUS STONE: Sharon Stone isadding a touch of Hollywoodglamour to the new ad campaign forSalvini, the younger line fromDamiani, the high-end Italianjewelry company. The printcampaign breaks in mid-May andruns for two years in Italy andSpain. The actress wasphotographed by Michel Comte inLos Angeles, swathed in white andyellow gold and diamond hearts,crosses and charm bracelets. In oneshot, Stone dons a four-strandSouth Sea pearl choker dresseddown with a white denim jacket.The campaign will run in suchmagazines as Grazia, Gioia, D dellaRepubblica, Vanity Fair andPanorama. There was no word onwhich one she might keep.

SURE SIGNS SUMMER IS COMING: It’sbecoming a rite of spring for thefashion set to cram as many partiesas possible onto the calendar priorto Memorial Day, when guests tendto flee the major cities of fashion forgreener, or grainier, pastures.Narciso Rodriguez and architectDeborah Berke will host a discussionon minimalist aesthetics incontemporary design andarchitecture at the TischmanAuditorium at 66 East 12th Streetin New York on Tuesday as part of aseries of programs related to theCooper Hewitt National DesignAwards. That’s a busy night for MarcJacobs, too, as the designer ishosting back-to-back screenings of“The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant”at Soho House with Sally Singer, thesecond in the Grand Classics FilmsWith Style series organized byIndyssey Entertainment.

Fashion ScoopsNEW YORK — Recognizing thatthe pressure on New York’semerging band of design talentsis enormous, crystal mavenNadja Swarovski invited severalof them to a leisurely lunch atLe Bernardin on Thursday inhonor of their nominations forSwarovski’s Perry Ellis Awards.

“I have to admit, life has got-ten a little bit overwhelming,”said Derek Lam, who is nomi-nated for his ready-to-wear,along with Zac Posen andPatrick Robinson, the currentwomen’s designer for PerryEllis. “I feel like I’ve been doingall my work from 9 p.m. until 3in the morning, because that’sall the time I have. I was justasking when I could find time totake a vacation.”

Carolina Herrera, ReedKrakoff, Michael Kors andProenza Schouler designersJack McCollough and LazaroHernandez also turned up totoast the nominees, includingaccessories designers Anthony

Camargo and David NakardArmstrong for Anthony Nak, andEugenia Kim.

“Since I’m the oldest youngdesigner in New York, it’s theleast I can do to come out andsupport these kids,” Kors said.“The crazy thing is that I’m notthat much older than the kids.”

Swarovski said she was host-ing the event prior to theCouncil of Fashion Designers ofAmerica Fashion Awards onJune 7 because she will not beable to attend the actual cere-mony, underwritten by Swar-ovski, as she is pregnant andher due date is around thattime. Peter Arnold, executivedirector of the CFDA, presentedher with a baby-sized sweatshirtwith the F of CFDA embroi-dered in crystals, and confessedthat he, too, is expecting —Arnold and his partner, TimBraun, are having twinsthrough a surrogate, with a duedate in September.

— Eric Wilson

Swarovski Fetes Nominees

NEW YORK — When Patty Griffin’s parents re-ceived the “Man From La Mancha” original castsoundtrack from Patty’s older sister, little did theyknow that, decades later, they’d be featuredsinging a song from the record, “ImpossibleDream,” on their daughter’s fourth studio-re-leased album.

“They loved it,” Griffin says in a call from herhome in Austin, Tex. “So I would hear themsinging different songs from it, growing up, and Iknew that record was important to them.”

The song perfectly embodies the more personalflavor of Griffin’s latest album — appropriatelynamed after the track — as well as the politicalone. The singer-songwriter suggests the charactersin the musical and the people living in the Sixtieswere virtually searching for the same thing.

“There were all kinds of people trying to for-mulate a different future at that time,” she says,“and there’s a lot on [the soundtrack] about tryingto create a different reality.

“I think that’s how a lot of people who have nocontrol over the politics of the world feel rightnow, like a helpless, discouraged feel-ing that kind of creeps up on you, asit certainly did with me.”

Her political concerns joinsongs of home and family,friends and love on “ImpossibleDream,” released last monthand certainly Griffin’s most per-sonal album to date. “This one isreally more about me and my per-sonal confusions,” she admits.Griffin will be promoting the album atTown Hall here tonight and Saturday night.

But, having turned 40 in March, the Maine na-tive is revealing her full colors, both in her musicand in her style. On stage, rather than slickingherself up in the sex-soaked fashions so populartoday, she often sticks to more classic looks of theTwenties and Thirties.

“People have told me for years that I look likean old movie actress, so I never really fit into thissort of modern look. I don’t look good in little lacy,hot pink things,” she laughs.

Griffin turns to Austin-based designer Jyl

Kutche for many of her stage frocks, and toBoudoir Queen, an Austin boutique, for some

of her “old, antique” accessories. “I try to use alot of local people,” she says. “You can really get

some unique stuff and you can work one-on-onewith them.”

This route also allows her to get the customhandiwork she prefers. “I really like simplicity,and with older clothes, there’s just a lot more care[taken] in general,” she explains. “An average per-son [at that time] would have a dress that was re-ally meticulously well made because they wereonly going to have three of them.

“I love the fact that somebody’s hands havemade an item of clothing,” she continues. “There’ssome soul in that.”

— Lisa Kelly

Patty Griffin’s Quest Continues

&People

Arts

Derek

Lam and

Zac Posen

Derek

Lam and

Zac Posen

Patrick Robinson and

Anthony Camargo

Patrick Robinson and

Anthony Camargo

PHOT

OSBY

DAVI

DTU

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WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2004

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at high-end department stores and specialty retailers.For example, the Neiman Marcus Group continued its

run with a 14 percent gain while Nordstrom posted a 10percent increase. Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises report-ed a 4.3 percent gain, which was lower than March dueto a shift in the retailer’s marketing activity.

Consumer spending on apparel and fashion footwearjumped 7.3 percent to $326.9 billion in the first quarter ofthis year from $304.8 billion in the same period last year,according to the latest quarterly data from the Bureau ofEconomic Analysis, an agency of the U.S. Departmentof Commerce. Expenditures on the segment were up11.6 percent compared with the first quarter of 2000.

While pent-up demand may help explain part ofthat increase, Richard Hastings, a credit economistwith Bernard Sands, said it has more to do with thestrength of the affluent consumer. “In this econo-my there’s a class of consumer now immune toinflation associated with higher grocery pricesor higher gas prices,” said Hastings.

In keeping with trends, the high-end de-partment store channel blazed its owntrail during April, with most bestingcomp estimates for the month.Misfires from key moderate de-partment store players, MayDepartment Stores andKohl’s in particular,weighed down the channel.

Cool spring weather inthe Northeast, rising gasprices and anticipation of arise in interest rates hadan impact on overall re-sults. The Goldman SachsRetail Comparable-Store Sales indexshowed a 3.9 percent gain in April,compared with a 6.8 percent gain reported in March.

Still, of the 50 retailers tracked by WWD, 36 postedhigher numbers. The specialty store segment took thelead, posting an average comp increase of 4.8 percentfor the month, compared with a boost of 6.2 percent re-ported in March. Mass merchants recorded an averagegain of 3.9 percent, down from an 8.2 percent gain in theprevious month. Buoyed by its high-end cohorts, the de-partment store channel posted a 1.7 percent gain, downfrom 8 percent.

“Results were erratic,” Smith Barney analystDeborah Weinswig said in a research report. “In ourview, a strong product offering was a key differentiator

this month with respect to sales performance. Morespecifically, retailers with differentiated merchandise(e.g., Federated, J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus) out-performed those with weaker apparel statements.”

Kurt Barnard, consultant and founder of Barnard’sRetail Trends report, echoed this sentiment. “Color isback very much in the forefront,” said Barnard.“Fashions that catch the eye are really important; thingsthat are a little unusual, a little out of the ordinary.”

The earlier Easter holiday, something most retail-ers and analysts believed would negatively impact re-sults, also seemed to have little effect on the high-endretailer. According to the Nordstrom sales call, theearlier Easter holiday season “had no material im-pact.” Sales accelerated during the last two weeks ofthe month and full-priced selling remained strong,

the retailer said.Retailers in the specialty store channel contin-

ued to draw customers with colorful spring mer-chandise as well as new summer offerings.

Aeropostale’s 18.9 percent comp increase wasdriven by women’s polos, women’s capris, bags,

swimwear and flip-flops, according to the com-pany’s sales call. Men’s wear led the way

with gains in the low 20s while women’sincreased in the mid-teens.

It was a similar story forPacific Sun, with men’s T-shirts and denim pants as theleading categories. Sneakers

and sandal sales were up morethan 20 percent.

As comps were released onThursday, Wall Street wasn’tthinking about sneakers or

sandals or same-store sales. TheStreet was speculating on rising in-terest rates and its impact on retail

share prices. SG Cowen equity analyst Lauren CooksLevitan offered an optimistic take in her research note.

“While it appears that rising interest rate fears arelikely to continue to pressure [specialty retailers], webelieve some valuation levels for high-quality retailershave retreated to a point where we are willing to lookpast potential interest rate pressure,” Levitan wrote.“Further, we note that we do not think increased inter-est rates will have a significant impact on demand forretailer's product — given a rise in interest rates wouldcorrespond with sustained improvements in the econo-my and improved consumer confidence.”

Barnard agreed. As affluent consumers drive sales of

luxury goods, he said specialty stores are gainingground because of the improving economic outlook.“Consumer spending and retailing are a function of onefour-letter word: jobs,” said Barnard. Jobs, more thaninterest rates or gasoline prices, have a greater impacton sales behavior, he said.

And he sees no reason for trends among high-end re-tailers to curb anytime soon. “This is part of a longercyclical wave of buying,” said Hastings, who believes afashion boom began in late 2002. “By late 2002 there wasa move toward a more contemporary appearance,” saidHastings. At that time, he said, new fashions and newstyles with unique colors came to the fore. This had aripple affect, extending into other areas where the high-end retailers reigned.

“The social mood embraced a much prettier look,which fueled high demand for footwear, accessories andcosmetics,” said Hastings.

— With contributions from Dan Burrows

WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 200414

APRIL SAME-STORE SALES

FIGURES REPRESENT PERCENT CHANGE OF YEAR-OVER-YEAR SAME-STORE SALES. SOURCE: COMPANY REPORTS. PARENTHESES INDICATE DECLINES.

April March February January 2004 2004 2004 2004

Cooling Down Goldman Sachs Comp-Sales Index

SOURCE: GOLDMAN SACHS. FIGURES REPRESENT ACTUAL PERCENTAGES

DEPARTMENT STORESBon-Ton (4.2) (1.7) 0.4 (5.0)Dillard’s 1.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 Federated 5.4 6.8 9.0 5.5 Gottschalks (0.8) 11.2 2.3 8.6 Kohl’s (4.6) (0.9) 6.6 0.3 Marshall Field’s 0.6 9.9 6.5 4.3 May Co. (8.1) 10.1 2.6 5.3 Mervyn’s (6.6) 0.8 1.4 (3.5)Neiman Marcus 14.0 25.7 24.4 12.8 Nordstrom 10.0 15.9 8.8 8.7 J.C. Penney (dept. stores) 5.3 11.4 12.1 6.4 Saks Dept. Store Group 10.6 1.9 8.0 3.3 Saks Fifth Ave. Enterprises 4.3 20.6 25.2 10.9 Sears Roebuck (U.S. stores) (1.8) 0.1 1.1 4.6 Stage Stores 0.3 5.5 8.0 2.1 Average: 1.7 8.0 7.9 4.4

SPECIALTY CHAINSAbercrombie & Fitch 0.0 (1.0) 1.0 2.0 Aeropostale 19.3 14.2 26.4 17.7 American Eagle (U.S. stores) 8.3 7.6 15.2 0.6 Ann Taylor 9.6 12.0 15.3 3.7 Banana Republic 12.0 25.0 30.0 (1.0)Bebe 10.0 20.5 24.2 4.8 Buckle 8.6 14.2 10.8 0.5 Cache 8.0 12.0 18.0 10.0 Cato (2.0) (1.0) (2.0) (8.0)Charming Shoppes 4.0 4.0 8.0 (3.0)Chico’s FAS 16.0 18.9 28.0 19.5 Christopher & Banks (3.0) (7.0) (7.0) (15.0)Claire’s 9.0 10.0 15.0 10.0 Deb Shops 1.4 (5.2) 12.7 5.0 Dress Barn 6.0 9.0 5.0 5.0 Gap (U.S. stores) 3.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 Goody’s Family Clothing 1.8 0.3 14.4 (1.6)Guess 17.5 13.8 14.8 9.5 Hot Topic 0.7 3.9 7.6 4.7 Limited Brands 2.0 15.0 5.0 23.0 Mothers Work (0.4) (6.3) 7.8 2.0 Old Navy 3.0 11.0 16.0 3.0 Pacific Sunwear 11.4 12.4 14.1 12.4 Talbots 0.3 1.1 5.8 (11.8)United Retail (3.0) (4.0) 1.0 (5.0)Walgreen 10.3 12.6 11.8 9.1 Wet Seal (16.8) (21.1) (12.5) (21.4)Wilsons (3.5) (2.6) (0.8) (0.8)Average: 4.8 6.2 10.4 2.9

Mass MerchantsRetail Ventures (0.2) 4.1 10.5 (1.2)Ross Stores 2.0 7.0 0.0 4.0 ShopKo 4.3 5.2 2.0 3.2 Stein Mart 6.7 18.4 7.6 5.7 Target (discount stores) 6.2 7.8 8.0 5.1 TJX 5.0 9.0 10.0 2.0 Wal-Mart (discount stores) 3.6 5.6 6.0 5.3 Average: 3.9 8.2 6.3 3.4

Tally:Up 36 40 45 38Flat 1 0 1 0Down 13 10 4 12Total 50 50 50 50

High End, Specialty Carry Comps

LVMH’s Theda bag.

Continued from page one

15WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2004

Rediscover Well-Being.Discover Kneipp.

EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITY FORINDEPENDENT SALES REPRESENTATIONS

Following a complete makeover and new contemporaryproduct launches, Kneipp is focused on aggressively

expanding its distribution to top-tier department stores,bath and beauty specialty stores, spas and perfumeries.

Many territories available.

Send your inquiry by email to info@kneipp.comor by fax (201) 750-2070;

include your portfolio of brands, territory andtype of distribution you cover.

Visit our website: www.kneipp.com

JOIN OUR TEAM!Guinot Paris

Guinot Paris, a leader in the professio nalsalon industry has immediate

openings for the following positions inSouthern California:Educator/Trainer

We are seeking motivated individualswho will conduct educational eventsand activities that encompass theory,hands on products knowledge, andtechniques exclusively for the Guinotproduct line. Must be a licensedEsthetician and possess excellent pub-lic speaking skills with technical andteaching background.

Director of Sales and MarketingWill develop Guinot’s business ofprofessional products through beautysalons, cosmetology schools, chainaccounts and distributors. Will alsodevelop and implement strategy forachieving sales goals. Implement inno-vative techniques for acquiring newclients, maintaining customer loyaltyand generating referrals. Strategicallyplan and execute marketing calendarand promotions for the Guinot brand.BA degree preferred with minimum3-5 years experience in the cosmetic industry with proven track record.Both positions require up to 50%travel. We offer an attractive benefitpackage including 40l(k) match. Quali-fied candidates, please send resumewith salary history to:

hr@thibiant.com

Education ManagerPhilosophy, an expanding skincare brandin prestige retail, seeks a West CoastEducation Mgr. Candidate must residein So. or No. California. Responsibilitiesinclude, presentation seminars for retailaccounts, events, creative input, com-puter skills, and extensive travel. Candi-date must have min. 2 years exp. as aneducator. 5 years exp. in the skincare/beauty industry as an account executive,store management or buying categoryrequiredFax resume with salary require-ments to the corporate office at:

480-736-8009 EOE

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212-869-2699.

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60 East 42nd Street Suite 839New York, NY 10165

212-697-1282 / 800-221-4425www.resumesforfashion.com

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Apparel ProductionCoordinator

Leading childrenswear company seek-ing a highly motivated, detail-orientedindividual. The candidate should havea minimum of 3 year’s experience inthe apparel industry. The candidatewill oversee all aspects of productionapprovals to ensure on-time delivery.Will maintain and handle line plans,styles, fabric and trim tracking, andseasonal status reports. The candidatewill standardize and approve raw mate-rial development, daily communica-tion with vendors and be responsiblefor maintaining sample lines. Officeskills required include a workingknowledge of the AS400 & MicrosoftWord & Excel. Please e-mail your re-sume to holt@babytogs.com or fax to(212) 643-2826. No telephone callsplease. EOE

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@ www.apparelstaffing.comFax Resume To (212) 302-1161

Business Development Mgr.Leading Retail Services Co. seeks BDMto focus on establishing servicing oppor-tunities with apparel and non-apparelmfrs. in Dept. & Specialty Stores. Idealcandidate must have experience & under-standing of the women’s apparel industry.The ability to develop & execute a market-ing plan directed at a target audience iskey. Previous experience in the retailService sector a plus. E-mail all resumesto: resume.bdm@comcast.net

CAD DESIGNER/ARTISTWell est’d jr/contemporary sportswear co.seeks Cad Designer/Artist w/ 3-5 yrs exp.Heavy emphasis in knits & sweaters,branded & private label, moderate tobetter customer base. Must have knowl-edge of Photoshop, fashion illustrationw/ ability to create graphics for knits,recolorations & presentation boards.Freehand drawing & detailed flats req’d.Color matters a plus. Pls fax resume:

(212) 840-0500 Attn: Nelly

DESIGNER - BRASEstablished private label intimateapparel manufacturer is looking for adesigner with technical and creativeskills. Must have 5 years experience asa fashion bra designer. Candidate willmanage 4-6 people in a new designdept. Competitive salary and benefits.

Fax resumes to 212-481-3881or Call: 212-481-3550

MANAGEMENT

DIRECTOR OF SALESBlissWorld (the parent company ofBliss Spas, the BlissOut catalog, andthe Bliss product line) is looking for aDirector of Sales to lead its wholesale /professional division. Candidates shouldhave extensive experience in cosmeticretail, dept store distribution, P & Lmanagement, and forecasting, someexperience in marketing, and a goodsense of humor. For immediate consid-eration, e-mail your resume to:

blissplanner@blissworld.com

Merchandise Mgr. to $90K. Current exp. inmens knit shirts. Product devel. Line pre-sentations. Production/ buy plans.Sourcing. Call 973-564-9236 Jaral Agcy

Prod’n Asst./Shipping Coord.Min. 3 yrs. exp. to asst. w/ all aspects ofprod’n. Other indiv. to follow-up shippingdocs. Both position bilingual, English/Chinese needed. Fax: (212) 354-2226 or

Email: nikitainc@aol.com

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & DESIGN

BAGSWe are seeking a unique person withexperience, integrity and take chargepersonality, in the manufacturing processof cosmetic bags, backpacks, tote bags,etc. We sell to the low priced discounttrade, private label, fragrance and cos-metic industry. Must be aware of thefashion bag market trends, throughmagazines and shopping retail. Shouldhave a pulse on European trends aswell. Will work directly with China fac-tories to establish the most competitivepricing. You should be able to negotiatefor the best prices. Heavy e-mailing tofactories and speaking directly to facto-ries to get your ideas across. Must haveextensive knowledge of bag construction,different material selections and costdifferences, bag specifications, etc. Youshould know how to develop a productto fit a budget. Must be extremely organ-ized, detail oriented and have excellentcommunication and project managementskills. Need to have a handle on numerousprojects running at the same time. Willwork with a small staff to help assist indesigning, organization of outstandingprojects, timelines, new projects, pre-production, production samples, etc.Will develop working relationships direct-ly with sales staff and customers. Mustbe a team player and be able to leaveyour "ego" at the door. Knowledge ofdrawing and preparing bag specificationsfor factories. Excel, Adobe Photoshop& Illustrator. Laid back atmosphere.All replies held in strict confidence. E-mailyour resume with salary history to:

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Production AssistantsPrivate Label Mfr. seeks 2 individualswith import experience. Must be ableto multi task and work independently.Strong computer skills req’d. TWO po-sitions avail. Bilingual Chinese a plus.Salary to 35K. Please E-mail resumes to:

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Fax 212-382-3623

PR Representatives Premiere PR Firm Seeks SR & JRAccount Executives For High End, HotNational Brand Catering To YouthMarket. SR. Executive Must HaveSignificant experience with press.Great Opportunity. Fax 212-265-5379

Publicity Assistant P/TBoutique PR Agency in SoHo with

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Reception/Sales Asst.Busy junior / kids showroom seeksmulti-task individual to answer phones,greet customers and assist in the show-room. Applicants must be efficient, per-sonable, computer literate, & organized.

Fax resume to 212-997-6404

Surface DesignMfr of Seasonal Decorations w/ designstudio in Brooklyn seeks an individualwith 4-6 years experience in print andwoven design to join our Product De-velopment team. Photoshop/Illustratorexperience essential - Point carre aplus. Must be able to work in a teamenvironment with a positive attitude.Should be organized in keeping re-cords & follow up on overseas printingschedules. This is a great opportunityfor a highly motivated professional.

Please send your RESUME WITHSALARY HISTORY TO-HR.-

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E-mail jobs@Vaiweb.com Ref. HR-FAB.DSGN, Fax 516-773-6057

SWEATER DESIGNERFast paced Women’s Sportwear Co.seeks sweater designer with min 5years exp in better or contemporarymarket. Must have strong technicalknowledge and have contacts withfactories and yarn agents. Fax resume to Lynn 212-302-2399

Textile DesignerSeeking advanced CAD textile designersfor free lance and full time positions.Must be exp. in primavision and photoshop.

Call 212-244-1426 Fax 212-244-1447

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVELuxury Italian leathergoods brand seeks strong sales professionalto join our team. Energetic and highly motivated candidatesmust have established relationships with major departmentand specialty stores and the ability to bring in new accounts.Extensive experience required in Bridge/Designer Handbags.Candidates must have polished presentation skills, effectivecommunication skills, and extremely good analytical skills. Atleast 4 years experience in sales and account maintenanceand bachelor’s degree are required.

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Fax resume to: 212 704-0445

Missy/Plus Size Linen GoodsWomen’s apparel wholesale companyis looking for independent sales rep.Experienced w/ dept store connections.

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SKINCARE PRODUCTSExclusive "boutique" product line seekswider upscale distribution. Offeringopportunity for Independent Sales Repsto sell this natural product line. Faxresumes: 949-752-7008

For Fashion and Retailing

A beautiful Brad Pitt, in town on a privatevisit, joked with friends that his wife —that’s Jennifer Aniston for those readingthis on another planet — trusted him tobehave himself better on the streets of

New York than on the set of his soon-to-be-releasedblockbuster, “Troy,” in which he plays Achilles. Bradsaid Jennifer thought he was running around naked inone too many scenes. So he explained to her, “TheGreeks were naked all the time — eating naked, playingnaked — they liked to be naked. I just didn’t realize Iwas the only one doing it in the movie. I thoughteveryone else was, too.” Oh, honey, what a whopper.

Brad had just flown in from Chicago where he,George Clooney and Matt Damon were filming“Ocean’s Twelve” at the Arthur Heurtley House, builtin 1902 by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Oak Park sectionof the city, much to the delight of the local residents.Many of the children in the neighborhood got to beextras with the dubious bonus of pickpocket lessonsfrom Matt Damon’s character in the backyard of thearchitectural masterpiece. Matt brought his latestgirlfriend, interior designer Luciana Barroso, to Chicagowith him to keep him grounded, if that’s the word. Theywent to baseball games, walked on Michigan Avenueand hugged and kissed when they bid each otherfarewell outside the city’s Peninsula Hotel — just like inthe movies. When Luciana got in the car, Mattscreamed out, “Bye, baby! Have a good trip.” Whowrote his lines?

●Karen LeFrak led the charge of the hat brigade into

Central Park for the 22nd annual Frederick LawOlmsted Awards luncheon. Karen is the new presidentof the Women’s Committee of the Central ParkConservancy and she looked every petite inch thepresidentessa in a rose-colored hat, a pink-checkedskirt and a matching coat by Rena Lange that shebought in London just for the occasion. Karen had abuoyant Mayor Bloomberg at her table, looking dapper

in a smart, blue blazer and a red tie, along with JameeGregory, wearing a blush tweed suit by Chanel and apink hat; Jessie Araskog; Marcia Mishaan; CynthiaLufkin and Julia Koch. Stopping by the table, which wascovered in an Hermès cloth and centered with a poodletopiary, were such as Katie Couric, Allison Rockefeller,Patricia Hearst, Susan Burke, Evelyn Lauder, SerenaBoardman and 1,200 others of that ilk of ribbon and silk.The Mayor congratulated the ladies and financierStephen Schwarzman, the corporate chairman, onraising $2.2 million to help maintain the park and saidhe hoped to see everyone back at the same spot inFebruary when artist Christo will wrap up the shebangin his signature fabric. Instead of straw hats, they’llprobably be wearing sable, the sweet things.

●Our mayor, looking dapper again in a dark suit and a

lovely tie, turned up with his lady fair, Diane Taylor, atthe Irvington Institute’s “Through the Kitchen Dinner”at the Four Seasons. He said it was one of the few timeshe could go out to dine and eat anything he wanted. Ididn’t check his plate, but he looked really happy. Thisannual culinary extravaganza, which has been goingstrong for 19 years, invites the guests to stroll throughthe Four Season’s vast kitchen to choose delicaciesfrom a succulent feast, featuring every delicious dishyou’ve ever heard of — and some you haven’t — but

there’s still time next year. Each table in the Pool

Room of the Four Seasonswas named for such keenidols such as Bo Derek,Cher (where the mayorsat), Robert Redford, CindyCrawford, the Beatles andRegis Philbin, anddecorated with mementosof the idols’ careers,pictures, books, etc. Regiswas so touched by thedecor of the table namedafter him that he tookeverything on it — picturesand all — home with himand showed it off on hisshow the next morning.

Every year, LaurenVeronis has hosted thisdinner as she did again,assisted by Aerin Lauderand Eric Zinterhofer; herhusband, John Veronis; herdaughter, Perri Peltz; EricRuttenberg; Hilary Geary,and Mary and MarvinDavidson. Jamie Nivenauctioned off the manysplendid prizes andeveryone cooed, “Isn’tJamie a wonderfulauctioneer?” And here isjust a few of those whocame to the foodie fete ofthe year: Nan and TommyKempner, Joan and RobertTisch, Barbara TaylorBradford, Carol and GeorgeMcFadden, Marie Joséeand Henry Kravis, Paulaand Leon Root, CharlesGargano, Donald and CatieMarron, Stacey and DonnyDeutsch, Deborah Norvilleand Karl Wellner, PaulaZahn, Pauline Pitt andhundreds of othergourmets just like them.

●Paul McCartney is

nothing if not sensitive tothe feelings of others. Inhis preparation for hissummer concertthroughout Europe,McCartney decided hewants to be able to speakwith his audiences in theirnative language at eachand every stop. So heemployed 11 personal

tutors to teach him Danish, Swedish, Portuguese,Spanish, Russian, German, Italian, Czech, Finnish,French, Norwegian and Swiss dialects. Even if only tosay hello. Whatever, now he’ll be able to sing “BesameMucho” to Heather, whenever he feels like it.

●Viscount Linley, the 42-year-old nephew of Queen

Elizabeth II, is making plans to bring his successfulfurniture business to New York, with quality carpentry,design worthy of the adjective “royal” and clients asdiverse as Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John and interiordesigners Peter Marino and David Easton. Linley’s shop,specializing in furniture, upholstery and lighting in theposh Belgrave section of London, has always been anabsolute smash. He is scouting for a new location onMadison Avenue in Manhattan, and everyone knows hehas already designed the famous boardroom table at theMetropolitan Museum in New York.

●Ricky and Ralph Lauren’s daughter, Dylan, will turn

over her Dylan’s Candy Bar for the “Kids in Candyland”party to benefit Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’sChildren’s Program. Renee Rockefeller, Eva Dillon andValesca Guerrand-Hermes are on the committee.Leading the parade of yummy mummies and cute, littlekiddies to the cookie counters are the party’s chairmen,Alexandra Kramer and Julie Regal.

eye®

By Aileen Mehle

Suzy

WWD, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 200416

Oh, Brad! ● Kitchen Confidential ● The Multilingual McCartney

Perri PeltzPerri Peltz

Lauren VeronisLauren Veronis

Aerin Lauder ZinterhoferAerin Lauder Zinterhofer