HEDI STAYS HOMME/2 PROMOTIONS BOOST JUNE COMPS/2 Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • July 11, 2003 Vol. 186, No. 8 $2.00

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PARIS — Cool catsuits, rich furs and haute

tailoring — those were some of the elements of

Jean Paul Gaultier’s stellar fall couture collection.

Mix a soupçon of Surrealism with a dose of

swashbuckling fashion audacity, and you have the

mood. There were bold fur stoles, rich-looking

bodysuits and even a dramatic, asymmetric

crocodile coat. Here, one example of Gaultier’s

terrific tailoring: a belted leather jacket with

surreal attached gloves, worn with a tight skirt.

For more on the season, see pages 6 and 7.

PARIS — Cool catsuits, rich furs and haute

tailoring — those were some of the elements of

Jean Paul Gaultier’s stellar fall couture collection.

Mix a soupçon of Surrealism with a dose of

swashbuckling fashion audacity, and you have the

mood. There were bold fur stoles, rich-looking

bodysuits and even a dramatic, asymmetric

crocodile coat. Here, one example of Gaultier’s

terrific tailoring: a belted leather jacket with

surreal attached gloves, worn with a tight skirt.

For more on the season, see pages 6 and 7.

WWDFRIDAYBeauty

NEW YORK — The global beauty industrysees a glimmer of hope for fall.

Despite depressed sales early in theyear, consumer confidence seems tobe steadying, financial markets arefirming and the Asian SARS panic is

easing. Top executives are feeling lessanxious about the second half,

although no one expects to be dancingin the street on Christmas Day.

“I do feel better about the U.S.market for the second half,” saidFred Langhammer, president andchief executive officer of EstéeLauder Cos. He sees particular

Fragrance Deluge Brightens Prestige Beauty’s Gloss for Fall

See Bright, Page 8

For More Beauty Forecasts, See Pages 11-13.

WWDStock Market Index for July 10Composite: 110.48

-0.68

Vendors: 110.17

-0.30

Textiles: 119.42

-2.62

Broadline Stores: 110.64

-0.84

Softline Stores: 108.90

-0.50

Index base of 100 iskeyed to closing prices

of Dec. 31, 2002.

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MILAN — Prosecutors offeredRoberto Cavalli a plea bargaincarrying a sentence of two yearsin prison if the designer admits tocharges of tax fraud, but Cavalli’slawyer said his client will rejectthe offer and prove his innocence.

Cavalli’s attorney, AlessandroTraversi, recounting the eventsthat transpired in a Florencecourtroom Thursday, said the de-fense has no intention of accept-ing the plea bargain and plans toreject the offer at the trial’s nextinstallment on Dec. 2.

“We don’t accept this propos-al and we will proceed with thetestimony,” he said in a phoneinterview.

Prosecutors, the judge han-dling the case and Cavalli couldnot be reached for further com-ment. The designer was notpresent at Thursday’s courthearing, as he was attending astore opening in Sardinia.

As reported, Italy’s tax author-ities claim Cavalli evaded fiscalresponsibilities by booking rough-ly $2.95 million (in local currency,5 billion lire) in charges to reno-vate his luxurious Tuscan homeas corporate expenses for the fis-

cal years 1996 through 2000.Lire figures were converted

to euros at a fixed rate, and dol-lar figures are converted fromeuros at current exchange.

Cavalli’s attorneys defend therenovations as valid companyexpenses because the designer’slifestyle is intricately linked tohis image, and consequently thesuccess of his fashion house.

Cavalli’s defense boasts a longlist of celebrities who are willingto testify on the designer’s behalf,including Cindy Crawford andLenny Kravitz. But they can onlytake the stand after the prosecu-tion presents its case.

— Amanda Kaiser

Cavalli Rejects Plea BargainIn Italian Trial for Tax Fraud

By Jennifer Weitzmanand Evan Clark

NEW YORK — Clearance salesand clearer skies allowed retail-ers to conclude June with un-spectacular sales results butleaner inventory levels.

Results for the month weregenerally slightly above or inline with expectations as compa-nies enjoyed successful Juneclearance sales, driven bywarmer weather and pent-up de-mand for summer merchandise.

As a result, many retailers saidthey are entering July with clean-er inventory levels comparedwith the start of June, clearingthe way for fall deliveries.

“Price drove sales and the abil-ity to manage price efficientlymade the difference betweengood and great retailers,” RichardJaffe, a retail analyst with UBS,

said. “There was a manifest of re-tailers handling themselves wellin a tough environment.”

Among the best pieces ofnews, he noted, was Gap’s abilityto drive units without giving uptoo much on the margin. GapInc.’s comparable-store salesrose 10 percent.

Dana Telsey, an analyst withBear, Stearns, pointed out thatsales gains were strong enoughfor most retailers to offset the im-pact of higher markdown rates.“We estimate there was around a200 basis point acceleration insales from the first half of themonth to the second,” she said.“Business [in June] reflectedsummer clearance events, andadvertising was useful in someinstances to drive the business.”

Still, while some retail com-panies were able to drive salesthrough aggressive promotions,

others, like Kohl’s and LimitedBrands, required a more aggres-sive stance to come out of thequarter clean, cutting into mar-gins and jeopardizing second-quarter earnings. In fact, Kohl’scut its earnings estimate for thequarter, which concludes at theend of July, to between 30 centsand 32 cents, down from its Mayforecast of 38 cents to 42 cents.

“The second quarter is goingto be tough,” George Strachan,broadlines analyst with GoldmanSachs, said. “Margins are underpressure.”

According to the GoldmanSachs comp index, overall salesrose 1.9 percent in June, an in-crease from the 1.5 percent inMay, but off from the 4.5 percentincrease of June 2002. Discount-ers led the pack, increasing 3.3percent last month, followed by a

June Sales: Volume Mixed, Inventories Down

By Miles Socha

PARIS — Hedi Slimane, havingenergized Christian Dior men’swear with his sleek, modernist de-signs, is set to redefine its men’sfragrances and cosmetics, too.

On Thursday, Christian Diorsaid it renewed Slimane’s con-tract as artistic director of DiorHomme for three additionalyears, while also adding respon-sibility for new perfumes as wellas such Dior scents as EauSauvage, Fahrenheit, Dune forMen and Jules.

Getting down to business rightaway, Slimane boarded a jetThursday bound for New York toshoot the new campaign forHigher Energy, the new brotherto the Dior men’s fragrance,Higher Dior, which he helpedsteward in 2001, choosing the

column-like bottle and dramaticblack-and-white advertising.

He could not be reached forcomment, but in a statement hesaid, “It’s fantastic. I’m reallyhappy about this, given my at-tachment to the house of Diorand the Dior Homme project.”

Signing the contract squelch-es speculation that Slimanemight exit the house, since ne-gotiations to renew it were saidto be prickly, as reported.

“Not only is he staying, he hasmore responsibilities,” saidSidney Toledano, president ofChristian Dior. “Everybody isvery happy.”

As Toledano pilots the fast-growing Dior fashion house to-ward its goal of $1 billion in vol-ume by 2006 or 2007, Slimane’sfashions and image direction areconsidered key ingredients. The

men’s wear business, which is be-lieved to have grown more than40 percent last year, is now whole-saled to some 150 multibrandstores worldwide. And DiorHomme is gaining more space inits growing network of freestand-ing stores, now numbering 150.

Toledano noted four develop-ments slated to bow before theend of the year: a 2,000-square-foot men’s store adjacent to theDior boutique on 57th Street inNew York; a men’s and women’sunit on Rue Royale in Paris; amen’s floor in the Dior flagshiprising on Ometesando in Tokyo,and a Dior Homme in-storeshop at Le Bon Marche depart-ment store, owned by LVMHMoët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, asister company to Christian DiorSA, parent of Christian Dior

Slimane Renews With Dior for 3 Years

PARIS — Yvonne Chahine hasresigned as Stella McCartney’spresident of North American op-erations, WWD has learned.

A spokeswoman for GucciGroup, which owns 50 percent ofMcCartney’s fashion house, con-firmed Chahine’s exit, but notedshe would consult on the busi-ness through October.

A successor will not benamed. Chahine’s responsibili-ties will be assumed by JamesSeuss, chief executive of theLondon-based design house, thespokeswoman added.

Chahine joined McCartney inJune 2002 from Bergdorf Good-man, where she was vice presi-dent and divisional merchandisemanager of women’s designer col-lections. Prior to that, she was atBarneys New York.

McCartney operates one re-tail store in the U.S.: a 4,000-square-foot flagship that openedlast September at 429 West 14thSt. She also has a 10,000-square-foot flagship in London andplans to launch her first fra-grance this fall.

Yvonne ChahineResigns Post AtStella McCartney

GENERALThe couture shows closed with one of the top presentations of the season,Jean Paul Gaultier’s stunning blend of terrific tailoring and drama.

The global beauty industry sees a glimmer of hope for fall, with rebounds inconsumer confidence and the economy.

Clearance sales and clearer skies allowed retailers to conclude June withunspectacular sales results but leaner inventory levels.

Christian Dior renewed Hedi Slimane’s contract as artistic director of DiorHomme for three more years, adding responsibility for men’s fragrances.

SUZY: More on the Prince of Wales’ party at Windsor Castle…what LaurenBush has been up to in England…getting ready for a Getty wedding.

61224

WWDFRIDAYBeauty

● PPR BONDS: Pinault-Printemps-Redoute announced Thursdayits successful launch of a $853.4 million eurobond maturing onJan. 23, 2009. Dollar figures have been converted from the euro atcurrent exchange rates, as PPR’s bond was priced at 750 millioneuros. PPR said in a statement that the demand, more than twicethe amount set at the offer, allowed the company to increase theinitial amount from $569 million, or 500 million euros, while opti-mizing the terms and conditions of the operation with a coupon,at 5 percent, inferior to the initial estimate. “This strong demandreflects investor confidence in the PPR Group, which reinforcesits financial strength by lengthening its debt maturity and by di-versifying its financing,” the group said in the statement.

● ANOTHER RITE AID PLEA: Philip Markovitz, former vice presi-dent of store development at Rite Aid Corp., on Thursday pledguilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice in connectionwith his admission of lying to Federal Bureau of Investigationagents about when he received a lucrative severance letter fromformer chief executive Martin Grass. Grass, who pled guilty toconspiracy last month in connection to his role in the accountingfraud scandal at the pharmaceutical chain, has admitted to creat-ing illegal, backdated letters approving severance packages.Markovitz, who faces a maximum of five years imprisonment, wasnot among the four individuals who were indicted last year. Threeof them, including Grass, have entered guilty pleas. The remain-ing individual, Franklin Brown, who was vice chairman, has untilMonday to decide whether to plead guilty or face a trial on 35criminal charges.

● LABOR PAINS: A Democratic move in the House to quashBush administration plans to overhaul federal rules about whoqualifies for overtime pay was narrowly defeated Thursday inthe GOP-controlled body. The 213-210 vote was a victory for re-tailers, who largely support the overtime changes, which theLabor Department estimates would make 1.3 million new work-ers eligible for overtime and eliminate the extra pay for 644,000qualified workers. Organized labor estimates 8 million workerswill lose overtime under the Bush rules, expected to go into ef-fect early next year.

In Brief

Obituary ....................................................................................................5Classified Advertisements........................................................................19

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RobertoCavalli

Continued on page 5

Continued on page 14

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3High Tide in London’s Social Swim ● Anna Getty’s Grand Gown

In Wednesday’s column, you read herehow the Prince of Wales’ guests at hisroyal dinner at Windsor Castle sweptthrough gorgeous, immense, towering-ceilinged, gilt-paneled, pricelessly

furnished drawing rooms and dining rooms on their wayto the Grand Reception Room where Prince Charlesand Camilla Parker Bowles were waiting to greet themwith smiling faces, easy charm, lots of champagne andno pomp. When I say Grand Reception Room, I meangrand beyond measure — great, glittering chandeliers;dripping crystal; gold leaf gleaming from lofty ceilingsand walls, and marble, marble everywhere. George IVonce intended this room to be a ballroom — this is,after all, a castle. Now, Queen Elizabeth uses it to greether guests before state banquets. At the entrancestands a huge malachite and gold urn given to QueenVictoria by Czar Nicholas. It is one of the largest outsideRussia, as it should be when you consider the kind oflegend Victoria was.

What next, after all this, you think. What next? Whatnext is an even more magnificent room, Saint George’sHall, in gothic marble and one of the most historicrooms in the castle, with vaulted ceilings reaching tothe sky and where, for six centuries, the coats of armsof the Knights of the Garter have decorated the walls.This is where the guests were seated for dinner at anenormously long table where, stretching down thecenter from one end to the other, an exquisite garden offreshly growing tiny wildflowers blossomed and 20-footwhite birch trees towered overhead. At each setting, amenu, handpainted with flowers and vines, announcedwhat would be served — asparagus with smokedsalmon, roast fillet of beef and Pear William ice creamwith lavender shortbread and a pear crisp accompaniedby fine wines, including Hygrove Rose, named afterPrince Charles’ country house. Steven Rockefeller, notreally ready for all that vintage grape, asked for a beer togo with his beef — and he got it! There will always bean England, but there will also always be an America,and an American.

After dinner, the guests descended the grandstaircase to The Quadrangle where, marching up anddown and around on the vast green lawns, the RoyalMarines gave a heart-stirring performance of Britishand American airs and marches, with the walls ofWindsor Castle silhouetted in the background, where

flaming torches blazed. Yes, there will always be anEngland.

And here is who was there: Ezra and Cecile Zilkha(in a yellow chiffon off-the-shoulder Madame Grès);Deborah Norville and Karl Wellner; Washington mediaand banking tycoon Joe Allbritton and his wife, Barby,their son, Dr. Robert Allbritton (seated on Camilla’s leftat dinner), and his wife, Elena; Pauline Pitt; Hilary Gearyin lime paillettes with Wilbur Ross; Astrid and KipForbes; Nicola and Robert Wilson; Joan Rivers; fromCalifornia, Betsy Bloomingdale, Marion Jorgenson andErlenne Sprague; Rose Marie Bravo, the pride ofBurberry in black and white; Denise Hale, the pride ofSan Francisco, in a purple brocade jacket straight fromIndia; Robert and Blaine Trump, in a long black silk skirtand a black and white silk off-the-shoulder blouse,bought at 4 o’clock that afternoon at Bellville Sassoon;George Farias (seated on Camilla’s right), PatriciaHearst Shaw and Bernard Shaw; Anne Hearst with herbeautiful young daughter, Amanda; Genevieve, andFrederick Ryan; Chris and Robin Donahoe; Mary andMandell Ourisman, of the Washington Ourismans; Nadaand Nemir Kirdar; Ambassador Earl Phillips and SalliePhillips and on and on into the night. If that wasn’t adazzling night to remember, there never will be one.

Let us leave Windsor Castle in England until nextweek when we return to regale you with tales of thePrince of Wales’ other supremely elegant dinner at hisother residence, Clarence House; advertising geniusMary Lawrence’s breathtaking London apartment; Lord(Jacob) Rothschild’s chess dinner at Somerset House,and Sir Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara celebrity-studded ball at his English Country estate, this beforeit’s time for Sir Elton to give another White Tie andTiara ’do. So many parties, so little space. Oh, and allabout Nancy Reagan and the festivities surrounding thecommissioning of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. RonaldReagan in Norfolk tomorrow.

●Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Anna Getty,

the beautiful daughter of Gisela Getty and Jean PaulGetty III, the granddaughter of the late J. Paul Getty Jr.and a great-granddaughter of America’s first billionaire, J.Paul Getty, is marrying cinematographer Gregory Prusson Aug. 8 in Fiesole, Italy, at the Villa di Maiano withparties night and day for 350 guests. Anna was in NewYork this week for the final fitting of her romantic and

extravagant Maggie Norris weddinggown, made to measure and mirrorevery inch of her lovely figure. Thegown is being kept under wraps andis so top secret that Maggie iscreating a special muslin bag so thatAnna can hand-carry it personallyaboard the plane for her big day.Who’s going to tell, the pilot?

●Lauren Bush, President Bush’s

niece, is in London, studyingfashion at Central Saint MartinsCollege of Art and Design, thefashion school where would-bedesigners cut their teeth. She alsofound time to dip her pretty littletoes into the London social swim,Wimbledon, Ascot and a houseparty at the home of her friend,David de Rothschild, the handsome25-year-old son of Sir Evelyn deRothschild and his former wife, theAmerican-born Victoria Schott.Lauren and David have been quietlygetting to know each other for thepast couple of years, and whatbetter way to do that than seeingthe family’s stately home. It’s calledAscott House and was built in 1873on 90 acres of another stately home,Mentmore. The extraordinaryhouse contains the family’sremarkable collection of art,furniture and Chinese ceramics.The beautiful gardens are open tothe public, and David gave Lauren aguided tour from top to bottom. And

Lauren, an Elite model, is due back in New York nextweek to take acting lessons before she returns toPrinceton for the fall semester. Lauren and her youngersister, Ashley, will be featured in an “In the Jeans”layout in the August issue of Glamour — and if all thisisn’t glam enough for you, it’s glam enough for them.

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NEW YORK — Hanne Merriman,former president of Garfinckel’s,the defunct Washington, D.C.-based department stores, died ofbreast cancer on July 4 at SibleyMemorial Hospital in Wash-ington. She was 61.

Merriman headed Gar-finckel’s from 1981 to 1987. Shebegan her career at the companyin a junior sales position for themisses’ dress department. Sherose to become a buyer, division-al manager, executive vice presi-dent and ultimately president.

While at the helm, Merrimanopened stores and expandedthe mail-order business. Butlater, in an uncertain economy,Garfinckel’s faced decreasingprofits and declared bankruptcyin 1990.

Before leaving in 1987,Merriman and a managementbuyout group made an unsuc-cessful bid for Garfinckel’s,which was then owned byCanadian developer RobertCampeau of Campeau Corp.

Dorothy Roberts, chairmanof Echo Design Group, a busi-ness associate and close friendof Merriman’s, said that “she

was really one of the premierretailers in the country.’’

Merriman held other execu-tive posts, including presidentof Honeybee Inc., a New York-based apparel retailer. In theearly Nineties, she was presi-dent of Nan Duskin Inc., anupscale women’s retailer inPhiladelphia, and most re-cently had been working as aconsultant.

In the mid-Eighties, Merri-man had become a board mem-ber with various companies. J.Patrick Spainhour, chairmanand chief executive of AnnTaylor Stores, outlined her in-tegrity, honesty, straightforward-ness and willingness to help andbe involved in any way she pos-sibly could. “Hanne had been aremarkably helpful board mem-ber,” he said. “She was just apristine person that I very muchliked, personally as well as froma business perspective.”

Merriman is survived by herhusband, Richard; her mother,Marie Nielsen; a stepdaughter,Wendy S. Merriman; two brothers,Carl Gelder and Jorgen Nielsen,and a sister, Birgit Campbell.

Hanne Merriman, 61Ex-Garfinckel’s President Continued from page 2

Couture and LVMH.“And there are more on the

way in 2004 and 2005,” Toledanoassured. He cited “stronggrowth” of Dior men’s wear inthe first quarter that outpacedthe house, which includes cou-ture, women’s ready-to-wear andaccessories by John Gallianoand fine jewelry by Victoire deCastellane. Revenues in the pe-riod vaulted 19 percent to $135.5million, as reported.

One of men’s wear’s biggeststars, Slimane burst onto thescene with his sharply tailored,often androgynous designs forYves Saint Laurent RiveGauche. He signed on with Diorin June 2000 after being courtedheavily by Prada Group andGucci, which had offered him asignature fashion house.

It could not be learned ifSlimane’s new contract stipu-lates the eventual launch of aHedi Slimane women’s line, longan ambition of the French de-signer. Under his old contract,he was allowed to produce about10 percent of his collection insmall sizes for his female fans,who include Linda Evangelista,Nicole Kidman, CharlotteRampling and Jeanne Moreau.

But the deal clearly satisfiesSlimane’s desire to better unifyDior’s men’s image. As reported,the designer was said to be un-happy with recent ads for EauSauvage in France that featureda variety of men lit in a starkstyle, but without Slimane’s pen-chant for unconventional mas-culinity. His runway shows fea-ture marching armies of slenderyoung men, cast from the streetsof Berlin and Paris.

Claude Martinez, presidentand chief executive of ParfumsChristian Dior, already a $1 bil-lion business, said he welcomedthe chance to work withSlimane and indicated “we havevery important projects to de-velop together.”

The launch of Higher Energyis slated for mid-Septemberworldwide, targeting young, cos-mopolitan men.

Dior already has a top-rankedmen’s scent, Fahrenheit, whichwas launched in 1988 and hasearned an international follow-ing. But its other big men’s sell-er, Eau Sauvage, is a more re-gional scent, ringing up salesprimarily in Mediterraneancountries.

— With contributions fromJennifer Weil

Hedi Slimane to Continue With Dior Homme

By Joanna Ramey

WASHINGTON — House Demo-crats put U.S. Trade Repre-sentative Robert Zoellick on thedefensive Thursday about Bushadministration trade policiesduring a hearing about free-trade agreements that Chile andSingapore recently signed withthe U.S.

These FTAs are the first to becompleted during the Bush ad-ministration and are expected tosail through Congress as early asthis month. However, Democrats

on the Ways and Means Comm-ittee questioned the Bush ad-ministration’s progress in pursu-ing its ambitious trade agenda,whether the U.S. industry isbeing consulted enough duringnegotiations and to what extentthe Chile and Singapore pactswill be used as models for morethan a dozen other agreementsbeing pursued.

Rep. Robert Matsui (D.,Calif.), an advocate in his partyfor expanding trade, was themost pointed in questioning theadministration’s policies. Matsuicited as anti-free trade the Bushadministration’s recent “highlyrestrictive textile and apparelagreement” curbing Vietnam’ssurging imports into the U.S., itsendorsing of legislation last yearrequiring Caribbean Basin-made apparel be dyed and fin-ished in the U.S. in order to re-ceive duty-free breaks — part ofa political payback for GOP tex-tile-state lawmakers — and sup-port of legislation two years ago

continuing agriculture subsi-dies, including cotton.

“[You call this] the Bush ad-ministration’s reinvigoration ofAmerica’s drive for free trade?”questioned Matsui, quoting froma Thursday opinion columnpenned by Zoellick and publishedin the Wall Street Journal. “Whendid the reinvigoration occur?”

Zoellick shot back with a listof Bush trade accomplishments,like helping to launch the DohaRound of World TradeOrganization trade talks. He de-fended the Singapore FTA as

being significant despite thecountry’s size, since it’s the 12thlargest U.S. trading partner,with $40 billion in two-waytrade last year, and the free-trade pact is the first inked bythe U.S. with an Asian country.

As far as Chile, a tiny tradingpartner, is concerned, Zoellicknoted its economy is one of thefastest growing in the world and“our efforts with Chile are send-ing very important messages toLatin America, [where a CentralAmerican FTA and a Free TradeArea of the Americas pact are inthe works].”

For retailers and other ap-parel importers in the U.S., aswell as domestic textile produc-ers, neither the Chile norSingapore pacts are expected totranslate into much business be-cause they aren’t large apparelproducers. However, both thecompeting interests of importerand domestic apparel and tex-tile makers are eyeing theagreements as potential tem-

plates for future FTAs.In negotiations with five

Central American countries andin the broader FTAA, the U.S. isadvocating a yarn-forward ruleof origin for apparel. The samerule is used in the Chile andSingapore pacts, much to thedelight of U.S. textile producerssince apparel receiving duty-free treatment has to be madefrom U.S. yarn and fabric.Importers are advocating broadexceptions be negotiated to therule of origin allowing for tex-tiles from other countries.

After questioning by Rep.Sander Levin (D., Mich.) aboutwhether Chile and Singaporewould be Bush FTA templates,Zoellick said the pacts will act as“models,” but that each negotiationis different. “It’s also a question ofwhat we can negotiate with ourtrading partners,” Zoellick said.

Responding to Rep. JimMcDermott’s (D., Wash.) drub-bing about what he said is ad-ministration “secrecy” towardtrade negotiations and not con-sulting with U.S. industry offi-cials who aren’t appointed tradeadvisers, Zoellick said, “We arereaching out all the time.”

Despite all the rancor, Waysand Means, on a voice vote, sig-naled approval for both pacts.

Later, at a hearing before theSenate Finance Committee onChile and Singapore, Zoellick re-ceived a much warmer reception.The panel, which doesn’t have toformally endorse the pacts underTrade Promotion Authority rules,did so anyway by voice vote.

Bush Trade Plans Draw FireBy Kristi Ellis

WASHINGTON — Two powerfulunions have joined forces withHouse lawmakers in an effort topush Cintas Corp., the nation’sleading supplier of commercialuniforms and laundry services,to sign an agreement that wouldallow its employees to organizewithout holding an election.

UNITE and the InternationalBrotherhood of Teamsters un-veiled a letter signed by 90Democratic and one Independ-ent congressional lawmakersand sent to Robert Kohlhepp,chief executive officer of Cintas,at a joint news conference onCapitol Hill Wednesday.

The two labor groups formedtheir first alliance ever lastmonth to organize 17,000 Cintaslaundry employees and truckdrivers. They want to accomplishthis through what is called acard-check neutrality agreement,in which employees merely signcards accepting a union withoutholding an election, and a compa-ny agrees to recognize the cards.

“The laundry workers atCintas don’t make a living wage,are paid poverty-level wagesand two-thirds don’t havehealth care,” charged BruceRaynor, president of UNITE.“They all get discriminatedagainst or crushed when theyattempt to organize.”

James P. Hoffa, president ofthe Teamsters who also attend-ed the news conference, said heis concerned about the rights oftruck drivers.

“What is wrong with this pic-ture is that you can’t exerciseyour first amendment right totalk about organizing withoutthe threat of being fired,” Hoffasaid. “We understand this is abig job. We understand we are

fighting a $1 billion bully thatwill do anything to keep us out,but we are going to do whateverit takes to win this battle.”

In the letter, the members ofCongress said: “It is our beliefthat employees cannot freely ex-ercise their right to join a unionin an environment where em-ployers are coercing or trying tosway employee opinion.”

It is unclear what kind of polit-ical lift the letter will get, since itwas signed strictly by Democratsin a GOP-controlled Congress.

UNITE has alleged that Cintashas violated labor laws in severalinstances, including firing work-ers who supported unionization,and has filed charges with theNational Labor RelationsBoard. Cintas has denied all ofthe allegations leveled against itby the unions and maintainedWednesday it will never sign acard-check agreement.

“We steadfastly support em-ployee choice and will neversurrender our employees’ rightto an election — that is throughdeals with unions called ‘card-check neutrality,’” Kohlheppsaid in a statement. “Such dealsonly circumvent the govern-ment-supervised process androb individuals of their rights tofree elections.”

A UNITE official claimed,however, that the card-checkagreement must be verified by anarbitrator or community leader.

Of the 27,000 workers em-ployed by Cintas, approximately700 already belong to unions, ac-cording to the spokesman. Cintasoperates 300 facilities nationwide.

The spokesman said Cintashas contributed more than $100million to a profit sharing and401K plan over the past 10 yearsand offers its employees six dif-ferent health insurance plans.

Dems Back UNITEIn Cintas Campaign

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Democrats questioned the Bush administration’s progress inpursuing its ambitious trade agenda, whether the U.S. industryis being consulted enough during negotiations and to whatextent the Chile and Singapore pacts will be used as models formore than a dozen other agreements being pursued.

The couture shows came to a close with one of the top presentations of the season, Jean Paul Gaultier’sstunning blend of beautiful tailoring with dramatic, often audacious, shapes and styles. Meanwhile,

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ROCK THE HOUSE: More than18,000 spectacular roses wiltedin the summer heat along withhundreds of revelers on thesweaty dance floor asBoucheron feted its latestcollection of jewelry onWednesday night. Gucci Groupcreative director Tom Fordstopped by to inspect the jewels,as did Margherita Missoni, SheikMajed Al-Sabah and Fendicreative director SilviaVenturini. But it was also a 110thbirthday party for Boucheron’sflagship on a prime corner ofPlace Vendôme, whereBoucheron creative directorSolange Azagury-Partridge heldcourt. Her rallying cry that finejewelry shouldn’t be too serious,formal or grand is underscoredby the name of the collection:Not Bourgeois. “The idea is to

be liberated and free withjewelry, not stash it in a safe,”she explained.

The 60 one-of-a-kind piecesdraw on Europe’s rich andsometimes twisted history, frombracelets resemblingElizabethan neck ruffs to a thinchoker of rubies: an allusion toaristocrats who would wear redribbon on their throats to showtheir sympathy with intimateswho had been guillotined. Thereare more playful pieces, too,including a series of rings basedon animals — frogs clutchingorbs, a starfish curling a tendril.Another group features humanfigures, mostly women with longhair, curled into rings, braceletsand pendants. One bracelet isliterally an outstretched handoffering a diamond — not a badbirthday present.

Jean Paul Gaultier: Jean Paul Gaultier’s finale said itall: Haute couture needs a foundation, one thatrequires exquisite craftsmanship and technicalacumen, yes, but also a whole lot more. Real couturedemands brilliance of thought and the passion totranslate that thought into remarkable clothes. Thefinale of Gaultier’s fall show featured his entirelineup of models stripped down to their foundations,not the expected bras and panties, but skintighthooded catsuits with one foot in a sci-fi movie andthe other on a speed-skating rink. Each one fit asperfectly as that proverbial second skin, yet, despitethe sameness of silhouette, each looked unique —black lace, white satin embroidered with brilliantchinoiserie flowers, studded black leather —capturing moods from provocateur to elegance toS&M. Gaultier started with a single idea, with itanchoring countless other ideas, while referencingsurrealism and a bit of Cocteau romance. The resultwas a fabulous, far-flung collection that brought itsaudience to the edge of delirium. (No, that tinglewasn’t just heatstroke.)

On top of the catsuits, Gaultier layered more ofthat remarkable haute tailoring — a putty-toned suitwith a huge bow perched on one hip, a chic beltedred leather jacket with surreal attached gloveshugging the hips, a violet velvet suit with a peplumupturned ingeniously into pockets. Along the way, hewowed with one flourish after another. For example,cutting a high-drama crocodile coat asymmetricallyso that the tail descended one side, barely disguisingthe shape of the animal. In fact, along with theprimary mission of turning out stellar clothes,Gaultier seemed to be working a boyish subplot:trying to irritate the PETA people. He used furlavishly and with unbridled audacity — for huge,colorful stoles; his “Confusion” coat in netembroidered with swirls of multicolored mink, andeven fluffy Mongolian lamb sleeves on a filmy pinkevening dress.

Such contrast of textures ran throughout,especially in soft Art Deco-inspired evening piecesover often-heavy bodysuits. The dresses camedraped, cutaway and lavishly embroidered, andlooked utterly gentle. Less than gentle, however, wasGaultier’s amazing corseted coquette numbercocooned in fox. His model made her way down therunway, shedding various fur pieces until she stoodin a leather corset and silk skirt. As she turned away,one saw that her catsuit was laced all the way up theback to create the perfect spine. Talk about acollection with backbone.

Ralph Rucci Chado: Fashion has diverseconstituencies, often with very different opinionsand needs. The chasm between the joy Ralph Rucci’swork elicits from his retail customers and the vibethe clothes give off in an editorial runway context isvast, and one not easily breeched. We live in a youth-oriented society and work in a youth-orientedindustry in which it’s often assumed that, regardlessof her age, the fashion customer wants to look young.But then along comes a designer whose clothes areanything but, and retailers swear he’s a major hitwith the Ladies Who Spend. Yet the allure stillseems elusive, and the clothes, heavy in weight andin spirit.

Still, from the Ralph Rucci Chado Haute Couturecollection he showed on Thursday, one could extracta glimmer of what has those retailers raving. Thedesigner relaxed his hand just a bit, approaching fallwith a sportier attitude. Which is not to say he wentbreezy; these clothes are still as humor-free as SisterSuperior on lunch duty. But Rucci scaled back someof the pomp and proportions, with appealing results,especially in short, graceful dresses. And about hispale gray coat and skirt, one could even invoke the y-word: young. Rucci, however, still loves a grandgesture, and he delivered plenty, not only in size — asable sweater, an oversized parka — but in detail,infusing his fabrics with all kinds of artistictreatments. A favorite for fall: complicated panels ofleather embroidery. By night, the gestures are largerstill, in a number of big gowns and surprisingly loudtreatments — hand-bleached duchesse satin like anovergrown pony print; stringy ostrich fringe on anotherwise lovely dress. Conversely, when Ruccipared down with a black velvet panel-front gown anda lovely ombréd gray silk, he achieved true elegance.

Clockwise from top left: Selections from Boucheron’s new

collection; Margherita Missoni; Tom Ford and Solange

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Confident Visions anJean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier

TAKING COVER: Retireddesign great James Galanosrecently lamented in thesecolumns that “fashion isgeared only to youngpeople today. All I see isLevi’s and bare bellies.”Well, there were none ofthose at Ralph Rucci’sChado couture show onThursday, where Galanosturned up in the front rowto applaud. “I just methim less than a year ago,”he said of Rucci. “I have agreat admiration for him.He has great style andtaste. The clients, theyneed him.”

A-MUSING: Loulou de la Falaise, the formerYves Saint Laurent muse and collaboratorwho launched her signature line and Parisboutique four months ago, is coming toAmerica. Bergdorf Goodman struck a dealto carry her collection exclusively in theU.S., beginning next spring, with a trunkshow and personal appearance planned forthis fall. “Not everyone has to have arunway show,” said Robert Burke,Bergdorf’s vice president and seniorfashion director. “I was so impressed.” Henoted that de la Falaise’s collection andjewelry would be housed near suchcollections as Valentino, Oscar de la Rentaand Bill Blass.

DOLL FACE: Barbie’s fashion makeover isgoing dramatically upscale. For years, thepoor girl could only get Bob Mackie todesign her gowns, but come September,Mattel plans to introduce a simple beadedgray gown designed by Giorgio Armani. Thedress was inspired by one of the gowns

featured in his touring exhibition,although Barbie’s version only costs$134.99. But Armani is hardlyselling out — the designer said hewould turn over his royalties fromsales of the Armani Barbie toYouthAIDS and Room to Grow.

AN OPEN BOOK: Queen Elizabeth haschosen William Shawcross to writethe official biography of the lateElizabeth, the Queen Mother.Shawcross is a former Sunday Timesforeign correspondent and son ofHartley Shawcross, the chief Britishprosecutor at the Nuremberg wartrials. The news should come as nosurprise: William Shawcross wrotethe very flattering television seriesand book “Queen and Country” tomark the Golden Jubilee last year.He has also written biographies ofRupert Murdoch, the Shah of Iranand Alexander Dubcek.

PARIS — Extravagance and opulence, spiced with adash of the exotic or the fantastical, marked the effortsof two out-of-town houses that helped end the fallhaute couture week here.

Beirut-based Elie Saab seems to have his mind seton one thing — channeling the red-carpet glamour thatthe stars crave. After all, dressing such actresses asHalle Berry and Elizabeth Hurley has helped put himon the fashion map. For fall, he showed more of hisfamiliar floaty, flimsy chiffon dresses, decorated withbrilliant sequins, small coins or fringe. Slits sneakedhigh up the thigh, necklines plunged to the navel andsee-through trains snaked in back. Slashed muslintrousers billowed open, while ornate embroideryshone on skimpy diaphanous tops. Saab may not bereinventing the wheel, but his exuberant styledefinitely has a place in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, Italian couturiers Antonio Grimaldi andSylvio Giardina, known together as Grimaldi Giardina,presented their first couture show this season. Theduo, who were inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,”started with a richly embroidered top with tasselspaired with short peach knickers. Black lace trousersfeatured cargo pockets, while statuesque whitesequined evening gowns were loaded up with tulle.

When a model appeared in a blood-red dress with aheart embroidered at the bust, the show’s fairy-taletheme seemed to jell. But unfortunately, the collectionitself — despite good individual pieces such as a peachcowl-necked gown with kimono sleeves — never did.

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bright spots in color cosmetics, treatment and haircare, but the fragrance market remains weak, despiteplans for about 50 launches worldwide. Overall,Langhammer pointed out that for the last 13 weeks, theprestige market in the U.S. has markedly outper-formed mass beauty in terms of color and skin care.

Looking at the rest of the world, Langhammer saidJapan remains difficult, but Asia shows signs of comingback. He doesn’t expect travel retail to rebound fullyuntil the first half of next year. Europe continues to besoft, primarily due to the weakness in core markets ofGermany, France and the Benelux countries. Thesouthern circuit — including Spain, Italy and Greece —is doing well, as is the U.K.

L’Oréal, the world’s largest beauty firm, remainsbullish on its yearend results after reporting onThursday a 3.2 percent decline in first-half sales to$8.1 billion. But on a like-for-like basis, sales rose 7.1percent. L’Oréal’s confidence is based on expectationsof moderating exchange rates and sustained organicsales growth. Yearend income, excluding extraordi-nary items, is expected to grow at a double-digit pace.

“Thanks to these extremely encouraging figures, ob-tained in the most difficult conditions, L’Oréal shouldbe able to achieve its traditional objective of like-for-like sales growth of between 7 and 9 percent perannum,” said Lindsay Owen-Jones,chairman and ceo,in a statement.

“Despite the overall sluggishness of the market, ourbusiness has performed well this year,” said BerndBeetz, ceo of Coty Inc. “We have had solid marketgrowth in both the mass and selective divisions, whichmakes us very optimistic for the second half. We areespecially encouraged by the success of our launchesearlier this year, including Davidoff Echo, Celine DionParfums, Adidas Adrenaline, Rimmel’s SheerBrilliance Lipstick and Mary-Kate and Ashley fra-grances, and we have strong expectations for thelaunches planned later this fall.”

“Clearly, there’s a real fragility in the marketplace,because of the economy, tourism, world tensions andmany other factors,” said Arie Kopelman, Chanel’s pres-ident and chief operating officer in New York. “Deepdiscounts in other product categories could also reallyhurt the beauty category in the fourth quarter. Althoughwe feel we’re in a good position for the second half, thereal turnaround, we think, will come in 2004.”

That said, Kopelman added, there are bright spotsin Chanel’s business. Color cosmetics and skin caresaw some softness in the first quarter, both then sawstrong gains in the second quarter, he said. Kopelmanis especially bullish on scent. “We’re up over 20 per-cent in fragrance,” he said.

In color cosmetics, gains in the second quarter wereled by the eye category, he said. “Lips, which had beensoft in the first quarter, are also going up, led by a glossbusiness that is up 37 percent year-to-date,” he said.And skin care saw strong increases in the second quar-ter, led by Ultra Correction Eye, Kopelman said.

“I think that it’s going to pick up in the second half,”said Robin Burns, president and ceo of The Limited’sIntimate Beauty Corp. and its Aura Science andVictoria’s Secret Beauty divisions. Burns attributed thisto a rise in consumer confidence, plus stock marketgains and low interest rates that are beginning to have asmall effect on people’s attitudes about shopping.However, she added, “none of these things is so vastlyimproved that I think we’re going to see a surge, but I dothink that we’re beginning to see it already in our ownbusiness and it will continue into second half.”

Burns noted that Victoria’s Secret Beauty posteddouble-digit positive comps in June and expects Julyto be strong with the launch of Breathless. Burns ex-pects the company’s “momentum to continue into thefall season” with the launch of a second men’s fra-grance and a strong holiday program. “Industry-wise,we’re thinking it’s going to be mid- to low-single digits,but for our own business we’re expecting our growth tobe in the high-single digits and that’s on top of double-digit growth last year,” noted Burns.

Bernard Potier, president and ceo of ChristianDior’s U.S. operations, is counting on a revitalized Diorbeauty lineup to continue strong sales gains that thebrand has already seen this year, driven by a “rebalanc-ing” of its beauty portfolio. By yearend, the companywill have repackaged all of its color cosmetics and skincare, as well as launched a slew of new products — in-cluding a men’s fragrance that Potier expects to gener-ate serious buzz.

“One of the advantages we see with newness is thatit drives consumers to the counter, where we then have

the opportunity to introduce them to our existing prod-ucts,” said Potier. “That way, we drive both new prod-ucts and we also drive existing business. And we lookfor opportunities to cross-sell.”

Added Potier, “Newness allows us to get the buzzgoing, and it then has a cascade effect on the rest ofthe business. Also, when you have newness, you don’tsleep — you’re always looking for new strategies andopportunities. That’s a state of mind that is especiallycritical in the current economic climate.” In fact, hesaid, it’s important to remember that newness doesn’tjust have to mean products coming to counter.“Newness, to a consumer, can be something classicthat they haven’t seen before,” he said, noting that it’simportant for retailers to partner with brands to getthat message across to consumers.

Potier expects growth in fragrance, skin care andcolor cosmetics in the second half, citing gains in thefirst half. “In color, we were up 6 percent in the firsthalf, where the overall market was flat, to cite one ex-ample,” he said. “I think we’ll beat those numbers inthe second half.”

Potier is also a strong advocate of spending to pro-mote existing products, noting that the company con-tinues to strongly support all of its first-half launches.“New items shouldn’t be supported for the first threemonths, then left out on their own,” he said.

Camille McDonald, president and ceo of the NewYork-based Parfums Givenchy and Guerlain Inc., seesa strengthening of confidence. With that, coupled witha continued onslaught of women’s fragrance introduc-tions for fall, McDonald thinks it will be easier to an-niversary last fall’s women’s introductions. But themen’s category will be tough, due to the relative lack oflaunches this year. As a result, McDonald predicts a 3to 5 percent increase in the women’s category and adrop in men’s, leaving the entire business flat. Thatwould be an improvement over spring, consideringthat the fragrance category was running decreasesthrough May.

Perhaps McDonald’s greatest source of hope comesfrom the belief that during the past two years, “we allhave become better business people,” both manufac-turers and retailers, when it comes to strategizing,planning, forecasting and inventory control.

“As everyone in the industry knows, the fragranceindustry has had a tough 2003,” said Hilary Dart, presi-dent of Calvin Klein Cosmetics. “However, we believewe will start seeing a turnaround, even if it is slightthis fall. As the fragrance category continues to be achallenge, our focus will remain on the consumer in2003 by continuing our innovation. It’s about exploringnew territories with existing fragrances and adding

newness and value to attract consumers.”Classics are a key part of that strategy, said Dart.

“Classic fragrances continue to be relevant to con-sumers and our strategy of limited editions has workedfor our classic fragrances,” she said. “It helps the par-ent brand by attracting new and lapsed users. It’s allabout creating excitement without a major launch.These initiatives add newness and excitement to thebrands, while also reaching a new, broader audience.”

“At Unilever Prestige, the focus is on the Vera Wangbrand which has been the ‘shining star’ of our portfoliothis year,” said Laura Lee Miller, president of UnileverPrestige. “We have had a very successful first half withVera Wang in the U. S. — we achieved a number 11ranking in NPD for May and retail sales are 50 percentahead of 2002 through June.”

The Vera Wang brand expanded into London inMarch with an exclusive launch at Harrods, but Milleremphasized the plan is to go slowly internationally.Turning to fall, Miller said, “We realize that the fallseason will be highly competitive with launch activityand we are committed to holding our position at retail.The bevy of launches this fall will bring customers intothe stores….This is where they make their final deci-sions. Now is a time when a brand needs to emotional-ly connect with consumers.”

“When I first saw the April results, I said, ‘Maybethis will [last] a week or two,’ but I’ve seen sustainedimprovement though April, May and June,” saidJoseph Horowitz, president and ceo of Clarins GroupUSA. “[Though] the industry in total has not been allthat rosier, it has gotten better. The prestige market-place as a whole might show a couple of points ofgrowth before the year is out.

“[Clarins] has been better,” he added. “For the last 21/2 months, I have seen a significant improvementtrend across all of our brands to the point where it’s ac-tually pleasing at the moment because we’re starting tosee double-digit [gains] in some of our brands — and wehaven’t seen that type of trend in a very long time.”

Clarins Group’s U.S. arm could end the year withmid- to high-single digit improvements, according toindustry estimates. “We have a lot of exciting newnessand the marketplace is saying newness is better thanoldness — the new stuff is moving and the old stuff isgoing backwards very fast,” said Horowitz.

“I am optimistic,” said Donald J. Loftus, presidentand ceo of Cosmopolitan Cosmetics USA Inc. “Everyyear I can’t imagine it being worse than last year,” headded, half jokingly. Nevertheless, “based on the trendswe’re seeing now, I think fall is going to be fine.”

Loftus believes industry-wide gains could reach the

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The Beauty Report

SEPHORA SWAP: Sephora, theLVMH Moët Hennessy LouisVuitton-owned perfumery chain,announced Thursday it will takeover the activities of Poland’s oldestselective perfumery chain, Empik— including its nine shops — inreturn for a minority stake inSephora Polska, Sephora’s Polishsubsidiary. Other terms of the dealwere not disclosed. Sephora said ina statement that it “is completingits geographical presence inPoland, principally in major towncenters.” As a result of theagreement with Empik, Sephoranow controls 40 stores in Poland.

NEW NOMINATION: Patricia Turck-Paquelier has been appointed thenew chief of Helena Rubinstein.She will take on the position whilemaintaining her role as theinternational brand president ofL’Oréal’s Prestige and CollectionsInternational. As reported,Philippe Villemus, formerlyHelena Rubinstein’s internationalgeneral manager, left L’Oréal lastmonth. Turck-Paquelier willintegrate Helena Rubinstein intoPCI, which also develops thebeauty brands Giorgio Armani,Cacharel, Viktor & Rolf, PalomaPicasso and Guy Laroche. Untilnow, Helena Rubinstein had beenpart of L’Oréal’s general luxuryproducts division. “This neworganization will permit theaccelerated growth of aprestigious brand, which has hadgreat international successes withstar skin care products such asProdigy and Collagenist or theStellars lipstick, and for which ageneral manager will be named inthe next few weeks,” said GillesWeil, president of L’Oréal’s luxuryproducts division, in a statement.

GOOD HAIR DAY: Ralph LaurenFragrances will launch four hair careproducts within its Ralph fragrancebrand, a move that’s considered theL’Oréal USA-owned brand’s firstincursion into the hair care category.The quartet, called Ralph Good HairDay, includes three shampoos and aconditioner, which feature nameslike Dish the Dirt and Knot Now,Knot Ever. Each 8.5-oz. item ispriced at $12.50 and the line isexpected to reach 2,200 departmentstores in August. Two styling aids,called Saved By the Gel and GetHold of Yourself hairspray, will jointhe line in the spring — at whichtime an international rollout is slatedto occur.

RACE FOR KIEHL’S: Kiehl’s issponsoring a race from DeathValley, Calif. to the portals of Mt.Whitney from July 22-24 — andnot only is the brand sponsoring it,but longtime employee ChristopherBergland will be one of theparticipants. Tied to the Kiehl’sBadwater Ultra Marathon is thelaunch of Kiehl’s Vital SunProtection line, which each racerwill wear on his or her two-day andtwo-night trek through the desert.

NAUTICA’S WIN: You could call it aslam-dunk: Washington Wizardsplayer Juan Dixon teamed up withUnilever Prestige’s Nauticafragrance brand and Hecht’s at theWashington, D.C.-area Bowie TownCenter last month. Theappearance, promoting theNautical Competition fragrance,generated sales of more than$12,000 during the Father’s Dayweekend.

TOP NOTES

NEW YORK — With its new IdealistMicro-D Deep Thermal Refinisher,Estée Lauder is tapping into the grow-ing home microdermabrasion trend.

“Microdermabrasion is the secondmost requested skin care service,” saidDaniel Annese, vice president of market-ing, North America, for Estée Lauder. “Itmade sense for us to develop a productthat served that need for our consumers.And it’s also considerably cheaper — atypical microdermabrasion session in adoctor’s office or spa costs $150, while ourproduct is $45.” Annese estimates that theLauder item contains enough product for 25 to 30 uses.

Janet Cook, president of Estée Lauder North America, noted thatMicro-D product also serves another important function — expandingLauder’s already considerable reach in the repair category. “The EstéeLauder brand accounts for 41 percent of the repair category right now,and we believe that this product will further expand our businessthere,” she said. “This is a unique item with a huge opportunity.”

The product, designed to be used twice per week, is intended toaddress fine lines and dull skin, noted Daniel Maes, vice president ofresearch and development for Estée Lauder Worldwide. “Most skinrefinishing products and procedures use one type of crystal or bead, butthe key to this product is our TripleSphere Refinishing System,” notedMaes. The proprietary technology incorporates microcrystallinespheres, large, soft spheres that are intended to help skin shed large, dryflakes; bamboo, medium-sized beads which are intended to minimizethe appearance of pores, and micronized jade, which is intended to pro-vide a deep polishing action to perfect the look of the skin.

The three-pronged refinishing system is teamed with another propri-etary ingredient incorporating calcium chloride. “When the product ismassaged onto the skin, it heats up and helps to detoxify pores by dis-lodging the sebum, thereby insuring maximum effectiveness,” said Maes.

According to Marjorie Lau, vice president of global skin care market-ing for Estée Lauder, the product is designed to be used in conjunctionwith the brand’s existing Idealist Skin Refinisher product. “The twohave a synergistic effect,” she noted, adding that a massage techniquehas been developed for use in conjunction with the new product.

Micro-D will retail for $45 for 2.5 oz. It will be available at Lauder’s2,000 North American department and specialty store doors and on estee-lauder.com in August. While none of the executives would comment onsales projections or advertising budgets, industry sources estimated thatMicro-D would do about $15 million at retail in its first year on counterand that about $2.5 million would be spent to promote it.

National advertising, with the tag line, “Your ideal skin — no appoint-ment necessary,” breaks in September magazines. The brand also is plan-ning to distribute more than 500,000 samples of the product, noted Annese.

— Julie Naughton

NEW YORK — Origins’ popular Salt Scrub is rubbingoff into a new product line this fall.

Two new items — Incredible Spreadable GingerBody Smoother and Incredible Spreadable Sea SaltBody Smoother — will bow this August. Both weredeveloped based on the success of the original OriginsSalt Scrub, which launched in 1995, said Lynne Greene,global president of Origins.

“Our original Salt Scrub has been such a successthat it made sense to expand — and even improve upon— the franchise,” said Greene, who noted that theupdated formulas are designed to be less messy thanthe original — the new formula is emulsified, while theoriginal is a mix-it-yourself proposition. The popularoriginal, however, will stay in the line, she emphasized.“This way, you have a choice,” she said.

Both new products feature white and brown sugars,intended to buff roughness away; Dead Sea salts tobrighten skin, and olive and jojoba oils to hydrate skin.The Sea Salt version is scented with mint and orange,while the Ginger version, naturally, is scented with gin-ger, in addition to lemon, lime and bergamot.

Both new scrubs retail for $25 for an 8-oz. jar. Theywill be available in Origins’ 500 U.S. doors, including

Origins’ 120 free-standing retail storesand 380 departmentstore doors, as wellas on origins.comand Gloss.com.Globally, the prod-ucts will roll out laterthis fall. Europe willget them in Octoberof this year, whilethey’ll go to Asia inspring 2004.

While Greenewouldn’t commenton projected sales,industry sourcesestimated that thescrubs would doupward of $7 millionat retail in their firstyear on counter.

Co-op advertis-ing, as well as morethan 100,000 sam-ples, are planned forthese products atlaunch, said Greene.

— J.N.

Estée Lauder’sFinishing Touch

PARIS — Lancôme is banking on its newfragrance, Attraction, to draw women to thefragrance bar this fall.

The scent, due to start rolling out here inOctober, comes at a pivotal time for theL’Oréal-owned brand. “Our key challengetoday is fragrance,” explained Guillaume deLesquen, deputy managing director atLancôme. “We have experienced very [sub-stantial] growth in makeup and skin care, andnow we must strongly develop Lancôme’s fra-grance business in Europe and the U.S.”

Today, of Lancôme’s total business, fra-grance sales comprise about 18 percent,with skin care and makeup ringing upabout 40 percent each. The ultimate goal,said de Lesquen, is for fragrance to gener-ate 25 percent of Lancôme’s sales withinthe next two years.

The launch of Attraction is also meant toconfirm Lancôme as an “expert perfumer,”he added.

While company executives refused todiscuss estimates for Attraction, industrysources believe the fragrance could gener-ate $56.7 million (50 million euros) in retailsales during its first 12 months.

Attraction is meant to bring a sensualcomponent to Lancôme’s women’s fragrancelineup, which also includes Trésor — with amore romantic and tender positioning —and Miracle — which has a more spiritualbent, explained Guillaume Gellusseau,Lancôme’s international marketing director.

Attraction is described by de Lesquen as

“more carnal.” “That makes it different[from other Lancôme scents] in terms ofpositioning and target,” he said.

When it comes to publicity forAttraction, Lancôme decided to feature aman with a woman — the first time a male’sso apparent in the brand’s advertising for afeminine scent.

“We decided to tell the story of a coupleand the vibrancy and desire at the heart ofa loving encounter,” said Gellusseau.

In another first, Lancôme is using modelReka Ebergenyi as a face for the single- anddouble-page Attraction print ads, which

were shot by Alistair Taylor Young and pro-duced by Air. Ebergenyi is pictured withRory Marshall sharing an attraction-filledencounter. There is also a film for the fra-grance, which will be aired on TV in 15-, 20-,25- and 30-second takes.

The ads will break at launch, which isOctober for Europe and European travelretail. Other global markets, including theU.S., are slated to get the scent in the firstquarter of 2004.

Attraction’s juice also is described as anencounter — of iris and patchouli — by itsperfumer, Givaudan’s Daniela Andrier.Additional notes in the fragrance includewhite flowers, vanilla, cedar and light amber.

Attraction’s round bottle, created bydesigner and architect Christian Biecher, ismeant to reflect the curves of a woman’sbody. Concentric circles are engraved intothe glass around its neck, and the flacon istopped by a rounded gold cap.

The bottle comes in a white and goldouter carton with a hologram finish.

The eau de parfum will come in 100-ml.,50-ml. and 30-ml. spray bottles, which willbe priced at $96, $68 and $44 (85 euros, 60euros and 39 euros), respectively. Therealso will be a 200-ml. body milk for $42 (37euros) at launch, plus additional ancillar-ies that will bow six months later.

Dollar figures have been converted fromthe euro at current exchange rates and arefor France.

— Brid Costello

Lancôme’s Rules of Attraction

Origins Scrubs UpIdealist

Micro-D

Deep

Thermal

Refinisher

and

Idealist

Skin

Refinisher.

Lancôme’s

Attraction.

New

Incredible

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NEW YORK — The mass beauty market is shrugging offthe first half.

The painful fact that sales across nearly every cos-metics category were down for the first six months forthe first time in years is not dampening spirits for thelatter half of the year. Manufacturers across the boardsaid they are expecting a brighter fall and winter.

For one, Joseph Campinell, president of L’OréalConsumer Products Group, speaking industrywide,downplayed the negative numbers promulgated by datafirms Information Resources Inc. and ACNielsen, point-ing out that neither contain Wal-Mart data. With Wal-Mart, Campinell contends sales were softer than nor-mal, “maybe at worst flat or up a point or two” depend-ing on the category. According to IRI, retail sales of facemakeup was down 5.2 percent in the first quarter, whilelip color slipped 0.3 percent and eye makeup was flat.

But to strengthen businessoverall, Campinell said, “Wehave had several meetingswith retailers over the last fewweeks and everyone is lookingfor ways to improve business.”Campinell has detected a shiftin attitude among industry ex-ecutives since the NACDSAnnual meeting in April. “Itwas almost like a resignationthat times were tough and nowthey are talking a more posi-tive game.”

For its part, L’Oréal willstress in-store activities, andthe company also will not pullback on its advertising plans.Said Campinell: “We will beas competitive and aggressiveas we have to be.”

A key launch for L’Oréalwill be the rollout this monthof its new antiage skin cream,Wrinkle De-Crease, whichCarol Hamilton, president ofthe L’Oréal Paris division,predicts will become its num-ber one stockkeeping unit.

With all the focus on skincare, there is a sense the cate-gory is not reaching its poten-tial. Total category sales wereup a modest 2.1 percent for the52 weeks ended April 22, ac-cording to IRI. In a test of a newmerchandising approach, oneretailer increased store sales 40percent, according to L’Oréal, aparticipant in the effort. “It isthe growth category of the fu-ture and penetration is modestcompared to other categories,”commented Campinell.

Procter & Gamble also willcontinue to invest in its brands.

“As for the category, it’s beenfairly flat for the first half andit’s always hard to predict thefuture,” remarked MarcPritchard, vice president, glob-al cosmetics and personal care,for Procter & Gamble. “Butwhat I can say is that Cover Girland Max Factor will continueto invest and work with our re-tailers to drive growth.”

Cover Girl, noted Pritchard,“is in the midst of 12 consecu-tive quarters of growth.” BothCover Girl and Max Factor havebeen boosted by the success oflong-wearing lip color items.Max Factor news for this yearincludes Stretch and Separatemascara, while Cover Girl isemphasizing its Multiplyingmascara and a new eye shadowcollection. Meanwhile, CoverGirl AquaSmooth foundationhas helped shore up thebrand’s leading position in theface segment.

Karen Fondu, generalmanager, Maybelline-Garnier,is optimistic about the secondhalf of 2003. Maybelline-

Garnier’s new initiatives, she said, coupled with thecompany’s momentum to date, positions it for a strongback half. “The sense we get from our retailers is thatearly July results are positive. I look forward to a fa-vorable second half,” Fondu said.

Revlon, too, is looking at innovation in its existingbrands to help drive sales.

“As we have said, our growth plan includes reener-gizing the Revlon and Almay brands through innova-tion in product development and creative marketingprograms,” said Debra Leipman-Yale, executive vicepresident and chief marketing officer of Revlon.“Clearly, the category has been soft over the past sev-eral months, but we believe that the categories inwhich we compete will begin to see favorable momen-tum for second half. Notwithstanding this softness,based on ACNielsen data, we have increased our mar-

ket share for our Revlon and Almay brands.” Meanwhile, Ingrid Jackel, vice president of market-

ing at Physicians Formula, one of the few brands tobuck the down trend in color cosmetics and post dou-ble-digit increases, said she thinks the market as awhole will make a comeback. It will likely be a conser-vative gain, but Jackel anticipates growth of three tofive percent. In particular she expects a recent spike insales of cosmetics kits to continue. And to keep its ownsales going, which are now up 34 percent over last year,Physicians Formula will be offering more value-orient-ed promotions including gift-with-purchase offers.

Bill George, senior vice president of MarkwinsInternational, expects an even stronger second half,especially since the company is now producing prod-ucts with AM products, such as Wet 'n' Wild. “We think

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The Beauty Report

retailers are looking for products likeours to drive shoppers into our stores,"George said, adding that the companyis revamping Black Radiance.

Teen cosmetics, however, are not ex-pected to have a comeback season, wheresales have been faltering — Target is ex-pected to trim its lineup to one brand.

Still, Lotta Luv, a newcomer to the youthmarket, is positive about the second half ofthe year. “A combination of new licenses,strong sell-throughs at retail and newcustomers are feeding our growth,” saidSteph Fogelson, president. “We anticipateour business on comparable doors withincreases by 50 percent, new customers willadd on approximately 20 percent and newlicenses will increase our business byapproximately 20 percent.”

And Beauty Beat [formerly WorldwideCosmetics] is expecting growth of 25percent, driven predominantly by skincare. Michael Eckert, executive vicepresident, retail sales, also predictsMarbella eye and lip pens sales will rise 5percent and Savina nail products willincrease 10 percent.

The hair care category is void of productlaunches for the last half of the year, leavingin-store promotions and advertisingcampaigns from heavy spenders, such asJohn Frieda, Garnier and Dove, to drivesales during the period. Despite a slew of

new launches, most notably by Unileverand Garnier, hair care sales for the firstsix months of 2003 were $1.7 billion, down1.4 percent from the same period last year.Sales figures exclude Wal-Mart. Of thatnumber, hair color sales were down 3.6percent; shampoo sales slipped 0.6percent, conditioner sales fell 1.7 percentand sales of styling aids decreased 0.2percent.

Jerry Dowell, a leading industryconsultant, said the retail chains he dealswith — CVS, Rite Aid and Eckerd — aredisappointed that the last six months of2003 will be absent of any new significanthair care launches.

“I don’t know if I remember a time thatnothing new was coming from Unilever,L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble and Clairol.That’s a strong theme,” remarked Dowell.

Andrew Gross, vice president, branddevelopment and marketing, hair and oralcare, for Unilever predicts the comingmonths will reveal a strengthening inmarket trends, mirroring the overallrecovery in the economy, and agreed thatdriving trial through in-store promotionswill be paramount to manufacturer success.

The bath category isn’t doing muchbetter — and retailers are threatening tocut shelf space if sales don’t pick up.

“Since the category is declining in themass market, we know from retailers thatthere is pressure for cutting back space in

the category,” said Stephanie Hayano,divisional vice president of the massmarket arm of Wella, maker of the Yardleybath brand.

According to IRI, all bath additives(which excludes body washes and barsoaps) were down 9 percent in dollar salesto $101.5 million, and down 11 percent inunits sales to 37.3 million for the 52 weeksended May 18, excluding Wal-Mart.

Declines in bath emerged in mid-2001after a five-year growth spurt. Thecategory continues to suffer for a numberof reasons, such as market saturation,polarization and specialty bath’s failure tocompete with upscale offerings at valueprices, according to manufacturers.

Michael Piff, executive vice president ofglobal sales and marketing for MinnetonkaBrands, a value brand manufacturer,pointed to sales of the company’s VillageNaturals Spa line as an example; thebrand’s sales are up 6 percent for the 52-week period. Specialty bath’s leadingbrands, Calgon and Healing Garden,however, are both down for the the mostrecent six months, 16 percent and 6.4percent, respectively, according to IRI.

On the flip side, Wella’s Hayano said,innovative bath lines still have somethunder, namely Yardley’s new Apotharyline, “proving that if you have something newand different, there is an opportunity forgrowth. Innovation is the watchword.”

Marie-Anne Aymerich, vice president,brand development and marketing, atDove Skin Global, said the personal washcategory is growing slightly with body

wash leading most of the growth. Moreand more consumers are trading in thebar for body wash, she said, and addedbenefits are helping drive the category’spremium pricing.

Looking forward, Piff forecasts similarsales decreases for the balance of thecalendar year, with “margins for bothretailers and suppliers challenging.”Consumers are expected to continue theirquest for value-priced products into theholiday time frame, putting pressure onproducts priced above $10. The battlebetween national brands and lower-pricedimports and private label gift sets will heatup for the holiday season, too. Piff alsotouched on the possibility that shelf spacein the category “will shrink further beforeit expands again,” particularly since SarahMichaels, once the category’s leadingspecialty bath brand, filed for bankruptcyearlier this year. Wella’s Hayano saidmanufacturers, including the company’sYardley brand, are currently “jockeying forSarah Michaels’ space,” but noted the veryreal possibility of it being allocated to othergrowth categories within mass stores.

Anastasia Ayala, senior vice president ofglobal fragrances for Coty, believes theindustry should brace itself for a seismicchange in bath merchandising next year. “Wehave commoditized the category,” Ayala said.In turn, Coty “is in the midst of a big projectfor bath,” which ultimately will “create new[bath] environments” in mass stores.

— Laura Klepacki, Andrea M.G. Nagel, Faye Brookman

and Kristen Van Hoesen

NEW YORK — The fickle nature of today’s shopperscan fluster a merchant.

Not so Regis Corporation. A market leader in the hybrid salon-retail business,

Regis has diversified its portfolio to get to shoppers nomatter where they are. “We realized in the mid-1990sthat the mall environment was getting more difficultand we saw we had to grow outsideof malls,” said Paul D. Finkelstein,president of Regis Corporation,based in Minneapolis.

Regis, with annual sales exceeding$3 billion, has managed to excel in bothsalon and retail operations. In manycases, the company acquired its di-verse businesses. Finkelstein said fu-ture growth would be driven by acqui-sitions, new stores and same-storesales expansion. The firm expects 3 to4 percent of its growth to come frombuying existing businesses, 5 to 6 per-cent from new stores and another 3 to 4percent from same-store growth.

With more than 9,300 salons in vary-ing locations, Regis Corporation does-n’t flinch if shoppers stray from onechannel to another. Regis has a hugereach. Mall shoppers are familiar withRegis properties such as MasterCutsand Trade Secrets. Regis, realizing thegrowing allure of discount stores,inked a deal with Wal-Mart and nowhas SmartStyle salons in more than 1,300 Wal-Mart units.Its Supercuts has a big presence in strip malls. Regis alsoowns Vidal Sassoon and Jean Louis David, two promi-nent salon names.

And now, Regis is branching into lifestyle and powershopping centers with plans to open more warehouse-size units. It already owns Beauty Warehouse, a three-store operation. It has now opened three additional

units, dubbed Beauty Express, based on the concept.The stores are between 2,500 square feet and 6,000square feet, with 11,000 stockkeeping units. In lifestylecenters, shoppers can drive right up to the door of themerchant rather than strolling long mall corridors.

The largest retail portion of the Regis portfolio is the538-unit Trade Secrets, which produces 80 percent of its

sales from retail and 20 percentfrom salon services. According toNorma Knudsen, chief operatingofficer of Trade Secrets, the for-mat is producing comparable-store sales gains of 6 to 9 percentthis year versus last.

The customer is a “beauty junkie” who must havenew items first, said Knudsen. She said Trade Secretslaunches 25 to 30 new items per month. “Our customerhas to have it first.”

Trade Secret units are about 1,100 square feet andcarry about 5,000 skus. “[The warehouse stores] offerus a place to test things that we can then take to TradeSecrets,” said Knudsen.

Trade Secrets is also taking advantage of consumerdemand for salon products by remodeling existing unitswith a fresh look. The new prototype features white washwood and a much more open environment for retailitems. “The look is more feminine and we see an immedi-ate bump in sales when we remodel,” said Knudsen. Thegoal was to make the unit more “consumer friendly” in-stead of intimidating shoppers who might not understandthe store is for all consumers, not just salon operators.

The cash wrap area has been moved from the frontof the store to the back so shoppers see the wide arrayof professional products. The mix includes well-knownsalon brands such as Paul Mitchell, OPI nail care andSebastian, as well as the firm’s private label. The aver-

age consumer buys almost three itemsper trip, Knudsen said.

The first-to-market strategy is onekey to success that Trade Secrets haswhen pitted against mass merchants,including supermarkets, who haveadded many of the same professionalsalon hair care names that TradeSecrets carries. More and more womenwant salon hair and beauty productsand if Finkelstein has his way, morewill understand the importance of buy-ing from a salon versus a mass door.

Finkelstein heads up the BeautyIndustry Fund, a group with the solepurpose of cutting diversion of salonhair care products. The fund recentlycreated a TV spot suggesting that hair

care bought outside of salons could be phony.According to statistics provided by Finkelstein, retailsales of professional product in unauthorized channelsincreased by 45 percent during 2002 versus 2001.

As drugstores and other retailers continue to beef upprofessional lines to grab former department store shop-pers, chances are there will be more and more competi-tion from salon stores anxious for the same shopper.

Regis’ Formats Meet Many Needs

Continued from page 11

Promotions to Drive Beauty Sales

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salon area. Trade Secrets store.

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Critical MassBy Faye Brookman

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high-single-digit range. According to industry estimates,Cosmopolitan’s U.S. arm is currently running up abouttwice that, or between 15 and 20 percent, across allbrands. These first-half gains, coupled with major second-half launches within three of the company’s biggestbrands — Escada, Burberry and Gucci — have the poten-tial to double the company’s business, according to pro-jections by industry sources.

“We’re having incredible success with Escada,Burberry and Gucci,” said Loftus. “My feeling is that ifwe are doing this well with existing fragrances and the[current] trends are great, the fall launches, which areblockbusters, should be huge.

“Tough business times make people smarter,” he re-marked. “You have to be more demanding that whatyou’re doing is working for you.” This means ensuringretailers have the right stock, he noted, and being care-ful where one spends co-operative and national adver-tising dollars.

Loftus’ main concern about the second half is whattack retailers will ultimately take. “There’s always a ten-dency to lock the back doors after October results comeback and the third quarter is disappointing — we dealwith that every year. I just hope retailers don’t buy sotight that we can’t react to the customers.”

Prestige beauty executives in Europe also are findingsome things to be upbeat about for the remainder of 2003.

There’s a belief that a spate of new product launchescould well give a lift to otherwise flagging businesses.They also think certain key markets are showing signsof recovery. “The second half will be good,” statedPhilippe Benacin, president of Inter Parfums SA.“We’re optimistic.”

Inter Parfums Inc. has raised its full-year profit fore-cast to between $11.6 million and $11.8 million, a 23 to 26percent improvement over last year’s earnings of $9.4million. The New York-based beauty manufacturer hadpreviously expected full-year net income of $11 million.The earnings revision is based on better-than-expectedfull-year sales, which, if the dollar remains at currentlevels, are now forecasted at $165 million to $168 mil-lion, 27 to 29 percent better than last year’s sales of$130.4 million. Previously, Inter Parfums had forecastedsales of $150 million. The company owns 77 percent ofParis-based Inter Parfums SA, and the French firm’s re-sults are consolidated accordingly.

The introduction of new scents, such as Burberry Brit,should provide momentum to Inter Parfums SA’s rev-enues, according to the company, which is expected toclose 2003 with an 11 percent sales uptick year-on-year.

“The only growth driver today is new products,”maintained Lancaster Group Worldwide’s senior vicepresident of commercial Patrick de Lambilly, whichclosed its year ended June 30 with double-digit growthon a like-for-like basis.

Some markets in North America, the Middle East andSouth America are picking up. “I think the market thatwill recover fastest is the U.S.,” said Dario Ferrari, ceo ofthe Milan-based Intercos.

“The Arab countries are working very well,” contin-ued Ferdinando Silva Coronel, managing director atGiver Profumi, which is forecasting 3 percent salesgrowth for 2003. Some Asian markets are showing somesigns of recovery, as well.

Some firms, like Maurer + Wirtz, experienced only alight fallout from the SARS scare. “In some areas, we al-ready feel a positive change and are optimistic about thefourth quarter,” said the company’s international salesdirector, Gottfried Weiergraber. “We think we can makeup the slack.”

However, SARS did push back the company’s Chineseexpansion plans. “But it’s just a delay, not a real set-back,” qualified Weiergraber.

For Beiersdorf, on the other hand, a spokesman said:“There’s been no visible change in our Asian business.First there’s sell-in, then sell-out, [so] if there was to bean effect, it would be felt a bit later. But luckily, SARSdidn’t materialize into a huge problem, as feared.” Yet,with so many unexpected events in the recent past andtoday’s instability, numerous executives say it’s impossi-ble to make firm predictions. “I don’t make any forecastsat this stage,” said Remy Gomez, president of BeautéPrestige International. “I think the name of the game isunpredictability.”

Meanwhile, another French beauty executive said hedoesn’t expect the country’s fine fragrance market,which is practically flat in value terms and down by 2 to3 percent in units, to change in the near term.

However, other segments continue to show promise.Among them:

● Prestige beauty products in the low-to-mid pricerange, according to Paolo Bevegni, director of MicysCo.’s international division.

● Seasonal makeup offerings, said Angela Creasy,perfumery buyer at Liberty department store in the U.K.“Women now are really into updating their looks,” sheexplained.

● The tween and teen markets, according to Intercos’Ferrari. “We have been asked to develop some simpleproducts: mascara, glitter, lip glosses — mostly for theAsian market,” he explained. “If tweens learn to use lipgloss at age eight, they will continue using color throughtheir teens and [onward].”

● Men’s and antiage skin care, according to RobertoVenini, director of Guaber Group.

Such approaches to product teamed with creativitymay be the recipe required to boost the beauty industry.But Gabriele Pungerscheg, president of EuropeanDesigner Fragrances at Unilever Cosmetics International,says the market really needs to be cleansed of irrelevantproducts and attract customers in unexpected ways.

— WWD Global Beauty Staff

The Beauty Report

Beauty Hopes on the Rise STORE BUZZ: Burt’s Bees isopening a store andshowroom within its factory

space in Durham, N.C. While plans are still in conceptform — store square footage has not been determined —Roxanne Quimby, the company’s president, said the storewould open some time next year. The idea for a store andshowroom was driven by Burt’s Bees’ frequent plant toursby school groups, clubs and tourists. “We thought itwould be a good idea to offer products for sale afterpeople finished their factory tour,” Quimby said, addingthat the store will also provide an opportunity toexperiment with merchandising, point-of-purchase displayand promotional ideas. The store will most likely bedesigned by the firm’s in-house art department, and willlikely be a one-of-a-kind. When asked whether the storewould serve as a prototype for future locations, Quimbysaid, “Definitely not. We don’t think we are retailers.”

NEW BLOOD: Mary Albanese has been named director ofcreative and communications at Zotos International,reporting to Richard Stella, vice president of marketingand communications. Albanese’s responsibilitiesinclude directing all creative services for Zotos and ISOmarketing, sales and education programs, as well aspublic relations duties. Most recently, Albanese servedas communications director for Wella Professional. Shereplaces Dina Elliot, who left the company. Also in Zotosnews, Judie Maginn has been named vice president ofmarketing for Joico. Maginn will oversee all marketingactivities for Joico’s hair care, hair color and textureproducts and will report to Robert Seidl, president andchief executive officer of Zotos. Maginn most recentlyserved as vice president of marketing for Matrix.

ROOM TO GROW: Extracts, the trade show foraromatherapy, fragrance and personal care, hasoutgrown Exhibit Hall A, the building adjacent to theJacob Javits Convention Center and is holding its fallshow in Hall 1C, within the center’s main building. The14th semiannual event, scheduled for Sept. 19 toSept. 22, will continue its on-site spa and featurenearly 200 exhibitors from around the world.

GETTING THE WORD OUT: Colomer USA has launched anextensive outdoor advertising campaign to better targetits multicultural customer. Buses, billboards andsubways in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, LosAngeles, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Memphis,Houston and Washington D.C. now feature the ethnicbeauty company’s message to support its RevlonRealistic relaxer systems and Crème of Naturepermanent hair color line. An outdoor campaign isscheduled for Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Chicagoand Orlando this month.

NEW LOOK: Katherine Frank Creative Inc. has beencontracted to create a new cohesive design image forThe Wella Corp., including the Wella, Sebastian andGraham Webb brands. New graphics, banners andsignage are part of the effort. Tammy Marinis will leadthe program for the Lombard, Ill.-based creative group.

FIT FOR A DUCHESS: The Waldorf-Astoria has openedPlus One Spa, a 4,000-square-foot space on the hotel’s19th floor. Specialty beauty treatments, such as TheChocolate Pansy, a chocolate sugar exfoliation followedby a milk and honey cocoon wrap, have been designedexclusively for the spa. In addition to treatments formen and women, the spa also offers private showers,personal fitness training, yoga classes and nutritionalcounseling. Plus One Spa uses the Naturopathicabotanical skin and body line of products.

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WASHINGTON — The National RetailFederation is forecasting a 4.5 per-cent growth in total sales for generalmerchandise, apparel, home furnish-ings, electronics, appliance, sportinggoods, hobby, book and musicstores, collectively known as GAFS,in the second half of 2003, up from2.2 percent growth in the first half.

GAFS sales are expected to in-crease 3.5 percent for the year.

“Now that the Iraq conflict hasended, we are all waiting for theeconomy to show increased vigor,”NRF chief economist Rosalind Wellssaid in a statement Thursday.

“Though there will be lingering eco-nomic problems, retailers can expectsolid, steady growth in the secondhalf of the year,” when the economyand retail sales will be helped bylower energy prices, a rebound in theequity markets and the lowest inter-est rates since the Fifties.

Mortgage refinancing will provideconsumers with additional disposableincome, which is likely to be plowedback into spending on the home.Also, the recent passage of the $350billion tax cut package will almostcertainly lift economic growth, addingalmost 1 percentage point to real dis-

posable income for the year.Several retail sectors, including

home goods, appear to be poised forsolid growth in the second half, Wellssaid. “Also, pent-up demand for ap-parel, provided weather and stylescooperate, should increase sales ofclothing and accessories,” she said.

First-quarter GAFS sales rose amodest 1.4 percent. Second-quartersales are estimated to have increased3 percent, third-quarter sales are pro-jected at a 4.3 percent increase andfourth-quarter sales are estimated toincrease 4.7 percent.

— David Moin

NRF Sees Growth Doubling in Second Half

Continued from page 23.1 percent gain at specialtystores and a dip of 2.3 percent atdepartment stores.

However, inventories, a pointof major concern going into themonth, needed to be reducedand that particular mission wasaccomplished, paving the wayfor clean stocks and allowingstores to gear up for the vitalback-to-school season.

There were a number ofbright spots in June, includingluxury stores like Neiman Mar-cus (up 10.3 percent), specialtystores like Chico’s FAS (up 16.5percent), and teen stores likePacific Sunwear of California(13.4 percent). More moderate de-partment stores registered de-clines or more modest increases.

While retail analysts werepleased with the stores’ solidperformances in June, they saidconsumer response to early fallshipments in July would be akey indicator for the second half.

However, Dorothy Lakner, ananalyst with CIBC World Markets,which wrapped up its consumerconference in Boston, said shedoesn’t believe the retail environ-ment has gotten better, noting sheheard more caution than opti-mism from retailers presenting atthe conference. “There was nosense of a lifting of everyone’sspirits or that the consumer isback,” Lakner said. “There arestill issues with mall traffic.”

On the other hand, some be-lieve there is a renewed senseof optimism not seen in awhileand retailers are positionedwell for the second half.

Steven Skinner, a partner inthe retail industry group at Accen-ture, said he is feeling more up-beat about retailers’ outlooks forthe second half than he did aboutthe first half. While momentum isbuilding, he said, “we are not inthe area of clear sailing.”

SPECIALTY STORES Gap Inc.’s turnaround contin-

ued in June, as it reported a 10percent advance in overallcomps, in line with expectations.Old Navy was strongest, with an11 percent comp gain, but Gapand Banana Republic wereahead 8 percent and 7 percent,respectively.

The company said markdownand promotional activity lastmonth allowed it to reduce its in-ventory more than expected. Itnow expects inventory persquare foot to increase in thelow- to mid-teens by the end ofnext month, a lower projectionthan previously issued.

At Limited Brands, total comps

rose 5 percent, above expecta-tions, but higher markdowns,mostly at Express, dropped mar-gins down from last year’s levelsand below expectations. Apparelcomps increased 3 percent. LBinventories ended the month up2 percent, while apparel invento-ries ended the month down 11percent. Promotions helped mostunits report comps that werehigher than expected. Victoria’sSecret was up 7 percent; Bath &Body Works was up 3 percent,and Express up 5 percent, whileLimited stores comps were flat.

The firm noted June clear-ance sales were very successfulfor all its businesses and thesummer carryover of apparel in-ventory is below targeted levels.

Bebe Stores ended June up 3.3percent, with each week positive.The contemporary specialty firmalso notched up its earnings ex-pectations for the fourth quarter,to between 11 and 13 cents ashare, from a prior projection of 6to 9 cents. In June, Bebe soldabout 11 percent more units peraverage store, while the averageretail price slipped 8 percent.

In teen retailing, Abercrombie& Fitch said its June comps de-creased 5 percent, reflecting itssummer clearance events. Thecompany said because it was lesspromotional earlier in the quar-ter, it was able to take a some-what more aggressive approachto its annual June sale event,which helped to offset weakbusiness the first two weeks aswell as help improve its seasonalcarry-over position. Women’scomps were slightly negative butcontinued to be better thanmen’s. Hollister continued itsstrong performance, reportingdouble-digit comp gains.

Gadzooks’ comps fell 1.6 per-cent as the company reported asuccessful liquidation of its men’smerchandise in advance of theconversion to a girls-only conceptthat was completed on July 6.Continuing its recent struggles,Wet Seal’s comps deteriorated21.5 percent. American EagleOutfitters said Wednesday that itscomps stumbled 5.3 percent.

Chico’s FAS 16.5 percent in-crease proved to be the anomaly,as Ann Taylor tracked down 0.2percent, with AT stores down 2.5percent and Loft up 2.1 percent;Talbots was off 0.9 percent andCharming Shoppes fell 3 percent.

DEPARTMENT STORESKohl’s Corp., undergoing a

minor fall from grace in recentmonths, saw same-store sales dip2.4 percent in June. “We havebeen very aggressive in pricing

all quarter to clear our seasonalmerchandise and be appropri-ately positioned for back-to-school in August,” said chairmanand ceo Larry Montgomery.

Accordingly, the retailer re-duced its second-quarter profitexpectations to a range of 30 to32 cents a share, whereas WallStreet had expected 39 cents.

Federated Department Stores’comparable-store sales slid 2percent for the month, at the lowend of its projected 1 to 2 per-cent drop. The corporate parentof Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s,among others, is looking for Julyto comp down 1 to 2 percent.

June comps dropped 5.9 per-cent at May Department Stores,whose nameplates include Lord& Taylor and Filene’s.

J.C. Penney Co.’s departmentstore comps inched up 0.1 per-cent in June, on strengtheningsales later in the month. Julycomps for the division areplanned for flat to up slightly.Second-quarter operating lossesfor the company are slated toequal the year-ago deficit of 5cents a share, before charges.Analysts had been looking for alesser loss of 2 cents per sharefor the current quarter.

Sears, Roebuck & Co.’s over-all comps dropped 1.8 percentfor June, though total apparelcame in with a flat result. Withinthe category, women’s compedup in the low-single digits, whilemen’s fell in the low-single digits.Chairman and ceo Alan Lacy, ina statement, noted, “A strongerpromotional stance contributedto improved trends in apparel.”The retailer anticipates an over-all same-store sales drop in thelow-single digits for July.

Dillard’s Inc. posted a 6 per-cent comp decrease for themonth. Saks Inc. declined 1.8 per-cent with a 3.7 percent drop at itsdepartment stores and a 1.1 per-cent rise at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Same-store sales at Nord-strom Inc. rose 1.9 percent. Thecomp leader in the luxury realm,though, was Neiman MarcusGroup with a 10.3 percent rise.

MASS MERCHANTSWal-Mart Stores registered a

2.7 percent comparable-storesales rise in June, within thefirm’s 2 to 4 percent guidance.

The discount store divisioncomped up 2.4 percent and wasoutpaced by Sam’s Club, whichmanaged a 4.1 percent increase.

“More seasonally correcttemperatures helped to movesummer items such as appareland air conditioners,” said aspokeswoman on a recorded

call. “Inventories are still aboveour goal of growing at half therate of sales, but the warmweather is helping to bring itback closer to our goal.”

For July, the retailer is againlooking for an overall comp gainof 2 to 4 percent, though it’sleaning toward the upper end ofthat range considering currentmomentum.

Target Corp.’s same-storesales climbed 0.8 percent with a2.4 percent rise at the discountstores, a 1.9 percent dip atMarshall Field’s and a belly flopat Mervyn’s, which posted a 12.7percent decline.

The firm’s discount store unithit its goal of a 1 to 3 percentcomp rise, although the rest ofthe firm was expected to faresomewhat better than it did as it

was projected to register compsjust 0.5 to 1 percent below theTarget division’s mark.

“Given the significance ofthis month’s contribution to oursecond-quarter earnings per-formance, we now expect ourmost likely EPS outcome in thequarter to be 39 to 40 cents,”said chairman and chief execu-tive Bob Ulrich in a statement.Analysts already had the firmpegged at 40 cents.

In the off-price world, TJXCos. posted a 2 percent comp in-crease, but trimmed its second-quarter profit expectationsslightly to 23 to 24 cents a share.Ross Stores’ same-store saleswere off 2 percent for the month.

ShopKo Stores comped down1.5 percent in June while SteinMart posted a 4.9 percent drop.

Promotions Clear Space for B-T-S

JUNE SAME-STORE SALES

JUNE 2003 MAY 2003 JUNE 2002% of Change % of Change % of Change

DEPARTMENT STORESBon-Ton 1.1 (0.9) 5.3 Dillard's (6.0) (7.0) 2.0 Elder-Beerman 1.3 1.5 (3.1)Federated (2.0) (0.8) (0.4)Gottschalks (1.2) 3.4 4.3 Kohl's (2.4) 0.1 14.8 Marshall Field's (1.9) (0.1) (2.0)May Co. (5.9) (3.9) (1.4)Mervyn's (12.7) (10.0) (0.1)Neiman Marcus 10.3 5.2 1.7 Nordstrom 1.9 3.4 3.2 J.C. Penney (dept. stores) 0.1 3.2 (0.3)Saks Dept. Store Group (3.7) (0.2) 4.6 Saks Fifth Ave. Enterprises 1.1 (3.8) (3.6)Sears Roebuck (U.S. stores) (1.8) (1.9) (3.8)Stage Stores (3.1) (6.6) 8.9

SPECIALTY CHAINSAbercrombie & Fitch (5.0) (7.0) (5.0)Aeropostale 8.7 (1.5) 11.8 American Eagle (U.S. stores) (5.3) 1.1 (3.2)Ann Taylor (0.2) 9.4 (1.2)Banana Republic 7.0 2.0 (6.0)Bebe 3.3 4.2 (3.9)Cache 12.0 4.0 10.0 Cato (6.0) (7.0) 3.0 Charming Shoppes (3.0) (3.0) 5.0 Chico's FAS 16.5 11.7 15.0 Christopher & Banks 2.0 1.0 13.0 Claire's 4.0 7.0 5.0 Deb Shops (11.7) (6.2) 6.3 Dress Barn (7.0) 0.0 4.0 Gadzooks (1.6) 5.1 1.4 Gap (U.S. stores) 8.0 8.0 (7.0)Goody's Family Clothing 2.5 3.5 (1.9)Hot Topic 3.5 3.2 2.1 Limited Brands 5.0 1.0 5.0 Mothers Work (0.6) 4.7 6.3 Old Navy 11.0 13.0 (4.0)Pacific Sunwear 13.4 13.2 10.5 Talbots (0.9) (5.0) (8.7)United Retail (12.0) (9.0) 6.0 Wet Seal (21.5) (25.0) 5.6 Wilsons (1.4) (5.2) (12.3)

MASS MERCHANTSFactory 2-U Stores 3.0 2.0 (6.3)Ross Stores (2.0) 0.0 12.0 ShopKo (1.5) (3.1) 2.5 Stein Mart (4.9) (6.5) 2.5 Target (discount stores) 2.4 4.6 6.1 TJX 2.0 3.0 3.0 Value City (0.2) 3.2 (3.9)Wal-Mart (discount stores) 2.4 2.1 8.7

Tally:Up 23 27 30Flat 0 2 0Down 27 21 20Total 50 50 50

SOURCE: COMPANY REPORTSPARENTHESES INDICATE DECLINES

14

By Patty Huntington

SYDNEY — Swimwear and splashy — literally — presen-tations saved the day in Sydney.

With a dozen internationals pulling out at the lastminute, SARS took some of the attendance bite out ofthe recent spring 2003-2004 Mercedes AustralianFashion Week showcase. But a sparkling new showvenue and some high-energy presentations kept buyers’minds off the disease.

While organizers did not have final figures at presstime, they estimated this year’s attendance could be up25 percent over May 2002’s 15,000 figure. The main in-crease is expected to come from the domestic retail sec-tor, with this year’s new free registration boosting thedomestic buyer database by 400 percent, said organiz-ers. Even with the no-shows, international attendance,totaling 160, was on par with 2002.

More than 40 delegates turned out from SARS hotspots of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Canada.And that made some locals twitchy.

A spokeswoman for the HongKong Trade Development Councildelegation said, “We have askedthe Hong Kong delegates to bringface masks. If it makes peoplemore comfortable to go to theirstands, then they’ll do it.”

Keen to allay fears and avoid asimilar situation to the one thatoccurred at April’s Baselworld,the Watch & Jewellery Show inBasel, Switzerland — where 300Hong Kong delegates were bannedat the last minute by Swiss healthauthorities — the HKTDC con-ducted rigorous health checksprior to departure and immediate-ly after arrival. Apparently, therewere no significant problems, be-cause the HK delegation managedits image problem and recordedits best sales and publicity ever inSydney, according to the tradegroup, doubling sales from the lastspring-summer event it attendedin May 2001.

“The Hong Kong show was areally nice surprise — I wasn’t ex-pecting it,” said Villa Moda buyerDavid Cheung, who bought Spy’skaleidoscopic silk devore sepa-rates, as well as Pacino Wan and Dorian Ho. Cheungalso restocked on Akira, Easton Pearson, Kerry Grima,Anthony Kendal, Lisa Ho, Aurelio Costarella and Tsubi,a hot denim-urban brand.

Taiwan’s Far Eastern Department Stores group, first-timers at the MAFW, were hopeful, despite a 60 percentSARS-related sales slump. FEDS buyers were in Sydneyscouting talent for a contemporary fashion area rollingout initially to two key FEDS stores in January.According to FEDS’ agent Jenifer Zacka, the group willbuy a half-dozen Australian contemporary resources, in-cluding Alannah Hill, Wayne by Wayne Cooper, Tsubiand Bondi Beach Bags Co., and is also looking at Akiraand Easton Pearson for its expanding designer area.

Also in town was Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford.Although experiencing a 50 percent sales slump at thetime, contemporary women’s wear buyer Sarah Lamsaid the company was trying to “be optimistic” about

the coming seasons. By press time, sales were back upby 40 percent, Lam noted, the result of promotional ac-tivities like parties and fashion shows designed to bringcustomers back into the stores.

According to Lam, Lane Crawford matched its MAFWspring 2002-2003 budget this season — said to be about$330,000 — and will return for MAFW fall 2004 inMelbourne.

U.S. dollar figures are converted from Australiandollars at current exchange.

Although Lane Crawford buys Easton Pearson, mostof Lam’s Sydney budget was spent on swim brands suchas Seafolly, Jets and Tigerlily.

“I think swimwear is one of the strongest categoriesin the market,” added Lam, noting that 70 percent of theretailer’s expanding swimwear department now hailsfrom Australia.

And to spotlight the growing importance ofAustralian swimwear, MAFW provided a spectacularnew backdrop in Circular Quay. The organizers signed athree-year deal with the Sydney Ports Corp. to take over

the harbor-hugging OverseasPassenger Terminal, which over-looks the Sydney Opera House.

An international cruise termi-nal that still berths 80 cruise lin-ers a year, the building received amakeover in 2001 costing $14.5million, with another $13.2 mil-lion pumped into fitouts by ten-ants, including four restaurantsand numerous bars.

And while the old Fox StudiosAustralia site boasted only oneprivate MAFW bar — the always-hopping Bar Bazaar — at leastfive private bars popped up in thenew facilities. “I thought it wasvery cruisy — a much more re-laxed environment in which towrite business,” said ColetteGarnsey, group general managerapparel, cosmetics and marketingfor David Jones — which turnedthe Cruise Bar into its own VIPcourtesy lounge each night.Although Garnsey declined to givefigures, she said her budget wasup on last spring, that she pickedup several new resources andforesees “considerable growth” inher Australian designer business.

Then there was Tsubi’s floating gin palace: a glass-bot-tom boat that cruised the harbor, doubling as showroomby day and dance party by night. Tsubi acolytes grooved toDJ Paul Sevigny — brother of Chloë Sevigny, whose friendTara Subkoff just happened to be in town at the timeworking on costumes with the Sydney Dance Co.

For the finale of Tsubi’s fashion parade, the companydispatched its models, dressed in the brand’s merchan-dise over the side of the boat and into Sydney Harbour,right in front of the Opera House. Any internationalscould have been forgiven for thinking the Olympicswere still in town.

“Unbelievable — I mean there’s nothing like it, ex-cept maybe having a catwalk across the Eiffel Tower —the backdrop provided a really theatrical, dramatic wayto look at things,” said Ruth Ann Lockhart, divisional di-rector of designer apparel for Canada’s Holt Renfrew.Here for the first time this year on a research trip,

Lockhart says she surprised herself by leaving with ahandful of collections: Zambesi, Easton Pearson,Zimmermann, Natasha and Sass & Bide. According toLockhart, the SARS impact on Holt Renfrew’s businesswas nowhere like that experienced in Asia. “We’re see-ing minimum single-digit increases on last year — butwe had hoped for more.”

MAFW has grown considerably since its 1996 incep-tion, when it showcased 33 designers in 17 collectionshows and 18 exhibitors. This year’s event had 63 de-signers participating in 36 collection shows, 137 ex-hibitors in an area called The Source, and 69 designersalso participating in designer open-day showrooms.

Some attendees said the downside to the new venue wasthe “upstairs-downstairs” layout of the exhibition space.

Where MAFW’s old 54,000-square-foot space createda buzzing fulcrum for the entire event, through whichall delegates were obliged to walk to access shows, theawkward design over two levels and poor signage thisyear created an overall impression that the 37,600-square-foot area dubbed The Source was in fact onlyhalf that size. Organizers said the layout was more effi-cient, but not all exhibitors were convinced.

Bondi Beach Bags Co., an accessories firm, saidsales were 60 to 70 percent down from last year, blam-ing poor traffic in the upstairs portion.

However, upstairs exhibitors who reported strongsales included a Trade New Zealand delegation, ParisMode accessories and Rebecca Taylor, a New York-based New Zealander.

Although some of the week’s highlights — TinaKalivas, Willow lingerie and Sandra Thom — were tinyshows on shoestring budgets, just around the harbor’sedge, the new Tony Assness-produced Wharf 3 shows of-fered elaborate productions.

Costing about $528,000, the Wharf 3 venture was fi-nanced in part by Westfield Australia as a marketing ex-ercise to promote its new Westfield Bondi Junction re-tail complex. The first stage opens in November.

An existing mall in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs,Westfield Bondi Junction embraces David Jones andMyer Grace Bros. outlets and will embody Westfield’sfirst flagship “black label” concept. Refurbished at a costof just under $400 million, it will boast a more contempo-rary design and more upmarket retail mix than otherWestfields, with such tenants as Mecca Cosmetica, GeorgJensen, Escada, Paul & Joe, Burberry, Zimmermann,MARCS and Wayne Cooper. The latter three receivedshow funding as a leasing sweetener.

And while not all the Wharf 3 shows suited the behe-moth venue, some productions — notably those ofWayne Cooper and Terry Biviano — dominated much ofthe week’s publicity.

“I loved the shows that were there, Terry Bivianoand Kerry Grima were amazing,” said Saks FifthAvenue’s market director, Colleen Sherin.

“They were pretty spectacular” echoed HoltRenfrew’s Lockhart. “I thought [the event] was veryworld class, professionally handled and right up therewith Milan, Paris and New York. I’ve been in this busi-ness for 20 years and do the circuit, and apart from theabsence of the [top models], the paparazzi and AnnaWintour, the collections created the impression thatAustralia is not backwater for fashion.”

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Australian Fashion’s Big Splash

Models jump into

Sydney Harbour

after the Tsubi

show.

Swimwear, like

this suit from

Zimmermann,

is increasingly

important in

Australian

fashion.

Terry Biviano's flowing style.

PHOT

OSBY

ALEX

ZOTO

S

WESTWOOD, N.J. — “Ilove it, I love it,”squealed Julia, age 53/4, waxing enthusiasticabout an outfit she wastrying to convince hermother to buy for her.“Take the tags off. I’llwear it forever.”

The elated criescame from a dressingroom at Daisy & Lilly:A Girl’s Best Friend ona recent afternoon.

Girls seem to get excited about what they find at the2,000-square-foot store housed in a renovated Victorianhome on Center Avenue, a semi-residential street inthis affluent Bergen County community.

With its four-foot-high mural of Daisy and Lilly (twoJack Russell terriers) painted on polystyrene tiles tolook like stone frescos and the real Daisy lounging inthe window seat; merchandise such as watering-can-shaped handbags, and kits for making everything frommemory books to embellished jeans, it’s clear that thestore was conceived just for them.

It’s one of the few places to find dressy dresses andcasual clothes in sizes 4 to 6X and 7 to 16 that’s accept-ed by both girls and their moms. In the fall, the firstDaisy & Lilly will add juniors because its customers,many in the 10-to-12-year-old range, are growing up.

By popular demand, owners Digna Rodriguez-Poultonand Simon Poulton in March opened Daisy & LillyGrown-Up across the street for the mothers of the origi-

nal store’s clientele, who beggedfor clothes with a similar sensi-bility in their own size range.

You won’t find overtly sexed-up styles such as see-throughblouses or belly shirts at the firstDaisy & Lilly, or its older sibling,for that matter. Rodriguez-Poulton isn’t a fan of the BritneySpears school of fashion.

“I’m worried about the mes-sage we as a society are sendinggirls,” she explains. “There’s adifference between fashion andtrendy, inappropriate things. Alot of times when girls wearthings like that they feel veryself-conscious. It invites atten-tion that they’re not emotionallyequipped to deal with.

“Girls all aspire to be older,”she adds. “We want them to beolder with a taste level.”

The couple have no children,except for Daisy, Poulton says.They are expecting Lilly as soonas they can get a Jack Russellpuppy. “We’ve sort of adoptedeveryone else’s kids,” he adds.

At the Grown-Up store, “Wedon’t pander to the women who goto the gym, wear a size 0 and wantthe grooviest, trendiest thing,”says Poulton. “Lines like Fibers, and Supply and Demand,have a more womanly fit. They’re not the Juicy Couture fit.”

“Young moms want to dress nice but look functional,”says Rodriguez-Poulton, who calls the store’s style “car-pool chic,” adding, “Women want casual things, but thiswoman is more conscious of her age and doesn’t want tolook ridiculous.”

In addition to Milly, Trina Turk, Cynthia Steffe,Three Dots, Single and XCVI Wearables, Daisy & LillyGrown-Up carries FRx Clothing jeans, noted for theircontoured waistband, which hugs the small of the back.

The two Daisy & Lillys opened under difficult cir-cumstances. The girl’s store’s scheduled opening onSept. 11, 2001 was delayed until November. “We had allthis back-to-school merchandise in our home,” saysPoulton. “Amid this global horror, we dug our way out ofa hole.” Meanwhile, the women’s store had the Iraq Warand six weeks of rain in May and June to contend with.

Nonetheless, the girl’s store hit it’s first year mark of$500,000 in sales and the women’s unit is expected to dothe same in its first year.

Both stores have a unique decor. Rodriguez-Poultonhas a sharp eye for design and merchandising.

The first floor of the girls’ store, where party dresses

and dressier separates from Betsey Johnson for Girlsand Monkey Wear, and accessories are located, is paint-ed the soothing shade of Benjamin Moore Blue 795.Prices range from $60 to $180 for a dress.

The upstairs, painted in Sherwin Williams’ AmericanCheese, features Hollywood and Tractor jeans, Un DeuxTrois and other casual fare, priced from $25 to $60. Thecouple will also produce a Daisy & Lilly collection.

An area called “My Room” is filled with gifts, books andHello Kitty and Choco Cat products and decorated with abead curtain made of oversized pompoms; crystals hang-ing from ribbons, plaques with legends such as Ballerinaand Happiness, and paint-by-numbers canvases.

Grown-Up, housed in a 2,000-square-foot renovatedcolonial, has exotic red walls accented with the sameshade of American Cheese paint, black and white floortiles, Modigliani reproductions hanging on the wallsand a white cashwrap with black detailing.

The couple is well aware of the dearth of apparelspecialty store concepts and plans to open additionalstores or franchise their two models. “We absolutelywant to open more stores,” says Rodriguez-Poulton, “butit has to stay small because it has to be special.”

Plus, she and Poulton like the flexibility of owning

their own business. “When we have to take markdowns,we take markdowns,” Poulton says. “We don’t have to gointo a meeting.”

Poulton and Rodriguez met in the late Eighties.Poulton, who had been vice president of production atWillie Wear, switched gears to computer-aided design.In 1989, Rodriguez, who was director of product devel-opment at Chaus, was in the market for a CAD systemand turned his company. “I never bought the product,”she says, “but I found a husband.”

After they were married, they both went on to otherjobs, Rodriguez working for Viacom where she openedthe company’s store and learned about branding and in-tellectual property, and then Nickelodeon, which washer first contact with children.

The couple admits that they opened Daisy & Lilly be-cause they believe mainstream apparel retailing lost itsluster. “I grew up at a time when Bloomingdale’s wasIndia,” she says.

But why focus on girls? “I just like girls so much,”she explains. “They’re so open and experimental. Also Idon’t think I’ve ever grown up. I guess it’s a case of ar-rested development.”

— Sharon Edelson

Storefront

The “My Room” area at Daisy& Lilly: A Girl’s Best Friend.

The “My Room” area at Daisy& Lilly: A Girl’s Best Friend.

Above: Two styles fromGrown-up; right, the tile

mural; Simon Poulton, DignaRodriguez-Poulton and Lilly.

Above: Two styles fromGrown-up; right, the tile

mural; Simon Poulton, DignaRodriguez-Poulton and Lilly.

A vignette atthe girl’s store.

Coming Up Daisies16

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By Lisa Lockwood

NEW YORK — “I wouldn’tcall her a classic beauty.She’s beyond a classic beau-ty. She has an identity, anintelligence and a soul tome,” said Donna Karan ofCate Blanchett.

Karan is clearly tickledabout her newest campaignmodel, who will star forthree seasons in herCollection ads, beginningthis fall.

“She’s as beautiful inperson as on the screen,”said Karan, who went shop-ping with Blanchett afterthe shoot. Karan wasn’t onthe set during the two-dayphoto session because itdidn’t fit into her schedule.

“I don’t go on shoots,”said the designer.

“If she did, we’d still beshooting fall 1988,” quippedTrey Laird, president andexecutive creative directorof Laird & Partners, Karan’sad agency.

In developing her fallcampaign, Karan had suchmovies as “Blade Runner”and “The Matrix” in mind.She wanted to portray amodern, urban scene withfuturistic overtones. “We wanted it sexual, organic, industrial andbody-conscious at the same time,” said Karan. Furthermore, shesaid, “We wanted to show a woman on the go. She’s got power andshe’s modern.”

Although they wanted to do the shoot in New York, Blanchett wascompleting a Ron Howard movie, “The Missing,” in Santa Fe, so theydecided to meet in Los Angeles. Mikael Jansson photographedBlanchett in an airport hangar at the Santa Monica Airport, in a carand in an abandoned printing factory in downtown L.A.

“That’s my favorite shot,” said Karan, pointing to a photo ofBlanchett in the designer’s black jersey “goddess” gown, accessorizedby a Robert Lee Morris silver keyhole. The 34-year-old Australianactress looks striking in such looks as Karan’s black jumpsuit and cash-mere jersey top; sequin scoopneck flirty dress; matte jersey dress withleather ties, and metallic bouclé jacket and bandage skirt.

Armed with a fall media budget that’s 10 percent larger than lastyear, Karan has produced a 24-page onsert that will be polybaggedwith the September W. Eight-page portfolios will run in Vogue andVanity Fair, and four-page units will appear in Harper’s Bazaar, TheNew York Times Magazine and Fashions of the Times. A gatefold alsowill run in V. Spreads and singles will appear in Town & Country,Departures and Harpers & Queen in the U.K.

Karan officials declined to reveal the fall budget. However, in thesecond half of 2002, Karan spent $3.2 million on media for DonnaKaran women’s and men’s collections and licensed Karan products,excluding fragrances, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.

WWD.comLog on now to subscribe

Now Available Online

Cate Blanchett was

photographed by

Mikael Jansson for

Donna Karan’s fall

Collection ads.

Cate Blanchett was

photographed by

Mikael Jansson for

Donna Karan’s fall

Collection ads.

Cate Stars in Karan Production

Cate Stars in Karan Production

Media/Advertising

ON THE HUNT: Since the ouster ofTom Rogers as chief executive officerof Primedia in May, many believedthe position would go to CharlesMcCurdy, the company’s presidentwho was tapped as interim ceo.

A well-liked executive within itspublishing arm, there was hopethroughout much of the magazineunit that Primedia might makeMcCurdy permanent top dog.

That remains a serious possibility.Nevertheless, KKR, the leveragedbuyout firm that controls the votingshare of Primedia, appears to besearching far and wide, meeting witha slew of candidates who might beavailable for the job.

As far as outside contenders go,the name being heard mostfrequently in publishing circles isMichael Pepe, the former chiefexecutive of Time Inc. International,who left the company this spring.One source, however, called a futurewith Primedia “old news.” MichaelPerlis, who ran the tech publisherZiff-Davis during the dot-com era, isanother name making the rounds.

Primedia — through itsheadhunter Spencer Stuart — alsocontacted Kelly Conlin, the formerceo of the technology trade publisherIDG, but two sources believe talksbroke off. Another distant possibility,according to sources, is DouglasPeabody, the former president ofWieder Publications.

So why has it taken three months

and why does there continue to belittle sign that the company is aboutto make an announcement?

Primedia, sources say, representsa challenge for headhunters, notsimply because of its poor financialperformance but because it hasidiosyncratic qualities that are nottypical of most magazine companies.For one, it is a public company in anindustry that — with the exception ofTime Inc. — is dominated byprivately held publishing entities suchas the Hearst Corp. and AdvancePublications, owner of Condé Nastand Fairchild, WWD’s parentcompany. Very few executives withpublishing experience have anunderstanding of shareholderrelations and Wall Street, sourcessaid. Second, Primedia’s ownershipof About.com puts a premium onexecutives who know abouttechnology as well. Third is strategic.Does KKR honcho. Henry Kravis wantto liquidate the company orrestructure it?

“I think he doesn’t know,” said asource inside the company whorequested anonymity. “Will they sellNew York? Probably, they’reessentially taking the temperaturenow and they’re not convinced theycan get the right amount of money.You just get the incredible sense inthis company that there is noleadership.”

“There is no attachment onKravis’ part to this title,” said asecond source. “It is a question ofwho to sell to and at what price.”

Primedia had no comment. — Jacob Bernstein and

Greg Lindsay

NEW MANAGEMENT: Advertisers thathave a bone to pick with YM overthe magazine’s circulation woesmight have a tougher time findingsomeone to complain to. (Of course,there’s always Dan Brewster.) Thepublishing team responsible is gone— publisher Laura McEwen bolted toReader’s Digest, and one associatepublisher, Lauren Jay, is going withher in a similar capacity. Newpublisher Joan Sheridan dispatchedthe other, Richard Skeen, just daysafter taking over. But in case she’stempted to blame her predecessorsif any new circulation woes come tolight, a Gruner + Jahr USAspokeswoman says the magazinewill continue to award make-goodpages to advertisers anytime itmisses its rate base (which was sixtimes in 2001).

Meanwhile, G+J USA has beenbusy hiring instead of firing over atits other problem child, the boom-time bible Fast Company. Nowworth a fraction of the whopping$342.5 million G+J paid for it in2000, the magazine is getting a fulleditorial makeover courtesy of neweditor John Byrne. And while itoriginally made its mark as a NewAge-y manual for workaholics, theteam he’s hired is decidedly oldschool. New executive editor MarkVamos hails from SmartMoney.com;managing editor Lynn Moloney,who’s written for Vanity Fair, amongothers; new San Francisco bureauchief Carleen Hawn arrived fromForbes, and the new art director,Dean Markadakis, has brought a fewdesigners with him from PCMagazine. — G.L.

MEMO PAD

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D, FRIDAY, JULY 11, 200317

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D, FRIDAY, JULY 11, 200319

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PATTERNS, SAMPLES,PRODUCTIONS

All lines,Any styles. Fine Fast Service.Call Sherry 212-719-0622.

PATTERNS/ SAMPLES PRODUCTIONS

Call (212) 268-9126

PATTERNS/SAMPLESPRODUCTION

Specializing in small productions. Sam-ples, duplicates, patterns. Full serviceshop to the trade. Fine fast work.

212-869-2699

NARS Cosmetics, a high-end cosmeticscompany, seeks experienced professionals

for the following positions:

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVEFor the New York Metro territory.Must be a strategic thinker, able tomulti-task and have previous AEexperience. Please e-mail resume withsalary requirements to:

aeresumes@narscosmetics.com orfax to: 212-941-1034

TRAINERFor the Southeast territory. Must havestrong motivational and makeup skillsand have previous cosmetics/skincaretraining experience. E-mail resumewith salary requirements to :trainerresumes@narscosmetics.com or

fax to: 212-941-1034

RESUMES THAT WORK! SINCE 1970PROFESSIONAL RESUMES, INC.

60 E 42nd Street, NYC 10165(212)697-1282/(800)221-4425

www.resumesforfashion.com

RETAIL STORE DIRECTORLuxury brand with multiple retaillocations across the countryseeks a seasoned professionalwith lots of positive energy. Hereare the "must haves":

•Ability to motivate, train and develop sales associates•Foster team work and enthusiasm with staff•Creative ideas for enhancing business•Merchandising and Sales Trend Analysis•Sales planning and budgeting•Ability to be Ambassador of "Good Will"

Lots of growth opportunity for thecandidate with luxury retail experi-ence, engaging personality andstrong leadership skills. Email on-ly to: rsdad03@yahoo.com

ACCOUNTANTImporter seeks 3 yrs exp, detail orient-ed indiv to handle A/P, A/R, bank rec& F/S + admin duties. Computer lit.Fax resume to: 212-692-9191 or email:tmiresumes@hotmail.com

Administrative AsstSeventh Avenue designer looking foran Admin Assist. The perfect candidatemust be detail oriented, flexible, efficient,and have computer knowledge. Mustbe able to follow-up on customerorders. Fax resume to: 212-719-9167

Account Exec./ Production ProPrivate Label

Min. 10 yrs exp. Fast paced environment. Person must be ex-tremely organized and detailed. Work directly with customerto service account and handle all phases of production fromA to Z! Pre-season development, garment costing, initiate pro-duction time and action calendars, purchase fabric, factoryallocations,issue cut tkts, maintain zero inventory balances.Ideal person must have excellent communication skills andcomputer skills. Some travel. Excellent benefit packages/ Sal-ary open. Fax resume to: 212-997-7761.

Attn: Personnel Dept.

Admin Since 1967

W-I-N-S-T-O-NAPPAREL STAFFING

DESIGN*SALES*MERCHADMIN*TECH*PRODUCTION

(212)557-5000 F: (212)986-8437

APPAREL STAFFINGAlan Wolf - Since 1971

*DESIGN*PRODUCTION**TECH DESIGN*GRAPHIC DESIGN*

*MERCHANDISING*See career listings @ www.apparelstaffing.com

of fax resume: 212-302-1161

A/P & PAYROLLCity Sites Sportswear looking for A/P& Payroll. Must have 5 years experi-ence in bookkeeping. Knowledge ofRealworld & MS Excel. Please faxresume to Connie at: 718-998-4112 orcall 718-375-2990 Ext. 13.

ASSOC. DESIGNERTween Sportswear Co. seeks excellentversatile talented individual w/ min 4yrs. exp. for apparel design & alloverprint design. Must have knowledge ofIllustrator & Photoshop. Please faxresume to 212-221-7064, Attn: Cathy.

DESIGN ASSISTANTMissy Sportswear Co. seeks a highlymotivated & detail oriented individual toassist in all aspects of design. Computerskills in MAC Illustrator & Photoshopare required. Print design experience aplus. We offer great salary & benefits.Please Fax resume to: 212-398-1327

Designer

ChildrenswearCalypso St. Barth, a retail/whsle op.,seeks Assistant Designer w/ min. 3 yrsexp in design & product developmentof childrenswear. Prepare technicalspecs, size grading, flat sketching &garment fittings. Knowledge of gar-ment construction & pattern makingessential. Exp. w/ overseas manufac-tures, Photoshop & Illustrator a plus.Must be detail oriented, excellent com-municator & computer literate. Portfo-lio & Bachelor of Fine Arts required.

Email: hr@christianecelle.com

DESIGNERWell known Outerwear Mfr. seeksladies’ Designer. Ideal candidate shouldhave 7+ years exp. Responsibilitiesinclude all aspects of design, artwork,detail sheets, flat sketching and specs.Knowledge of garment construction &fabrication a must. Ability to work inIllustrator & PhotoShop a plus! PleaseFax resume to MDD at: 212-819-0546

Graphic DesignerLadies Intimate apparel companyseeks creative, detail oriented, highlymotivated individual. Qualified indi-vidual should be proficient in Illustra-tor 10, Photoshop 7 and Streamline.This individual should have a greatwork attitude and be able to work in afast paced work environment. Must beable to meet deadlines and be a teamplayer. We offer excellent health bene-fits and salary to compensate experi-ence. Please fax resume to 212-842-4020 Attn: Sumi Couper

Equal Opportunity Employer

LOGISTICS ANALYSTGrowing French cosmetics companyseeks detail oriented, responsibleindividual. Primary responsibility: actas main HQ contact with warehouse.Secondary responsibility: managinglogistical aspects of new productlaunches. EDI and Access databaseexperience, strong communicationsskills necessary. Email resume to:

resumes@bourjois.com

HEAD PATTERNMAKERPatternmaker needed formulti division New Yorkbased Dress Company.Computerized pattern mak-ing experience necessary.Mustbe knowledgeable withall facets of pattern makingin all size ranges. Familiari-ty with catalog approvalprocedures and specifica-tions etc. a must. Be ex-tremely detail oriented andable to work well underpressure. Must be able tocommunicate corrections todomestic and overseas fac-tories. Fax resume in strictconfidence to:Mr. Jay @ 212-221-9134

Exciting opportunities availa-ble in our MEN’S JEANS andEARL JEAN Companies:

* WOVEN DESIGNER* LAB DIP/COLOR ASST

DESIGNER* ASST KNIT DESIGNER* ASST TECH DESIGNER

We offer a competitivesalary and comprehensivecompany-paid medical bene-fits package. Please faxresume to: (212) 632-4322.

EOE M/F

OFFICE MANAGER /RECEPTIONIST

Growing French cosmetics companyseeks experienced Office Manager forNY HQ. Must be responsible, detail-oriented, self starter. College degreerequired. Employee benefits adminis-tration experience helpful. Emailresume to: resumes@bourjois.com

RECEPTIONISTFast paced busy showroom seeks anarticulate, self-motivated, energeticperson w/ computer exp & order entry.

Fax resume: Phyllis 212-382-2549

HONGDOU NEW YORK INCNational Sales Manager &

SalespersonChinese apparel import companyseeks National Sales Manager andSalesperson for NYC showroom. Thecandidates will be responsible forselling formal & casual wear &should have strong contacts withdepartment stores & chain stores.

Please fax your resume to:212-354-5728 or e-mail

hongdouny@chituma.comwww.hongdoutrade.com

SALES MANAGERExciting opportunity available in our East Coast Showroom.Responsibilities include managing sales of men’s and women’scollections within major department stores and specialty storesin the Northeast; developing new business, conducting in-store seminars; and managing junior salesperson. BA/BS, min5+ years exp, and excellent analytical/communication skillsrequired. Established relationships with major departmentstores preferred.

Please fax resume and salary history to:(212) 830-8223. EOE M/F

Account ExecutiveFast-growing designer jewelry co. seeksexperienced Salespeople to launch anexciting new product line for nationalluxury RTW brand.An accessory background with AccountManagement in major department,signature & specialty stores preferred.Must be able to aggressively introduce,develop & maintain in-store awarenessfor existing account list. Positions willbe based in New York City, Atlantaand Dallas. Moderate travel is required.Qualified candidates should Fax orE-mail their resumes to: 813-792-1051Sales@Beadazzledusa.com

DIRECTORMARKETING AND SALES

Garden Botanika -- a natural beautycare specialty brand-- is looking for anexperienced health & beauty executiveto manage the growth & retail expansionof the Garden Botanika line. Successfulcandidates will have a proven trackrecord in health and beauty marketingfor specialty brands, and possess strongbusiness development and leadershipskills. Experience in wholesale specialtybeauty retailing is required. Direct sell-ing background (catalog, Internet, TV)is a plus. MBA preferred. This positionis located in Redmond WA. Interestedapplicants may send their resumes to:

Schroeder & Tremayne, Inc.8500 Valcour Avenue

St. Louis, Missouri 63123E-mail: inbox@startmycareer.com

Italian Mfr. ofMen’s and Ladies’ Knitwear

READY FASHIONSeeking experienced agents with

chain store and catalogue contacts fordistribution throughout the U.S.

Please reply directly to:MAGLIFICIO LIVIA SRL

Via Mameli 278, 21044 Cavaria (VA) ItalyTel. 011-390-331-217112Fax: 011-390-331-218370

E-mail: home@livia.it

Jr’s. Active & SwimwearIntuition Beachwear seeks aggressiveSales Reps in all territories w/3-5 yearsexp. Must have strong Dept., Chain &Specialty Store contacts. Call or Fax res:Tel: 1-877-97BEACH / Fax: 305-538-3201

Professional Sales PersonYoung Co. seeks Pro for Missy/ModerateMarket. Experience & contacts a MUST!.Please Call or Fax resume to Chip at:Tel: 212-840-0096 / Fax: 212-840-0377

SALES EXECUTIVE /MERCHANDISER

Denim MFR seeks exp’d, hardworking,aggressive sales exec in LA/NY. Musthave denim exp, strong organizationalskills and be self-motivated.

Fax resume to 626-338-7658

SALES EXECUTIVESuccessful women’s knitwear firm

seeks executive with proven record.Please fax resume to: (212) 921-5042

Sr. Sales/Mgmt.

JosephHigh-end fashion boutique requiresexperienced Sales Associates. Managerialposition / promotion possible. Must beprofessional, self-motivated & outgoing,with a modern sense of style. PleaseFax or E-mail resumes to:212-274-1142 / MKatjosephny@aol.com

***APPAREL EMPLOYERS ***Do you need exp’d DESIGNERS, PRODUC-

TION, ACCOUNTING, TECHNICAL etc. staff?**CALL 973-564-9236 Jaral Fashion Agcy.**

Is your brand part of a look or a lifestyle?

Shape delivers the best of both worlds. While other magazines simply cover trends, Shape delivers beauty and fashion that enhance the active lifestyles of our 5.7 million readers. In fact, beauty/fashion is almost one-third of Shape’s total edit.

Shape readers:• have a higher household income than readers of Allure, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Vogue• spend more on beauty products than Allure readers• spend more on fashion than readers of Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire

See why Shape was on Adweek’s 2003 Hot List. Call Diane Newman, Publisher, at 212-545-4896.

Young. Smart. Rich. Sexy. Have it all.

From "Sheer Genius," Shape, August 2003.

Source: MRI Fall 2002, based on total womenPhotography: Steve Shaw; Fashion Editor: Kristina Coleman; Hair: Bernhard Tamme for Nubest Co. NYC/CloutierAgency.com; Makeup: Hiromi Ando/SmashboxAgency.com.