INDUSTRY SHARES STRONG/3 THAI RETAIL HIT/14Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • January 4, 2007 • $2.00

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Get in LineRailroad-striped denim has been a staple since

the 19th century, but for pre-fall, designers are

fi nding new, ingenious ways to use it. To wit: 10

Feet’s cotton denim overalls, shown here with

Original Penguin’s cotton tank top. Bracelet

from Isaac Manevitz for Ben-Amun and Stuart

Weitzman pumps. For more, see pages 6 and 7.

WWDTHURSDAYSportswear

See Amazon, Page 11

Web’s Expanding Reach:Amazon Launches SiteFor Shoes, AccessoriesBy Cate T. Corcoran

Add Amazon to the list of companies aiming to tap into the growth of

accessories.The Web giant on Wednesday opened

its second online store, Endless.com, which sells footwear and accessories. The site offers more than 250 brands, all bought by Amazon staff, and free overnight delivery. The site is the company’s attempt to compete with the likes of Zappos, Gap’s PiperLime and Nordstrom.

Most of the shoes retail for less than $100 and brands include Adidas, Kenneth Cole, Aerosoles, Jessica

Inside:Pg. 10

TheWWDList

Leading Holiday ’Net Sites

WWDTHURSDAYSportswear

FASHIONDesigners are taking aboard train-inspired patterns with striped denim looks that are a far cry from anything meant for working on the railroad.

GENERALAmazon.com opened a second store on the Web, Endless.com, selling shoes and handbags, offering free overnight delivery and 250 brands.

Declining oil prices and word that holiday sales might turn out better than expected buoyed retail stocks on the fi rst day of trading of 2007.

EYE: High-powered fashion fi gureheads have become regulars at Lotus, where they’re learning to play poker — no-limit Texas Hold’em, that is.

BEAT: Shopbop.com has picked up steam since being acquired by Amazon.com and will be the exclusive e-tailer for Helmut Lang this spring.

Michael Kors is joining the expanding fashion scene in SoHo and will open a lifestyle store at 101 Prince Street in spring 2008.

Retail traffi c plunged 40 percent and retailers sought to boost safety after eight bombs exploded in downtown Bangkok on New Year’s Eve.

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● ARNAULT HONORS: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chief Bernard Arnault has been elevated to Commander of the Legion of Honor by France’s ministry of economy, finance and industry for service to his country. The luxury magnate, who owns brands from Louis Vuitton to Dom Perignon, was previ-ously an Officer of the Legion of Honor, the merit system cre-ated by Napoleon Bonaparte. Arnault’s promotion was part of the government’s traditional New Year honors.

● GOLD MINED: Welsh gold, the most valuable precious metal, is expected to run out. Roland Phelps, managing director of Welsh Gold plc, the last remaining commercial miner of the material, said last week that supplies would be fully expended within three to six months. The metal, popular with royals including Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall, has been scarce for the last 30 years, and was only available until recently by reworking surface tips at mines in North Wales. “It’s always been sought after,” said Phelps, who took over the mine in the Nineties, before closing it in 1999 due to dwindling supplies. The company is now moving its attention to the Irish project Galantas, which is currently de-veloping Ireland’s fi rst gold mine in Omagh, said Phelps.

● FAMILY AFFAIRS: Tobias Forster, chief designer and co-partner in the St. Gallen fabric house Forster Rohner, said he had sold his shares in the company to his eldest brother, Ueli Forster, to en-sure the business remains family-operated. Tobias Forster, who has been active in the firm for 43 years, also stepped down from the board and management. Simultaneously, Ueli Forster, who has been with Forster Rohner for 42 years, passed on the chief executive officer role to his son Emanuel Forster. Ueli Forster remains chairman of the board of Forster Rohner AG, the parent of the Forster Rohner Group. In his new role, Emanuel Forster continues to oversee marketing and sales as well as the executive management of the group. All changes were effective Jan. 1.

In Brief

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

RIDE-ALONG ENCLOSED VOLUME 193, NO. 3. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in January and November, two additional issues in March, May, June,

August and December, and three additional issues in February, April, September and October) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

Shared Services provided by Condé Nast Publications: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, Executive Vice President/COO; Debi Chirichella Sabino, Senior Vice President/CFO; Jill Bright,

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A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.

To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is fi rstname.lastname@fairchildpub.com, using the individual’s name.

The Accessories Circuit trade show at the Show Piers in New York runs Jan. 9 to 11. The dates were incorrect in the Coming This Week calendar on page 2, Tuesday.

● ● ●Anne Barge is the licensee for Badgley Mischka Bridal, which is designed by Mark Badgley and James Mischka. Her role was incorrect in a story on page 12, Tuesday.

Corrections

WWD.COM

WWD.COM3WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007

By Whitney Beckett

NEW YORK — Top government offi-cials from the U.S. and Brazil said on Wednesday that they remain committed to reopening the stalled World Trade Organization-sponsored Doha talks.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who also heads the G20 group of developing nations, convened at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel here to dis-cuss the status of the Doha Development Round and bilateral trade issues.

“On both sides, we think it’s do-able,” Amorim said at a news confer-ence. “There is a lot of hard bargain-ing ahead, for sure, I confi rmed that today. Of course, we are not here today to negotiate or to look for a specifi c breakthrough.”

The Doha talks aim to increase global commerce and lift the poorest nations out of poverty by helping them expand their exports, while wealthy nations would gain increased access to poorer countries’ goods and services, cutting costs for retailers as well as making it

easier for them to open stores abroad.Launched in Doha, Qatar, in

November 2001, the global trade talks were suspended after a July meeting in Geneva when trading powers — the U.S., European Union, Japan, Australia, Brazil and India — failed to agree on lowering subsidies and tariffs in agri-cultural trade. Schwab went to Rio de Janeiro in September to continue talks with Amorim.

“We approached the meetings in a problem-solving, not a fi nger-pointing, manner,” Schwab said. “We all know there is really tough bargaining ahead. The key lies in lots of quiet conversa-tions going forward.”

President Bush’s Trade Promotion Authority, which strips lawmakers of their ability to amend trade legislation, expires June 30, and without an exten-sion, a deal on Doha could be tough to push through the new Democrat-con-trolled Congress.

“It’s the content, not the calendar, that needs to dictate the outcome,” Schwab added. “We are now in a period where we hope to see a step up in pace.”

By Sharon Edelson

NEW YORK — Just Cavalli, the younger dif-fusion line designed by Roberto Cavalli, is launching its first company-owned store in the U.S. on Fifth Avenue here.

The 2,850-square-foot fl agship is to open in August at 665 Fifth Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets, according to IT Holding, the clothing manufacturer that holds the brand’s license.

Franchised Just Cavalli stores in the U.S. include two units in Los Angeles, two in Las Vegas and a location in Bal Harbour, Fla.

On Fifth Avenue, Just Cavalli will occupy reconfi gured space made available by the de-parture of A. Testoni and the reconfi guration of St. John Knits. Testoni, which closed last January, will open at a new location on East 59th Street here on Jan. 20.

St. John Knits, which had occupied two noncontiguous stores on Fifth Avenue with A. Testoni in the middle, underwent a major re-modeling last year. It kept its location on Fifth Avenue and the corner of 53rd Street and ex-panded south into the Testoni space, but gave up its original store south of Testoni and clos-er to 52nd Street.

Real estate brokers said the asking rent for the old St. John space was about $1,000 a square foot.

Roberto Cavalli has said that he plans to open 15 Just Cavalli stores in the U.S. in the next 18 months.

The brand is growing: Just Cavalli, which was launched in 1997, now accounts for 30 percent of IT Holding’s sales.

With its trademark rock ’n’ roll themes and sexy silhouettes, Just Cavalli, which is tar-geted to 16- to 30-year-olds, has resonated with young celebrities such as Kate Hudson and Alicia Keys. Prices range from $180 for T-shirts to $1,500 for leather jackets.

By WWD Staff

Declining oil prices and the realization that holiday sales might turn out better than expected buoyed retail stocks Wednesday — the fi rst day of trading of 2007.

Analysts were mostly bullish, at least in their short-term outlooks, on how the retail sector would perform this year, after gaining about 10 percent on average in 2006.

For now, though, Wall Street has its sights set on December same-store sales, due out today. American Eagle Outfi tters, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s and Limited Brands are expected to perform well.

Trading Wednesday was robust and mixed. Out of the gate, trading volume was heavy, and the S&P Retail Index leapt 2.1 percent to 509.67 in the midmorning session. As the day progressed, valuations retreated after investors read the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting that revealed concern about the housing market.

After gaining more than 100 points earlier in the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday up 0.09 percent, at 12,474,52. The S&P Retail Index fi nished the day up 0.8 percent, at 502.97, as Wall Street weighed the impact of a late-December sales surge.

Investors digested several reports from analysts that said steep markdowns and warm weather weighed down holiday sales. But the equity research firms said results likely were offset by the introduc-tion of “transitional” apparel late in the month as well as strong gift card sales. Brean Murray, Carret & Co. analyst Eric Beder summed up the holiday shopping season as “not overly merry, but still pretty bright.”

Morgan Keegan Equity Research esti-mates gift card sales rose 35 percent this year over last. CIBC World Markets analyst Dorothy S. Lakner said in a research note that “more so than in past years, many retailers are counting on gift cards to save the season and help meet fourth-quarter goals.” The sales volume on gift cards is estimated at $24 billion this year.

Lakner noted that American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Guess and Nordstrom are now positioning “spring transitional merchandise” in their stores — at full price.

Beder offered a Dickensian view of the performance of retail stocks in 2007. “I look at 2007 as [a year that is going to be] a tale of two seasons,” he said, explaining that spring last year was weak. He said the merchandise “just wasn’t right,” so the fi rst half of 2007 is up against easy comps, “and we should see strength.”

But the second half is up for grabs, the analyst said. Fall 2006 was very strong, so fall 2007 may be tough to compare against. “I would own retail stocks going into 2007, but not as aggressively going out of the year.” Caché, Guess, True Religion and Bebe should be top performers, he predicted.

CL King & Associates analyst Mark Montagna said he was positive about the out-look for retail stocks this year. “I gave a high rating to most of the companies I cover,” he said. “I see strength for Limited Brands due to the continued success of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. Also, I expect the integration of La Senza to help and the possible spinout of Limited’s apparel divisions, since the momentum is there.”

Harry Ikenson, analyst at Soleil Group, said, “The seasonality of the stocks [in retail] typically bodes well for the early part of the year to spring. That’s because Christmas is out of the way and [instead of being] concerned with what will happen, investors are looking for stocks that they think will perform better.”

Ikenson said most of the specialty retail stocks that he covers seemed to end the year relatively clean, inventory-wise. “Even those underperformers will do heavy dis-counting to get rid of the inventory,” he said. Ikenson explained that the majority of promotions seemed to have been planned, and most of those that were unplanned were in sweaters and outerwear, which were affected by the unseasonably warm weather during the holidays.

“The two standouts that we think should be poised for a good 2007 are Bebe and Caché. We think that we are in the early stage of a new fashion cycle. Bebe historically has done an excellent job in staying with the fashion curve and ahead of the competi-tion. Caché has the largest concentration in dresses, about 22 percent, in a new fashion cycle where we think dresses are a key ingredient,” Ikenson said.

Jim Rice, analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, said, “I think we will probably be hearing about a soft landing in the economy this year, so it will probably be an OK year, with maybe the second half slightly better than the fi rst. Right now, we’re seeing a bit of a slowdown with the housing market, but we got lucky with the weather because that kept oil prices down. Consumers have pulled back a little and will likely do so in the fi rst half, but I think they will be back in the second half. Consumers love to spend, and if they don’t spend for a while, you’re not going to need much of a catalyst to get them back into the stores to spend.”

Rice said he thought department stores would continue to do better than the spe-cialty stores. “I’ve been tracking retail for a long time, and you always hear about the department stores being dead, but they keep coming back,” he said. “This year, I think Nordstrom has done a great job. Their numbers will be great when they report comps, and I think Saks is now a bit of a turnaround story. Saks still has a good name and they got the merchandise right.”

Rice added that the department stores did better because they had a more varied assortment than the specialty chains, where sales were affected by unsold winter mer-chandise and accessories.

Traders work on the fl oor of the New York Stock Exchange moments after the morning bell Wednesday.

Retail Trades Strongly On Opening Day 2007

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U.S. and Brazilian Offi cials Look to Revive Doha Talks

Just Cavalli to Open on Fifth Ave.

AMERICAN BEAUTY: The glamour quotient is expected to ramp up a few notches during Paris couture week: Raquel Welch is coming to town. The actress, who was recently

named to headline MAC Cosmetics’ MAC Beauty Icon series, could be one of the stars lighting up the front rows. As reported, Demi Moore is also scheduled to be in the City of Light then.

GOOD AS GOLD: The tower of chocolate served New Year’s Eve at the Nasher Sculpture Center wasn’t the best part of dessert for women at the benefi t. They had their eyes on the golden egg nestled next to it on their plates, one of which held a two-carat diamond ring. As the emcee tried in vain to get everyone to wait and crack the eggs at once, longtime museum supporter Betty Blake discovered the $7,000 party favor. Bailey Banks & Biddle, the evening’s presenting sponsor, donated the ring. “We always do something like that, where somebody gets the benefi t of winning or gaining a piece of Bailey jewelry,” said Charles Fieramosca, BBB president, who dreamed up the fi rst benefi t for the museum with its founder and owner, Ray Nasher. “It’s a nice thing to do to make the night a little more fun and festive. Of course, it’s nice for us to have somebody in that audience wearing our jewelry.”

Fashion Scoops

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DAA Just Cavalli look from spring ‘07.

It’s 8 o’clock on a Wednesday night just before the holidays and a crowd of chic, impeccably coiffed women is fi ltering into

Lotus. Nothing unusual about that, but at the door, they whisper to the security guards, who promptly lower the hallowed rope and escort them back to a room with an entrance concealed by a heavy curtain. These are not your average Meatpacking

District party girls looking for tables to dance on and an open bar. They are fashion fi xtures and they’re here to learn how to play poker — no-limit Texas Hold’em, to be precise.

Behind the velvet curtain, a serious didactic session is taking place around a custom-made poker table.

“That’s called an ‘Anna Kournikova,’” explains David Rabin, Lotus’ co-owner and the group’s unoffi cial poker guru, to stylist Leslie Fremar about her ace and king. “It looks great, but doesn’t win.”

Rabin is helping decipher the rules of poker for his pupils, who don’t bat an eyelash at mastering each season’s new silhouettes, but might confuse a full house and a fl ush, or forget what a “Dolly Parton” is (a nine and a fi ve). As waiters swirl, taking orders for white wine and Diet Cokes and proffering miniboxes of summer rolls, chicken satay and pad thai, most of the students look on raptly, scribbling notes. Rabin pauses to rebuke jewelry designer Dani Stahl for chatting with Michael Kors fashion director Anne Waterman. (Side discussions range from the best way to get to Aspen to whether it’s worth hitting the latest Oscar de la Renta sample sale.)

“You’re going to go to detention,” he warns. The poker lessons are Waterman’s brainchild: Knowing her good friend

Rabin is a serious player (he hosts a “boys’ game,” with a $1,000 buy-in, in his offi ce every Monday night), she came up with the idea of a “girls’ game,” and contacted a few of her fashionable friends.

Though the usual habitat of these fashion mavens — which on this night includes KCD’s Bonnie Morrison, consultant Karen Duffy and Harrison & Shriftman’s Ferebee Bishop — might be glitzy benefi ts at the Guggenheim Museum or fashion dinners at Bergdorf Goodman’s BG, they’ve been regulars at their Lotus lessons about every six weeks since September.

“I started because I wanted to learn how to play,” explains Oscar de la Renta’s vice president of public relations, Nacole Snoep. “And beat my husband, obviously.”

“I have been surprised by how much it’s grown,” admits Rabin, who has at least 40 women on his informal e-mail list and gets several requests a week to host more sessions.

Rabin does his best to keep his pupils in line, but the local betting style would defi nitely confuse the professionals in the World Series of Poker.

“When are you going to throw that Chanel watch in?” Fremar asks Rebekah McCabe, senior vice president of p.r. at Chanel, joking, “I’ll see you a Chanel clutch and raise you a Muse bag.”

Stealing chips from friends is a rampant, if accepted, practice. “Do you want to borrow from the Chase Morrison Bank?” teases Morrison, after

winning a particularly large hand. While the bets are merely chips at this point, a fi erce, competitive spirit pervades

the games. “You’ve been practicing, haven’t you?” the wary group accuses Earnest Sewn’s

p.r. director, Eleanor Ylvisaker, already the resident card shark. “I haven’t,” she protests. “When Jon [Ylvisaker’s husband] was playing on the

PlayStation, I just watched over his shoulder.” And the lessons have been going so well that many in the party feel they’re ready

to graduate to real cash bets. “I’m training a little poker army,” boasts Rabin. “Now there’s a bunch of guys

who want to join, but I’m going to have to convince the girls. They’ve been pretty protective of their space.”

— Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, with contributions from Emily Holt

WWD.COM4 WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007

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LONDON — Move over, Zac Goldsmith — there’s a new gentleman ecologist in town.

David de Rothschild saw fi rsthand the results of climate change during his trek last year across the increasingly watery Arctic. Now he wants to sound a clarion call of the dangers ahead. But rather than get on his soapbox or publish a magazine, like Goldsmith, de Rothschild has chosen to inform by entertaining, and late last year opened an art gallery devoted to environmentally conscious works.

“Traditionally, there have been two camps in the environmental arena — the very aggressive lot and then the tofu-eating, beardy-weirdies,” says the lanky, longhaired de Rothschild, smirking at his own hip, hirsute appearance. “I want to avoid making environmental issues green and fl uffy. They should be sexy and engaging.”

So de Rothschild has opened The Gallery @ Adventure Ecology on bustling Charing Cross Road here. Its fi rst exhibition featured a series of cartoonish line drawings by artist Simon Harrison, who previously worked on “2000AD,” a British sci-fi comic. The drawings depicted characters such as Agent Waste, a mutant who’s at war with a band of Eco-Pirates, plastic dogs and hybrid humans and robots.

Beginning Jan. 19, the gallery will stage a group show, in conjunction with Charles Saatchi’s Your Gallery Web site, dubbed “Waste and the Natural World.” One artist, Samantha Cross, has set up an installation of 50 miniature plastic bags of water, each containing broken pieces of umbrellas — a reference to the accelerated melting of fi ve polar ice caps over the past decade, the warmest period on record.

“It’s got to be quality work — it isn’t a free-for-all,” says the 28-year-old de Rothschild of his choice of artists. “This exhibition follows ‘The Simpsons’ [cartoon] model, in that it

appeals to the serious collector, but it’s also approachable.”

The gallery at street level is a light, airy space (above are galleries owned by the photographer Rankin and the graffi ti artist Banksy). In the building’s basement is a bunker-style “control room,” an educational center that supports the work de Rothschild does with his Adventure Ecology Web site, which he established in 2005. De Rothschild says the organization is working with schools from Australia and with the U.K.’s Department of Education on climate change awareness programs.

And the gallerist doesn’t doubt the part his storied name plays in getting such ambitious projects off the ground. “I think it defi nitely opens doors, but if you spend your life looking at doors, you’ve missed the point,” says de Rothschild, scion of the European banking family and a son of Evelyn de Rothschild and Victoria Schott. “The proof is in the pudding. I’m constantly getting e-mails from around the world with people saying, ‘We’re inspired by what you’re doing.’”

The art world seems to agree. Pieces from the Harrison exhibitions have sold at the gallery for almost $4,000, and in

February, Gabriel Orozco will be one of the artists accompanying Adventure Ecology’s next expedition to Ecuador to respond to the effects of the toxic wastewater that has been dumped in the rain forest there. In March, de Rothschild will exhibit works by British artists Alastair Mackie and Polly Morgan, who dabbles in avant-garde taxidermy.

“There’s a natural affi nity between creatives and ecology,” says de Rothschild, who became involved in the eco-adventure movement in 2003 and has been a member of several Arctic expeditions. “It’s about thinking outside the box and observing. In a sense, artists have always been predicting the future.”

— Nina Jones

GREEN BACKER

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK: There is never a dearth of parties during fashion week, but this season there will be one less venue to book. As of Jan. 13, The Double Seven will wind up its velvet rope and shutter its doors — at least temporarily. The building at 418 West 14th Street has been sold and all tenants, including shops Poleci and Esthete, have been forced to vacate. “We’re not excited to close; it’s one of our favorite venues we’ve ever built,” says co-owner Will Regan. So now those unoffi cial late-night meetings among the fashion fl ock will have to take place elsewhere — that is, until late March, when the lounge will reopen in a larger location within blocks of the original. All the furnishings will be

transferred to the new space and a short snack menu will be added to appease partiers’ midnight munchies. “I think that the area around Gansevoort [Street] is a more appropriate block for The Double Seven,” Regan says. “It’s sexier than 14th Street, with the cobblestones, and it’s off the beaten track.” There are also discussions to open The Double Seven in Brazil and London.

EYE SCOOP

Ladies’ Night

David de Rothschild

David Rabin teaches his pupils the rules of Texas Hold’em.

Scenes from the night...

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WE WILLWE WILLmentor mentor children,children,andand cramcram for thefor the SATs. SATs.

6 WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007

Express RidesDesigners are taking aboard train-inspired patterns this season with striped denim looks that are cool, chic and a far cry from anything meant for working on the railroad.

Rampage’s cotton denim and leather handbag.

Soundgirl’s cotton denim overalls.

Cotton and spandex shorts from A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz.

Cotton and spandex denim jeans from 575 Denim.

WWD.COM7WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007

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Anoname’s cotton

and Lycra spandex

skirt.

Hype’s cotton

denim and patent leather

satchel.

Deener’s cotton denim pants.

Sass & Bide’s cotton denim jumper.

Odyn’s cotton and spandex skirt.

Operations’ cotton blazer.

Replay’s cotton denim pants.

WWD.COM

Less-than-subtle sexual suggestion and innuendo have been the defi ning characteristics of Diesel ad campaigns for the last several years. For the summer 2007 campaign, however, sex will give way to a bit of social commentary.

Diesel’s creative team, headed by creative director Wilbert Das, partnered with Paris agency Gossip to de-velop a campaign that takes the idea of global warming to the extreme. Shot by Terry Richardson, the ads feature scenes of everyday life in a world that has been drasti-cally altered by rising temperatures and seas. A couple rests on a rooftop in New York City, which is almost com-pletely underwater. The pigeons of Venice’s St. Mark’s Square have been replaced by parrots, Finland has be-come a desert and palm trees and lizards surround the Eiffel Tower.

Dan Barton, vice president of communications for Diesel USA, said the campaign was a return to the brand’s classic ads in which the world was frequently turned on its head.

“The last few campaigns we really were pushing the products to the forefront,” said Barton. “We’ve reverted back almost to Diesel’s very surreal brand communications.”

Barton said a renewed confi dence gained from im-provements in the collection over the last two to three years allowed the company to move away from a wholly product-centric campaign. The global warm-ing take was inspired by the collection, the themes of which were sky and air.

“It isn’t that we want to make a so-cial or political statement,” said Barton. “We’re taking a serious issue and putting it into Diesel’s world, a surreal avant-garde world.”

Barton also said he believed the campaign’s concept and styl-ing would be more effective than simply preaching the evils of cli-mate change.

“The problem with the idea of global warming is that it’s usually

lectured to people,” said Barton.The campaign will begin hitting spring

issues of Vogue, GQ and Esquire, but Diesel is already attracting some initial buzz for it. According to Barton, Laurie David, the wife of comedian Larry David and a producer of the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” raved about the ads. Diesel is now working with David on her Stop Global Warming Virtual March, an online petition asking the government to take action on environmental issues. The company has met with Leonardo DiCaprio to explore opportunities to work with him on the issue.

“We don’t want to make light of the sub-ject,” said Barton. “We want to raise it in a way that people can digest.”

— Ross Tucker

Iconix Brand Group’s Bongo brand is looking to get its fi re back with a new face, Vanessa Minnillo.

Best known as an “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent and most recently seen on the arm of pop star Nick Lachey, Minnillo chose the latest Bongo ads for her fi rst en-dorsement deal. The spring ads will appear fi rst in March issues of fashion and lifestyle magazines, as well as on popular teen Web sites like MySpace.com.

The campaign was shot by Matthew Rolston at New York’s Splashlight Studios. The ads showcase Minnillo as an ultrasexy Sixties-inspired pinup girl, dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a tiny top. Another image shows Minnillo in a backless top with denim shorts.

“Bongo always partners with the latest ‘It’ girls for its advertising and marketing cam-paigns, and this season that girl is defi nitely Vanessa,” said Dari Marder, Bongo’s creative director. “She is funny, charming and beautiful. She’s the embodiment of the Bongo girl.”

Minnillo will make personal appearances on behalf of Bongo and participate in other events to celebrate her partnership with the brand. She follows previous Bongo spokes-women Kristin Cavallari, Nicole Richie and Rachel Bilson.

Bongo has been an underperforming brand for Iconix. Iconix switched licensees in August after a tough run with its longtime jeans licensee Bongo Apparel Inc., an affi liate of TKO Apparel Licensing.

Neil Cole, chief executive offi cer of Iconix, said in July that the former licensee “was defi nitely not performing and not doing a good job.” The next month, Iconix cut ties with that company and signed a new jeans licensee, The Mamiye Group.

— Julee Greenberg

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WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007

Denim design lab’s do-it-yourself denim styling kit, launched almost a year ago, included a handbook that was part denim encyclopedia and part how-to guide. This year, DDL is bringing the book back in an expand-ed coffee-table format with a limited-edition run.

The book, “Denim Design Lab LE,” is due to hit stores in late January or early February and will have a limited run of 5,000 copies, said Brian Robbins, DDL’s founder and president.

“The original book had to fi t in that particular pocket of the kit,” said Robbins.

Copies of the book were also sold separately from the kit. However, the cost of the book, which retailed for about $50, seemed out of proportion to its physical size.

“Once it was released and selling separately, we realized the size was too small,” he said.

The new 9-inch by 12-inch cof-fee-table book includes a history of denim fabric and manufacturing, and a guide on how denim fi ends can style and texture their own jeans. The new version will feature additional chap-ters on the history and development of the Diesel and Evisu brands. The book will retail for $100 and will be hand numbered.

“There’s more visual and photo-graphic content from Lee, Levi’s and Cone,” said Robbins.

Even the cover art is denim. A pre-mium organic selvage from Cone’s White Oak label will be used for the covers, which will be hand-fi nished by APS Laundry and Finishing in Los Angeles, and will include a custom embroidered front title. A selvage denim book marker is included.

“It’s first come, first served on the books,” said Robbins. “We’re target-ing everyone who sells our kits and our denim. I think they’re cheap for what goes into the pro-cess, but for a book, they’re not cheap.” — R.T.

Denim DishDiesel Turns Up the Heat For Summer Ad Campaign

Denim Design Lab Expands Handbook

Iconix Taps Minnillo for Bongo Blitz

Here: Terry Richardson’s crew sets up a shot. Below: An offi cial image from the campaign.

DDL’s coffee- table book.

A campaign ad visual.

▼ Richardson shooting at St. Mark’s Square in Venice.

WWD.COM9WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007

The Beat

Shopbop Builds on ExclusivesBy Julee Greenberg

Shopbop.com has some exclusive ideas.The online contemporary retailer has picked up steam since

being acquired by Amazon.com last February. It has increased its offerings of sportswear and will be the exclusive online retailer carrying Helmut Lang in the spring. It also plans to continue to in-crease its mix in accessories, most recently commissioning jewelry designer Rachel Leigh to create a jewelry line to go with Alison Kelly’s sportswear label Dahl, another exclusive to Shopbop. Kelly, a 25-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native, was a contestant on “Project Runway” in its third season. Her line will hit the site in February.

Also going live next month is a line of private label weekend wear called Bop Basics. Bop Basics cotton pieces, an array of tanks, T-shirts, hoodies, track jackets and yoga pants, will retail from $34 to $88. Most other merchandise on the site is priced higher; James Perse ranges from $35 to $200 and Ella Moss retails from $60 to $220.

“We’ve wanted to do a line like this for a long time, but thought it was a good thing to wait until we were established in the mar-ket,” explained Erin Crandall, head buyer at Shopbop. “The line consists of everything that people just want to wear. It’s soft, com-fortable, and we really worked hard to make the fi t great. These pieces are going to be staples for our customers, and will be great to increase our margins.”

Crandall said the collection is similar to James Perse, but doesn’t directly compete with any of the site’s current vendors. Bob Lamey, founder and chief executive offi cer of Shopbop, said Bop Basics fi lls a void for the e-tailer.

“We are fi lling in the gap with this line,” he said. “We feel that we offer the best of the best on our site, a well-edited mix of what’s hot right now. So with Bop Basics, we feel we are offering the best in ba-sics. I didn’t want to do a line like this just so we could say we have a private label line. I wanted to make sure we took the time to make it great.”

The company will introduce a site-within-a-site concept that executives call Salon. Salon, being launched for fall, will offer higher-end de-signer products. While brands on the site haven’t been confi rmed, Crandall said Salon was target-ing six or seven designers for the fi rst season.

“This will be a special part of the site where customers can learn about the de-signers by reading their bios, or hear exclusive information about them,” Lamey ex-plained. “We want the customers to feel like they are going to another fl oor of the store, similar to shopping on another fl oor at Bergdorf.”

Lamey said all the changes in the site would help to round out Shopbop.“Being acquired gave us the opportunity to grow faster than we would have been

able to alone. It also gave us the chance to offer small changes that mean a lot to our customers, like free ground shipping,” he said. “While our business has grown each year, we expect triple-digit increases with these new things.”

Shopbop.com is based in Madison, Wis. Lamey started the company with a free-standing store in Madison in September 1999 and two months later added the Web site. Today, Shopbop.com carries a range of products from designers Catherine Malandrino, Norma Kamali, L.A.M.B, Mike & Chris and Diane von Furstenberg. Soon it will add lines from Twinkle, Anlo and Stacey Lapidus.

By Lauren Benet Stephenson

NEW YORK — “I think like a kid,” said Liza Ball, owner of Infinity, an Upper East Side boutique that has be-come a fashionable teen haven during Ball’s 14-year tenure. “I know what the kids want and I try to get them what they want. A lot of them just want what the older kids are wearing.”

Ball began her Infi nity career at the age of 12, in Cedarhurst, N.Y., at the original Infi nity store. After working for the retailer for several years, Ball left Long Island and eventually was graduated from George Washington University, but she soon found herself drawn back to the store.

Ball then worked with owner Ilene Morgenroth at the Infi nity that opened here in 1986. In 1992, Ball bought the then-600-square-foot space from Morgenroth and three years later ex-panded the store by 550 square feet when she purchased a neighboring space. Ball’s Infi nity is one of seven outlets nationwide, all of which are in-dependently owned but affi liated with the original Cedarhurst location still owned and oper-ated by founder Holly Green.

Ball’s store sits on the corner of 83rd Street and Madison Avenue, one block from the Metropolitan Museum.

“I’d say 20 percent of our customers are from out of town that have met us from going to the Met and staying at the Carlyle [Hotel] or just being right in this area,” Ball said. “We’ve maintained friendships over

the years and we ship them stuff, from Michigan to Chicago to California,” she said.

As a result of Ball’s efforts, the store has a neighborhood feel, and customers are referred to by name.

“We’re all friendly and nice,” she said. “We work with people in the neighborhood and people like to come buy birthday presents and some kids like to shop here and pick out things for their birthday.”

The interior feeds a teen’s imagina-tion. The space is stocked from fl oor to ceiling with colored, patterned and lo-goed T-shirts and jeans. In the back of the store lies the dress section, a rare fi nd for teens who may not yet have grown into adult sizes but need formal attire for the endless parade of bat and bar mitzvahs and sweet sixteens.

“It’s very hard to fi nd dresses for these girls because they want to be

grown-up, but the grown-up gowns are too sexy and mature,” Ball explained.

Prices run “from moderate to better,” Ball said; jeans are $80 to $100. “Some things we have are very well priced — people come every day and buy [Junk

Food] T-shirts from us that are $30 to $40.”The holiday gift rush treated the store particularly

well; bestsellers were stocking-size Webkins (think tech-savvy Beanie Babies), Juicy accessories, tunics and leggings as well as “cruise offerings” of dresses and bikinis. “I feel like it was a great season for us, better than other seasons — people were out spending and going on vacation,” said Ball.

Last year Infi nity brought in $2.5 million in sales, and projections stretch to $4 million for the next fi scal year.

Ball’s success can be traced back to the one rule she always abides by: “Whatever is really hot, we have to get it right away.”

Manhattan Retailer Caters to Teens’ Fickle Side

Clockwise from left: Two looks from Bop Basics; a Rachel Leigh necklace for the Dahl collection, and a bracelet from Rachel Leigh’s collection that complements Alison Kelly’s Dahl collection.

Infi nity’s busy interior.

Shelves of jeans.

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TheWWDListWWD.COM

Holiday Site Seeing

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SOURCE AND METHODOLOGY: FORESEE RESULTS & FGI RESEARCH’S TOP 40 ONLINE RETAIL SATISFACTION INDEX, A STUDY OF THE TOP 40 RETAIL WEB SITES (AS DEFINED BY SALES VOLUME FROM INTERNET RETAILER) USING THE METHODOLOGY OF THE AMERICAN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX (ACSI); THE ACSI IS BASED ON A 100-POINT SCALE; MORE THAN 10,000 ONLINE SHOPPERS WERE SURVEYED THROUGHOUT THE 2006 HOLIDAY SEASON; *INDICATES A TIE

Online was the hot venue this holiday. According to ComScore Networks, online spending (excluding travel purchases) from Nov. 1 to Dec. 26 hit $23.1 billion, a 26 percent increase from the same period in 2005. But what sites kept customers the happiest? ForeSee Results, in partnership with FGI Research, has released its Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index scores. “The leaders here are really working hard to remain the leaders,” said Larry Freed, president and chief executive offi cer of ForeSee Results in a statement. “They aren’t resting on their laurels or giving other retailers a chance to erode their customer base.” Freed told WWD that each site has its own story to tell. For example, Quixtar.com and Netfl ix.com all have a specifi c following, whereas Amazon.com relies heavily on a broader audience and faces bigger challenges, like shipping schedules. — Cecily Hall

QVC.COM Score: 80 The Westchester, Pa.-based online shopping site celebrated its 20th birthday in November, which helped to jump-start holiday sales. Popular fashion items included the Dennis Basso Faux Mink throw (approximately $49.50) and the Honora cultured freshwater pearl sterling three-piece wardrobe set (approximately $101). The site is featuring a best of 2006 section, where shoppers can view some of the most popular items of the year in categories such as accessories and shoes, beauty, women’s apparel and jewelry, to name a few.

QUIXTAR.COM Score: 79 The online health and beauty retailer, a division of Alticor Inc., targeted the health-conscious consumer. A few exclusive brands under the Quixtar.com umbrella include Nutrilite vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements, Artistry skin care and cosmetics, XS energy drinks and NAO cosmetics. Creating an account with the site allows customers to track their orders, check order history and create shopping lists of items for possible future purchases.

APPLE.COM Score: 79 IPods and Apple MacBooks were big hits on Apple’s Web site. The computer company earlier this year released slimmer versions of its iPod Nano and iPod Shuffl e, while the white 13-inch MacBook retails for less than $1,300 and ships free within 24 hours of purchase. And for those who didn’t know what to give, there were always gift cards.

LLBEAN.COM Score: 80 This winter might be a mild one in most parts of the country, but plenty of cold-weather gear was available for shoppers at L.L. Bean’s Web site. Outerwear, such as the women’s Vortex Soft-shell Jacket and Trail Model Fleece Pants, were on hand for adventure enthusiasts. To accompany the apparel, outdoor items like ice skates, snowshoes and even hardwood sleds could be purchased. The site is currently unloading much of its inventory in its winter sale, where selected styles are 60 percent off.

HPSHOPPING.COM Score: 78 Visitors to Hewlett-Packard’s Web site were able to obtain the computer company’s holiday return policies and shipping schedule right on its home page. Popular items included the HP Photosmart All-in-One printer, the HP Pavilion notebook PC and HP MediaSmart High-Defi nition LCD TV. The customer service section of the site provides shopping tips, along with details on latest coupons, mail-in rebates and perks for members.

OLDNAVY.COM Score: 79 The retailer, owned by Gap Inc., might be struggling with same-store sales, but clearly it is keeping its Web customers happy. For holiday, oldnavy.com was selling items such as fake-fur trim hoodies and cashmere sweaters, for less than $50. Trendy accessories like gloves and scarves had price tags below $10, while ballet fl at shoes were selling for $20. Oldnavy.com is now having its holiday sale, which offers up to 50 percent off selected styles for men, women, children and infants.

AMAZON.COMScore: 84At the end of December, the Seattle-based online retailer said the 2006 season fi nished as its “best ever,” with the busiest shopping day being Dec. 11, when customer orders exceeded four million items. The company also said it had shipped more than 99 percent of orders in time to meet holiday deadlines worldwide. In its apparel and accessories section, a top seller was the Kenneth Cole Reaction Men’s Hadley Poly Bonded Hipster jacket. Top-selling shoes included the Nine West Women’s Ealene boot and BCBG Girls’ Kayo Mid Shaft boot.

NETFLIX.COMHoliday 2006 customer satisfaction score: 86 Memberships and sales of DVDs on Netfl ix.com, the mail-order DVD rental company, were popular hits. “Though Netfl ix.com is not your average holiday retailer, this site has really set the tone for this industry,” said Freed of ForeSee Results. “The majority of visitors are subscribers. Without good customer experience and a strong business model, Netfl ix.com wouldn’t have a business.” The site also provides movie synopses, along with reviews from critics and members.

NEWEGG.COM Score: 78 With its headquarters located in City of Industry, Calif., Newegg.com is a leading online computer, consumer electronics and communications product superstore. Known for its testimonials and product reviews section (every product on the site contains a review and an “egg” rating of between one and fi ve eggs), the company said at the end of December that its customer product reviews have recently broken the 500,000 mark. Newegg.com has more than six million registered customers.

BN.COM Score: 77 At Barnes & Noble’s online branch, customers were able to order up to midnight on Dec. 18 and still receive free shipping on orders of $25 or more with delivery in time for Christmas. Favorites included bestsellers from Michael Crichton, James Patterson, Stephen King and Nicholas Sparks, among others. Cookbooks, DVDs, music and toys were also popular gift items.

DELL.COM Score: 77 The Round Rock, Tex.-based computer company may be having its hiccups in terms of growth and customer service, but clearly that hasn’t affected customer satisfaction with its Web site. The company states on its site: “Dell has revolutionized the industry to make computing accessible to customers around the globe, including businesses, institutional organizations and individual consumers.” A variety of PCs were on tap for shoppers during the holidays. Dell.com provides detailed product descriptions and suggestions as to which computers fi t best for business or personal use.

WILLIAMS-SONOMA.COM Score: 77 Those looking for cool kitchen accessories and cooking gadgets could fi nd plenty at williamssonoma.com. Items like the storybook cookie cutters, the gingerbread quickbread and fake berry garland are now on sale. Anyone could enjoy the Sephra Chocolate Fountain fondue set, on sale for $38.99. And the detailed tile serving platter that was originally $159 is available for $99.99. An added perk for customers: For every product, the site provides alternative gift ideas in its “You May Also Like…” section.

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The leading e-commerce sites over the holidays based on customer satisfaction.

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Continued from page oneSimpson, Geox, Hush Puppies, Easy Spirit, Steve Madden, Enzo Angiolini, Birkenstock, farylrobin, BCBG Max Azria, Anne Klein New York, Rockport and Fila.

The new venture comes at a time of explosive growth in Web shopping. Online spending during the holiday season rose 26 percent over the same period in 2005, to $23.1 billion, according to comScore.

And industry observers said the foot-wear and accessories category was big enough for lots of e-tailers, just like the offl ine world. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an opportunity to segment this mar-ket better,” said Paul Keung, a fi nancial analyst with CIBC World Markets bank.

He estimated Amazon’s apparel and accessories business to be somewhere in the hundreds of millions of dol-lars. If done right, the new store has the potential to add incre-mental value to the company’s $8.4 billion business, he said.

The company may have need-ed a new brand and customer interface to keep up with com-petitors such as Zappos, which projects 2006 sales of $600 mil-lion. “[Shopping] behavior often differs by category and type of shopper,” said Keung. “I don’t think one size fi ts all.”

Amazon developed a new look and feel for Endless.com rather than simply reusing Amazon’s existing interface, which initially was developed to sell books.

Amazon has sold apparel, shoes and accessories from other retailers at its Web store since 2002. In 2004, the compa-ny added its own inventory at amazon.com. Last year, Amazon acquired online contemporary boutique Shopbop. But this is the fi rst time the company has developed and opened an online store with a separate URL and brand name, since Amazon.com was launched in 1995.

“From our perspective, it’s a big market, and the more people become comfortable shopping online, the better it is for all players,” said Tony Hsieh, chief executive officer of Zappos, based in Henderson, Nev.

“I think just as there are many different shoe stores, there can be many different online shoe retailers,” said Dana Telsey, founder of research fi rm Telsey Advisory Group. “Consumers can become comfortable with differ-ent service, different products and different experiences, and they all allow different compa-nies to gain market share.”

Feedback from existing apparel customers inspired Amazon to create Endless.com. “They like to shop differently,” said Amazon’s Steven Goldsmith, vice president of soft lines at Amazon and Endless.com.

The more than 250 brands and 15,000 styles and colors on Endless.com mirror what is al-ready on sale at Amazon.com, he said. In addition, customers in all 50 states will get free over-night delivery and free return shipping indefi nitely, 24-hour-a-day telephone customer service, and can return any item for up to a year as long as it is unworn.

Navigation and search has been streamlined, and custom-ers can search by price, style, brand, size and color, at the same time or separately. The site will have customer product reviews and will add fi t guide-lines for individual manufactur-ers. There are no plans to add

other Amazon features such as lists.Each shoe is photographed from seven

angles, can be viewed with a magnifying glass feature and editors write detailed product reviews with the item in hand.

The Endless.com team is based in Seattle, but Goldsmith would not reveal its size or revenue expectations. Customer service people are specially trained for Endless.com and work out of Amazon’s existing centers around the country.

Analysts said Amazon may have de-cided to open an accessories store be-cause of the potentially high margins and growth.

“One reason it’s attractive to them is potentially high-margin business and one in which you’ve seen success with Zappos, PiperLime and Nordstrom,” said Keung.

“And the offl ine retailers will tell you the designer handbag and women shoes and accessories business also does very well.”

“What we’ve been seeing and what these companies are fi nding is, there’s still growth potential in online sales,” said Patti Freeman Evans, a retail analyst for JupiterResearch. “Apparel and accessories will be the largest online category, overtak-ing computers in a couple of years.”

And there is clearly plenty of room for growth — only about 5 percent of apparel is sold online currently, versus 45 percent of computers. Jupiter is projecting total online sales, excluding travel, to reach $100 billion in 2006. Of that, apparel and accessories are projected to be $2.25 bil-lion and footwear, $2.30 billion. They are the 14th and 15th largest categories, after

computers, books, music.“I think there’s room still online for

lots of competition, which is clearly what’s beginning to happen, at least in the footwear industry. The business will also get more competitive online as the online community continues to mature,” she said.

Free shipping is sustainable as long as the retailer builds it into the business model, she added. “They’re trying to one-up, certainly Zappos, from a service per-spective, at least initially.”

Zappos’ strength has been its selection (more than 500 brands and 90,000 styles) and service, including free shipping both ways. But others could easily copy its large selection, said Keung.

As for the relatively low marks appar-el gets in customer satisfaction (see list, facing page), Freeman Evans said appar-el has some inherent issues such as fi t, size and color that make it more complex than selling computers.

Amazon Makes Move on Accessories

WWD.COMWWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 200712

NEW YORK — A new beauty marketer called Lavanila Labora-tories is introducing three vanilla-inspired fragrances with a twist — they’re designed not just to have a pleasing aroma but to offer skin care benefits.

“Up to this point, it’s been about smelling good. We’re trying to enhance the fragrance experience,” said Laura DiGirolamo, co-founder of Lavanila along with Danielle Raynor. “If you’re putting something on your skin, it might as well be good for you, especially since 60 percent of what we put on our skin is ab-sorbed into our bloodstream.”

The founders of the fi rm noted that consumer research yield-ed complaints that some fragrances were irritating and drying

their skin. Raynor wanted to create a fragrance composed of natural ingredi-ents that was multi-functional, offering benefi ts beyond tra-ditional fragrances. The company chose vanilla for its popular appeal and medicinal benefits and added organic sugar cane alcohol, which has its own distinct scent and is supposed to enhance the vanilla.

Created by Gi-vaudan, the three fragrances — Pure

Vanilla, Vanilla Grapefruit and Vanilla Blossom — contain a proprietary blend, intended to provide the skin a daily dose of antioxidants, 30 essential vitamins and minerals and 19 amino acids with each spray. While base notes of each fragrance in-clude Madagascar vanilla, top and middle notes vary depend-ing on the olfactory composition. Lavanila doesn’t contain in-gredients found in some fragrances such as petrochemicals, mineral oils, parabens, propylene glycol and other synthetic compounds, according to DiGirolamo and Raynor.

“We felt like we needed an anchor or inspiration behind the line to unite the concept and felt like vanilla was the perfect choice because it’s an identifi able and globally popular scent. It’s associated with warmth and softness, but also has medical backing and clinical studies showing it reduces stress and anxi-ety,” said Raynor.

The formulas contain ingredients that offer treatment ben-efi ts like olive leaf extract, an antioxidant that keeps skin mois-turized, and Canadian willow herb extract, known for its anti-infl ammatory and anti-irritant properties. “It’s not like we’re claiming to offer antiaging benefi ts. We’re just taking positive steps to improve people’s daily beauty routines,” said Raynor.

Retailing for $56 per 1.7-oz. spray bottle, the line will be launched at Sephora on an exclusive basis in February.

The company has plans to expand its namesake brand in the fall with the launch of a full bath and body range, which will include body butters, lip butters and candles. The company is also looking to expand its distribution in more boutiques and specialty department stores.

Industry sources estimate the new collection, along with line extensions, might generate between $2 million and $3 million in retail sales.

— Michelle Edgar

Tess Appoints Kodak Veteran President, G.M.NEW YORK — Former Eastman Kodak Co. executive Karen Smith-Pilkington has been named president and general manag-er of Tess Skincare Inc., aka Teen Everyday Skincare System.

The teen beauty fi rm was founded in September 2005 by California native Susan Shand and her daughter Ryan, 15. In October, Jean Hoehn Zimmerman, a former Chanel Inc. beauty executive, joined Tess’ board.

Smith-Pilkington, a 25-year veteran of Kodak, worked for the photography company as corporate senior vice president and chairman and president of the Greater Asia Region, where she oversaw the fi rm’s strategy and business operations in Asia. She has also been a manager for Kodak’s Health Group.

“As we look to expand our market reach and grow our busi-ness in 2007, we welcome Karen’s incredible expertise and demonstrated leadership skills,” Shand, who is chief executive offi cer and a former Teen Magazine marketing editor, said in a statement. “[This year], we intend to continue building the Tess brand and anticipate a signifi cant increase in product sales.”

Tess also noted it secured $1.65 million in series B fi nanc-ing during the fourth quarter. This follows previous fi nancing in which the nascent fi rm had raised in excess of $2.1 million. Tess said it is attempting to key in on teen girls’ “healthy habits and in-creased self-esteem.” The skin care brand features cleansers, ton-ers, night cream, antiacne items and lip gloss priced from $14 to $48, an assortment that’s carried at selected Sephora locations.

Lavanila Launches Trio of Fragrances

BEAUTY BEATThe Lavanila fragrance line.

Kors to Open SoHo Store

NEW YORK — Tommy Hilfi ger Corp. has named two executives to its marketing and communica-tions teams.

Marybeth Schmitt has been appointed senior vice president of communications for Tommy Hilfi ger USA, a new post. She will oversee com-munications for all Tommy Hilfi ger product and licensed divisions, including public relations, corporate communications, brand events and sponsorships.

Schmitt was vice president of communications at Kate Spade for three years. Previously, she was p.r. director at Gucci and vice president of p.r. at KCD for fi ve years.

Vivien Kronengold joins Hilfi ger as senior vice president of marketing. She is responsible for ad-vertising, marketing, media, Internet and brand strategy for all apparel and licensed product di-visions. Most recently, she was vice president of marketing at Polo Ralph Lauren. She had been senior vice president, account director at the ad agency BBDO New York.

She succeeds Celia Rao Visconti, who be-came senior vice president of marketing and communications at Andrew Marc.

Schmitt and Kronengold report to Avery Baker, executive vice president of global marketing.

— Lisa Lockwood

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NEW YORK — Michael Kors is joining SoHo’s ever-expanding fashion scene.

The designer will open a lifestyle store at 101 Prince Street in spring 2008 in a space that’s been occupied by Jerry’s restaurant, a fi xture in the neighborhood since 1987, when SoHo was popu-lated by art galleries rather than stores.

The Kors lifestyle concept, which was unveiled at NorthPark Center in Dallas in July, focuses on accessories. It’s augmented with apparel from the designer’s three lines: Collection, the bridge Kors Michael Kors and the better-priced Michael Michael Kors.

When Kors opens on Prince Street between Mer-cer and Greene Streets, it will join one of the most popular blocks in SoHo and neighbors Miu Miu, J. Crew, Apple and Intermix. “The store is wedged be-tween Apple and the Mercer Hotel,” said a retail bro-ker who wasn’t involved with the deal. “You can’t beat that location. Prince Street has a certain allure.”

“Clearly, SoHo is a very highly desirable neigh-

borhood, especially that block,” a Kors spokesman said, noting the store will have about 2,000 square feet of space.

Kors and his company’s owners, Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou, who bought the fi rm in 2003, hope to build a $1 billion brand with 100 lifestyle stores. So far, fi ve units have opened, at the Westchester mall in White Plains, N.Y.; the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, N.Y.; the Pier at Caesars in Atlantic City; the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, Fla., and NorthPark Center in Dallas. Three units are sched-uled to open this year, at the Aventura in Aventura, Fla.; Topanga in Canoga Park, Calif., and Houston Galleria in Houston.

The spokesman said accessories account for about 70 to 75 percent of the mix at the lifestyle units, which change their theme every six weeks. The store cross-merchandises the three Kors lines by trend rather than tier, and retail prices range from $24.50 for a tank top to $12,000 for a crocodile handbag. Michael Neumann, the architect who de-signed the other lifestyle stores, will create the in-terior of the SoHo unit.

Hilfiger Names Two Senior V.P.s

STYLESTARTSHERE.

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Issue Date: February 13 Close: January 26

WWD.COMWWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 200714

By Joyce Barrett

BANGKOK — Retail traffic plunged as much as 40 percent and retailers sought to boost safety with undercover police patrols and searches of shop-pers’ packages after eight bombs tore through downtown Bangkok on New Year’s Eve.

At Siam Paragon Shopping Complex, an upscale mall in the middle of the city’s shopping district, a force of 750 guards patrolled the parking garage and mall entrances while plain-clothes police kept vigil inside the mall, said public relations director Udom Suphpathorn.

Central Retail Group, the largest retailer in Thailand with three department stores, fi ve spe-cialty retail store brands and one supermarket chain with more than 200 locations, was searching customers’ packages as they en-tered its units throughout the city, said A.J. Wisuphithawornwong, vice president of public rela-tions. Central Retail Group was also checking identifi cations of all employees, he said.

“Consumers were spooked when the bombs went off in the heart of the city,” said Kitti Nathisuwan, head of research at Macquarie Securities. “Everyone is shocked. It looks quite serious.” Nathisuwan estimated that retail traffi c was down 30 to 40 percent after the Sunday evening bombs, and predicted consumer confi -dence would be hurt even more if there were more bombings.

“With the current overcapac-ity in retailing space, the true ef-fects remain to be seen over the long term,” he said. Nathisuwan predicted retailers would have to “turn their inventory to cash” with markdowns and promotions to get customers back in the stores.

Retail analyst Suttatip Peera-sub of Kim Eng Securities did not think promotions would get con-sumers back in stores, however. “This is quite signifi cant,” she said. “The government needs to fi nd out who did this to build consumer

confi dence and security. I don’t think consumers will go back in the shops because of promotions.”

The Sunday evening bombs killed three people, injured 38 and forced the city to cancel New Year’s Eve celebrations. No one has claimed responsibility, but government offi cials have pinned the bombings on supporters of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and not on separatists in the southern prov-inces bordering Malaysia. The conflict in the south between Muslim separatists and the Thai military, where bombings are routine, has killed more than 1,700 since January 2004. In a handwritten note released to Thai media, Shinawatra denied any connection to the bombings.

After Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told Thai media there were no suspects in the bomb-ings. The National Police Offi ce reported to Thai media that more than 1,000 people had telephoned on Wednesday to report suspicious packages in and around Bangkok, but that no bombs were discovered.

Investor and consumer con-fi dence in Thailand’s economy has suffered several jolts in re-

cent months. Thailand’s military seized control of the government in a Sept. 19 coup and estab-lished an interim appointed gov-ernment. On Dec. 18, the Central Bank unexpectedly imposed capital controls on foreign invest-ment in an attempt to contain the appreciation in the local curren-cy, the baht. Those controls were rescinded within a day after Thai stocks dropped signifi cantly.

Within an hour of Wednes day’s stock market opening in Thailand, the fi rst since the two-day New Year’s holiday, shares fell almost 4 percent, worse than expected, said Rakpont Chaisuparakul, an economist and market strate-gist with KGI Securities. Retail and tourism stocks were espe-cially vulnerable because of the drop in consumer confidence, Chaisuparakul said. The Thai stock market closed down 3 per-cent for the day.

“We’ll have to wait for the second half of 2007 to see any im-provement in Thailand’s econo-my,” he predicted.

The timing of the bombs was disastrous because this is Thailand’s peak tourism season and retailers count on high busi-ness volume between Christmas and Chinese New Year, which

falls on Feb. 18 this year, said Somphols Manarangsan, a polit-ical economist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

“There’s not much department stores can do to recover,” he said. “It really depends on the govern-ment, which should be more offen-sive in reestablishing security.”

In addition to consumer con-fi dence, tourism and the fi nan-cial sector will take big hits from the recent events in Thailand, Manarangsan said. The govern-ment predicted revenues from tourism would reach $10 billion in 2007, and an offi cial with the Tourism Authority of Thailand said on Wednesday that if there were no other bombs in Bangkok, it should be “business as usual in 2007.” Tourism accounts for 6 per-cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product and the country expects 12 million foreign tourists yearly. He reported that Thai tourism of-fi ces in Seoul and London had not reported any cancellations since the Sunday night bombings.

“It’s a bit too soon to tell what will happen, but so far there have been no cancellations,” said Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, director of international pub-lic relations with the Tourism Authority. “We’re just hoping

there are no further incidents.”The U.S., the United Kingdom

and Canada have warned their citizens against unnecessary trav-el to Bangkok.

Hotels reported cancellations on Wednesday of both business and tourist travel. At the Grand Hyatt Erawan, across the street from Gaysorn Shopping Center, by late Wednesday 140 nights had been cancelled, said Sammy Carolus, director of marketing. At the nearby Intercontinental Bangkok, three meetings sched-uled for 2007 had been cancelled at a loss of more than 100 nights, said Bruce Ryde, area director of sales and marketing. “I’ve been talking to my colleagues across the city and we’re all seeing can-cellations,” Ryde said. “It’s not dramatic, but it’s happening. They are just heeding travel warnings and taking precautions.”

The Four Seasons Hotel near Bangkok’s main shopping thor-oughfare reported no cancella-tions after the bombings, said Annabelle Gaokaew, public rela-tions manager. Most of the hotel guests over the New Year are from the U.S. and the U.K., she said. “They don’t feel any fear at all,” she said. “They feel the sur-rounding area is a safe place.”

Shoppers Squeamish Amid Unrest in Bangkok

SHOKET IN AT SEVENTEEN: When Hearst Magazines named Cosmogirl executive editor Ann Shoket as the editor in chief of Seventeen magazine Wednesday, it ended a period of speculation of whether the company would opt for a self-made marquee fi gure like predecessor Atoosa Rubenstein, an out-of-the-box surprise, or a more tried-and-true magazine candidate.

Shoket, who joined Hearst for the launch of Cosmogirl in 1999 and has been with the magazine in various capacities ever since, has long been named as a favorite to succeed Rubenstein, whose planned departure was disclosed in early November.

Sources familiar with the hiring process said Hearst higher-ups were clear on one thing: They wanted an editor utterly devoted to the magazine, one less interested in publicity-grabbing side projects. In Shoket, they are getting an apparent Hearst loyalist with a proven track record in magazines and an uncontroversial reputation. Her strong Web background — a decade ago, she started her own Web site for downtown living, and ran cosmogirl.com in its early days — is also an obvious plus as a fresh round of

Web ventures vie for teenage eyes. “She’s the type of person that puts her

all into the job,” said Cosmogirl editor in chief Susan Schulz, adding that Shoket wasn’t particularly obsessed with the top spot. “She was never nipping at my heels or anything like that. She wanted to execute the vision I had for Cosmogirl and always had enthusiasm.”

Shoket has previously worked at Parade’s teen news magazine, React, and The American Lawyer.

“She can be a tough editor, but always earns people’s respect,” said Michelle Lee, who worked with Shoket on the Cosmogirl launch and is now at In Touch Weekly. “She’s a words person and a very hard worker.”

Rubenstein — who’s off forming her own company, Big Momma Productions Inc. — chimed in, claiming, “I was really happy to hear from Cathie [Black, Hearst Magazines president] this morning that Ann was being named as my successor.

She added, “It’s always great to see a colleague get a big job.”

Through the fi rst half of 2006, Seventeen saw paid and verifi ed circulation fall slightly by 1.2 percent, to 2 million, and newsstand sales rose by 1 percent to 327,631. Cosmogirl, meanwhile, saw paid and verifi ed circulation remain fl at at 1.4 million, though newsstands sales fell 14.7 percent in the period, to 352,911. — Irin Carmon

BURBERRY’S SILVER STREAK: Burberry is channeling the spirit of Cecil Beaton for its spring ad campaign, which is packed with British “It” kids — and once again features Kate Moss and Stella Tennant.

In the U.S., the men’s and women’s ad campaign will break Friday in the February issue of W magazine, a Condé Nast publication and sister title of WWD. It also will appear in Interview and Vogue. In Britain, it will run in Vogue, Tatler, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar.

Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey said the black-and-white campaign, shot by Mario Testino in an East London studio, was inspired by Beaton’s iconic images of artists, rock stars, royalty and aristocracy. The ads feature celebrity offspring including Max Irons; Sam Branson; Theodora, Alexandra and Marlon Richards; Jesse Wood, and Otis and Isaac Ferry. British aristos Justin Portman and Jasset Ormsby Gore, son of Lady Amanda Harlech, are also featured.

Other models include Sophie Dahl, Lily

Donaldson, Georgia Frost and Lucie de la Falaise. The art director for the campaign was Fabien Baron, and it was styled by Camilla Nickerson.

“We wanted to create a feeling of opulence, which is why we created a silver Beaton-esque set,” said Bailey. He added the company used cellophane, aluminum and silver bricks to give the set a certain glow.

Testino added the look seeks to balance the Beaton style with “the Sixties feeling in London, reinterpreted with the people and the vigor of today. The new swinging London.” — Samantha Conti

MEMO PAD

From left: A Thai soldier stands guard near the scene of one of the explosions in downtown Bangkok; soldiers patrol past passengers at a railway station.

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WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007

WWD.COM/CLASSIFIEDS

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Design Studio ManagerContemp. Design Firm seeks exp’dindv. w/strong managerial & organi-zational skills. Duties include over-seeing Design, Sample Room, Fit-tings & Factories. Must be able tocreate & maintain Design/ProductionCalendar. Exp. w/ Asia & Chinesespeaking a+. Salary based on exp. Fax resume w/c letter to: (212) 398-9695.

Fabric/Trim Assist $30-35K1 Yr Fashion Exp & PC Literate

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FIT MODEL/CLERICAL ASST

REPUBLIC CLOTHING GROUP hasan immediate opening for a highlymotivated person to perform thesedual functions. The successful candi-dates have basic clerical skills andprior exp in an office environment.Specific measurements for the

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Prod’n Testing CoordinatorNJ based swimwear Co. Duties incl.Wal-Mart CTL & general product test-ing. Preparation of tech packs. E-mailresume: darin@nfcswim.com

PRODUCTION ASST.Leading children’s apparel companyseeks a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual to oversee allaspects of production to ensureon-time delivery thru daily communi-cation between design/sales andoverseas vendors. Responsibilitiesinclude: follow-up with overseas facto-ries, delivery tracking & spreadsheets.Strong communication skills req’d.Must have good working knowledge ofMicrosoft Outlook, Word & Excel.

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PRODUCTION ASST -TRIM BUYER

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