WWDINPERSON

Look at Me Now!Jessica Simpson’s fashion business is bolting toward the billion-dollar mark, and one thing’s for sure: She remains true to who she is.PHOTO BY THOMAS IANNACCONE

SECTION III

“That ’70s Show,” 2003Caption go here for this

THROUGH THE YEARS

WWD IN PERSON

By LISA LOCKWOOD

JESSICA SIMPSON is no fashion fluke.With her fashion empire expected to hit $1 billion

in retail sales next year, Simpson sits atop a wide-ranging enterprise that stretches from better junior sportswear and dresses to handbags, fashion jewelry, intimate apparel and fragrances. In fact, 22 licens-ing agreements have been signed to produce Jessica Simpson merchandise, with home, fi ne jewelry, cos-metics and men’s wear on the radar.

“The bigger it gets, the more stressful it gets,” said the 30-year-old Simpson, dressed in a body-hugging striped knit dress from her G-III dress license, in an interview in New York, during a visit to meet with li-censees and see products.

When the pop star entered the business, she never imagined where it might take her. Since aligning herself with Camuto Group, the Greenwich, Conn.-based com-pany that purchased the brand’s master license for $15 million in August 2005, the business has skyrocketed.

“I didn’t really know I was going to be able to take on the fashion world, but when I was given the oppor-tunity to start a line of shoes, I jumped right on board,” said Simpson. “Vince Camuto is defi nitely a role model to me when it comes to making shoes. He just believed in me from ‘Newlyweds’ [her former MTV reality show that ran from August 2003 through March 2005]. He just thought I could relate to the everyday consumer, and that I had it in me to design and wear the product.”

Bursting onto the music scene as a teenager, Simpson was discovered by an independent record producer while singing at the altar in church. Later, Tommy Mottola, then-president of Columbia Records, signed her to her fi rst major record deal, in 1997, and she had her fi rst Top 10 hit at 19, followed by several more. After mar-rying Nick Lachey, of the boy band 98 Degrees, in 2003, the couple became household names with the short-lived “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.” She went on to appear in several fi lms, including “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Employee of the Month” and “Blonde Ambition.”

Early on, the young bride was teased for wonder-ing whether “Chicken of the Sea” tuna was actually chicken, and she made other ditsy statements that amused a snarky public. She’s had to endure old boy-friends like singer-songwriter John Mayer calling their sex life “sexual napalm” in Playboy magazine, and has been steadily criticized in the tabloids for her shifts in weight. Through it all, she’s managed to maintain a de-cidedly stiff upper lip and a favorable public opinion.

According to the winter 2011 Performer Q study from Q Scores Co., among females and males 18 to 34 years old, Simpson’s awareness is 91 percent, versus an aver-age of 71 percent among performers. “Pretty much ev-eryone in that age group knows who she is. It’s top tier awareness,” said Henry Schafer, executive vice presi-dent of Q Scores Co. Her Q score — the percentage of people familiar with her who rate her as one of their fa-vorites — is 15 percent, which is average for performers.

After a high-profi le divorce from Lachey in 2006, Simpson was linked romantically with Mayer and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, and last November became engaged to Eric Johnson, a Yale graduate who spent fi ve years in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints. She recently relaunched her music career and released

her fi rst greatest-hits compilation, “Playlist: The Very Best of Jessica Simpson,” in October, followed by “Happy Christmas” in November. Most recently, her name has surfaced as a potential judge for Simon Cowell’s “The X Factor.”

“They have defi nitely talked to me about ‘X Factor,’ ” Simpson confi ded. “I think it would be a lot of fun. It’s defi nitely my life. To be a mentor for up-and-coming artists is right up my alley. I would have loved to have a mentor. I love watching people’s dreams come true.” While she may not have had a mentor, Simpson’s par-ents, Joe, who is still a minister, and Tina, have man-aged their daughters’ careers every step of the way. (Jessica’s younger sister is singer Ashlee Simspon.)

As far as taking another walk down the aisle goes, Simpson said she’s in no rush to get married again.

Sporting a ruby and diamond engagement ring, she said she’s enjoying the engagement period. “No date has been set yet. We’ve both been married before. We’re enjoying our commitment to each other. We want to take our time,” said Simpson. Nor has she determined who will design The Dress. “I will be part of designing my own wedding gown. We might elope if it gets to that point.”

“But not without telling your mom,” interjected Tina Simpson, co-creative director of her daughter’s fashion line.

Tina and Jessica, who complete each other’s sen-tences, are intertwined when it comes to their burgeon-ing fashion business. Since Jessica is often busy with entertainment projects, it’s Tina who holds the fashion company together, coming to New York for a week each month to meet with licensees, go over designs and ap-prove products. Jessica often attends the meetings too.

“How the brand looks and how it all comes together is me, and Jessica, and our team,” said Tina, who also works with her best friend, Beth Pliler, brand manager of the

Jessica Simpson Collection. (Pliler was Jessica’s dance teacher in Texas but now helps Tina with logistics.)

So how does Jessica juggle her fashion career and various entertainment projects?

“It all works together,” she said. “I really don’t look at myself as just one thing. I’m kind of scattered and like to have my hands in a lot of different projects. It makes me who I am. It’s what defi nes me. What I wear, what I sing, the songs I write, the projects I choose all have to represent Jessica Simpson. I wouldn’t take certain jobs if they were to take away from the positive role model that the Jessica Simpson Collection has allowed me to establish…because this is my number-one priority.”

To be sure, the business initially took off based on footwear, for which Camuto, founder of Nine West, is well-known. (See story, page 10).

“Vince is shoes,” Jessica said. “He makes incred-ible shoes that are affordable and comfortable, and they look high fashion — like they’d be $500, when they’re $69 or $70.”

But Simpson’s brand has since expanded well beyond footwear, and it is expected to get another big push this fall with the addition of the better junior sportswear col-lection, which is licensed to The Jones Group. Jones al-ready produces the brand’s jeanswear.

“[This will] give the consumer something to dress up in, to feel like a lady, to feel sophisticated, yet it has some sort of funk and fl air to it,” Jessica said.“It has a lot of style to it. It’s not your average suit or skirt. It has lots of fun details. We wanted to change things up for the everyday working girl who wants to feel her age. It could be for a girl’s fi rst job, or an internship. She could be in her 20s, 30s, even 40s. My mom would wear it, and she’s over 50.”

“We have to think broad. We have a large demo-graphic,” said Tina, 51.

This is not Simpson’s fi rst attempt at sportswear. Her fi rst apparel license with Tarrant Apparel Group ended with a lawsuit between Camuto and Tarrant in 2006. The suit was settled, and Tarrant gave up the license.

Last fall, Simpson launched jeanswear with Jones. “The denim’s great. We didn’t expect it to be as big — the fi rst quarter in denim was a shock to all of us,” she said. “After the fi rst quarter in denim, we started working on the ready-to-wear. We have jeans that fi t every body type. That’s extremely important to us. We just added plus sizes.”

As the business continues to grow, Simpson believes it’s imperative to keep a consistent image, and that’s why having approval rights is so critical.

“Image is the most important thing about some-one’s career and longevity. I want to be around until I’m not around anymore and then some,” said Jessica. “We’ve been doing this for fi ve years, but it feels like we’re just starting out because there’s always some-thing new to work on, some new endeavor.”

Jessica and Tina approve every item that bears the Jessica Simpson name. “It’s a three-step process,” Tina explained. “We see it at the beginning design stage. We’ll give our inspiration and our color palette. And then, mid-design, they bring to us what they’re working on, and then we have fi nal approval.”

“I was here for three days straight doing approvals for 10 hours a day, and that’s a lot,” said Jessica, noting that she approves the fi t, fabrics, buttons, thread col-ors and zipper pulls. And she has backup from Mom.

2 WWDSECTION III MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

Jessica Simpson’s personal philosophy of approachability has helped propel her fashion business toward the $1 billion mark. A Real, Live Girl

Jessica Simpson

“Newlyweds,” 2003

“The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour,” 2004 “Nick & Jessica’s Family Christmas,” 2004

{Continued on page 4}

Camuto Group: 1370 avenue of the ameriCas, 15th floor new York, nY 10019

AvAilAble At JessicAsimpsoncollection.com

FootWeAR

“I couldn’t do this without my mom. We have the same eye,” she added.

“I think the biggest thing, too, is we just don’t walk in and put Jessica’s name on something and walk away,” said Tina.

Jessica piped in, “I’ll get mad if I see something with my name on it and I don’t like it. I’ll say, ‘Mom, did you approve that? I don’t like that. I never saw that, please tell me if you approved that.’ ”

“I’m accountable,” said Tina. “We get along great,” said Jessica. “I feel like

we’ve grown up together. Having a young mom has inspired my style.”

Although Tina didn’t have a fashion back-ground, it seemed to come naturally to her. “It’s just something I was always passionate about,” she said. “I’ve always loved it. I actually was an aerobics instructor for 20 years. I was a [physi-cal education] major in college, and I get to do this. This is really my dream.

“It’s a lot of work,” Tina added. “It’s a big love ef-fort, too. This has taken over my life — it’s all I do at this point. Once we tackle apparel, one day we want to go into home. That’s my biggest passion.”

Fine jewelry and makeup are also possibilities.“I’m all about makeup and skin care products,”

said Jessica. “I’m a product junkie. But I also stick to what I love. If I can put that into an affordable price for my consumer, that would be great.”

The company recently launched prom dresses with David’s Bridal, produced by Simpson’s dress licensee, G-III. “We wanted to make sure that I would wear it on the red carpet,” said Jessica.

Based on volume, Simpson’s biggest busi-ness is footwear, followed by fragrance, jeans-wear, handbags and jewelry.

Although Simpson is personally invested in all the fashion categories, certain ones she relates to better than others. “I’m always carrying a great handbag, so I defi nitely want to be involved with all those approvals. I love jewelry. I can artisti-cally come at it with a fun, innovative mind-set,” she said. For example, she’ll show the designer a piece of vintage jewelry and work to incorporate it into the line, and keep it “younger and more accessible and approachable to the average everyday consumer.”

The Simpsons said they’d like to open their own freestanding stores, showcasing the entire range. They currently sell merchandise in 28 countries. Asked whose business she admires, Jessica didn’t hesitate — “Ralph Lauren.”

They work with Camuto Group’s design director, Phoebe Mackay, who ensures that all the licensees are on the same page. “She gets creative direction from us, and makes sure everybody has the same colors, the same aesthetic,” said Tina. For example, for fall, Simpson’s main themes that are evident throughout all her collections are Navajo Girls (fringe, Aztec de-tails, shearlings); Hollywood Boho (velvets, distressed, fl orals) and Vanderbilt Girl (collegiate looks, leopard).

Running a fashion business has given Jessica a chance to indulge her other passion: shopping. “I love to vintage shop, personally. I buy all kinds of vintage piec-es. In Los Angeles, there are certain stores that I love, and they’ll put certain things on hold for us, knowing that I’ll be wanting that Alaïa piece, for example. I also like shopping for vintage in places that nobody would. When I was shooting ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ in Louisiana, I’d fi nd all these incredible pieces that I have archived. The other place is South Florida. Southern women are defi nitely a huge inspiration to us. We are Southern women. They always love to do it up and look fabulous at all times. It’s fun to grab cool, huge rhinestone pieces or fun brooches that you can make into a necklace.”

Jessica said she has no desire to design a more expensive collection. “We thought about it. All this looks expensive, and it doesn’t fall apart. I don’t think we need to go there. Making it affordable for every-body is really where we’re at.”

Ever since she was a young girl growing up in Richardson, Tex., Simpson has shown a fl air for fash-ion. “I’ve always been into shoes since I was a kid. I’ve always been into high heels. I wish God would have given me three more inches,” said Jessica, who stands 5 feet 3 inches tall.

Growing up, she said she never liked to wear the same outfi t twice. “I had to be very creative, because I couldn’t go out and buy different outfi ts. My mom’s been my stylist since I was born. I was a preacher’s daughter, so I did have an image I had to uphold,” she said.

Simpson described her personal style as “classic…Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan, Michael Kors. I like sleek and beautiful. I also like the fun, quirky stuff such as Lanvin and Alexander McQueen. Valentino is a defi nite inspiration for me,” she said. “I love dresses. I love short skirts and showing off my legs. Sometimes I have to try and hide the boobs. I love wearing a suit jacket with a pair of cutoff jean shorts, and a great fun necklace with a T-shirt. I’m pretty sim-ple. My style never gets too complicated.

“I don’t always like to dress up. I like to have some-thing dressy and mix it with something casual. If it’s sequins, I still think it can go with shorts. In L.A., you always need somewhat of a jacket. It’s chilly at night.”

Describing to herself as a “homebody,” Jessica lives

in a secluded 5,500-square-foot home in Beverly Hills, once owned by Ellen DeGeneres, which she purchased for around $5 million in December 2005. Her parents live about 15 minutes away. During the evenings, she’s more likely to be found sprawled out on the couch than crawling the nightclubs. “In my downtime, I’m wearing sweats and on my couch catching up on TV shows. My fi ancé is really into art, and I am, as well. We’ve been watching a lot of fun documentaries and going to art galleries and hanging out with some cool painters. My house is my little château. I like to stay home with my friends and cook, or we all order in. My house is a revolving door. I always have at least fi ve people over all the time.”

Simpson said she even met Johnson in her own home. “He was out with some of my friends, and I was at home. One of my friends said, ‘You should come back to Jessica’s house.’ He came to the door and said, ‘This is Eric Johnson, and I said, ‘Who?’ And he said he was coming to hang out. And I haven’t let him leave the house. We got engaged at the house. It’s one of those rare stories.”

Will he work in the family business?“No,” the women replied in unison.“Eric’s a great guy. He’s taking art classes

at UCLA. He’s very artistic. It’s nice to have an artistic athlete. You don’t fi nd that too much,” said Jessica. Together they hike, bike, and live with a fi ve-year-old Airedale terrier, who came with Eric. “We’re very relaxed. It takes a lot to get us stressed out. We talk through everything. You’ll see him off in the corner, and what’s Eric doing? He’s just meditating.”

“He’s a nice man for Jessica because she has such a crazy life. He’s a great balance for her,” added Tina.

Turning back to business, the duo said they were pleased with the relationship they’ve es-tablished with their licensees.

Jessica and her team frequently travel to Europe for inspiration — Jessica took a trip with Johnson to London and Paris in early March to visit stores and do some vintage and fabric shop-ping. Although Simpson designs a line for teens and young women, she doesn’t feel that it needs to be cutting edge. In fact, she said often the trends need to be fi ltered down before they are sought by their customer.

“We like to see the trends that are coming. Trends that are in the magazines right now, we’ll have next year. We’re not too far behind, but we are behind,” said Jessica.

Unlike some other celebrity lines that often fade out as fast as they arrive, Simpson’s brand appears to have staying power.

“In all honesty, I think people really trust me,” she said. “They trust that the product is going to be great, because they’ve given it a try and it hasn’t failed them. As far as how I’m different, I’m very real with who I am. I don’t take myself too seriously, and I’m very approach-able. I want people who wear my clothes to say, ‘Yeah, this is Jessica,’ that I’m their friend and I have invested my time and my energy. I want everybody to feel like themselves in my clothes. I don’t know how other ce-lebrities handle their businesses, but I’m very hands-on and I think you have that personal touch with me, and I think that outreach is very important.”

When her sportswear launches this fall, Simpson will be hitting the road to visit stores like Dillard’s and Macy’s. “The in-stores are really to say thank you to the buyers,” she said.

Asked whether the sportswear launch will be exclusive to one particular retail chain, Simpson laughed and gave a football analogy: “When we launch the sportswear with Jones, we’re going to go long and wide. We have too much time invested with this. We saw with our denim we did a soft launch, and it did so well. We could have come with a huge launch, but they were testing it. Now there’s not much to test because people trust the Jessica Simpson brand.”

WWD IN PERSON

’’’’

4 WWDSECTION III MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

I’m different, I’m very real with who I am. I don’t take

myself too seriously, and I’m very approachable.

— JESSICA SIMPSON

Tina and Jessica Simpson

“Employee of the Month,” 2006

“The Dukes of Hazzard,” 2005

“Blonde Ambition,” 2007 On “Project Runway,” 2010

{Continued from page 2}

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WWD In Person

6 WWDSECTION III Monday, March 28, 2011

Greatest Hits CompilationHer line began in fall 2005 with a collection of shoes. Now, a dozen seasons and

hundreds (thousands?) of pieces later, Jessica Simpson names her all-time favorites.

“I wore this Tempest handbag in every color a few seasons back. The bright color is perfect for spring.”

“Capes always add instant chic to any outfit.”

“These Vintage Flares are my favorite ‘go-to’ jeans — they fit great. We do them every season.”

“This cut and print is an instant classic that flatters all figures.”

“The teardrop shape on these earrings is dramatic, but they are delicate and light to wear.”

“I live in high heels, and the Dany is my favorite. We bring the style back every season. I wear them with shorts all summer long.”

“The aviator shape is a classic — it flatters everyone’s face.”

“This is the first cowboy boot we ever did, and the inspiration came from the vintage red cowboy boots that I wore in my video, “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”

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WWD IN PERSON

8 WWDSECTION III MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

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UPTOWN SOPHISTICATE

SLEEK CHIC

Jessica Simpson’s personal style has transcended the stage and screen, landing in her very own megalabel. Here, a look at the star out and about on the town — matched up with items from her fall merch. Could Simpson herself be her own biggest inspiration?

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9WWDSECTION III MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

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WWD In Person

By LISA LOCKWOOD

“AS yOu KnOW, we’re doers. When we get some-thing, we run with it.”

That’s the philosophy of Vince Camuto, and it’s what has driven him over the past six years to assemble a net-work of 22 licensees to make and distribute apparel, ac-cessories and fragrances for the Jessica Simpson brand.

Camuto, founder and chief executive officer of Camuto Group, the Greenwich, Conn.-based master licensee for the label, projects the business will rack up $1 billion in retail sales by the end of 2012 — an as-tounding volume considering some celebrity brands don’t even make it to their second birthday.

Simpson’s success can be attributed to building a solid foundation in footwear, which will generate re-tail sales of $250 million this year, and then expand-ing into key categories including handbags, jeanswear, eyewear, intimate apparel, swimwear, dresses, coats and jewelry.

Camuto said he had a good feeling about Simpson the moment he met her. Although he was initially approached to do her footwear, he was actually more interested in creating a total lifestyle brand for her.

“I met Jessica and I really wanted to help her build her brand,” said Camuto. At the time, the master license was held by Andrew Kirpalani, chairman of JS Brand Management, which had it for about 10 months. “Six or eight months down the road, her manager called and said, ‘Would you be interested in buying the master license from JS?’ I made it clear that I just didn’t want to take another shoe license. We wanted to be able to create the total lifestyle of Jessica.”

In summer 2005, Camuto purchased the master license for $15 million. “At the time, people thought I was crazy. That was a lot of money,” he said.

With Simpson, Camuto was aiming for a younger customer — between the ages of 20 and 35 — but realized there was a swing customer, since younger girls liked her, too. “I thought the demographics were good. Jessica is likeable. She’s approachable. She laughs at herself.”

Camuto recalled that he purchased the mas-ter license at the time when Simpson’s movie “The Dukes of Hazzard” was being released.

“We launched it at the World Shoe Association show, and Jessica was on tour and wasn’t able to attend,” recalled Camuto. “We did the next best thing. We hired a lot of young, Southern girls and put them in shorts and cow-boy hats. And we did a promotion at WSA with music, and customers loved it.”

The brand was positioned in the same areas as Steve Madden and Guess Footwear. Camuto said at the time there was a lot of sameness in juniors, “and this offered a lot more style and perceived value.”

In the first year, all of Simpson’s cowboy boots sold out. Initially, all the footwear was produced in Brazil. It is now manufactured in China.

“We wanted to give that junior customer the most per-ceived value that she can possibly get for $69 and $79. That’s our expertise and it turned out to be not just ju-niors, but a crossover customer. Moms and their daugh-ters would be buying it at the same time,” he said.

Camuto’s footwear expertise gave him a leg up on the competition. A co-founder of nine West who sold the company to Jones Apparel Group in 1999 for $1.4 billion, he started Camuto Group in 2001 and began making exclusive footwear brands for Dillard’s. Even before they had their first Simpson order, Camuto built a 7,000-square-foot showroom at 1370 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan for the Jessica Simpson Collection.

“We were in Italy, and we bought the most gor-geous antique chandeliers, huge 19th-century chairs

and white marble fixtures,” he recalled. “We hadn’t even sold anything yet. It was before we even showed the line. But we believed in it. We showed the retail-ers we were serious about this brand. People came in and said, ‘Wow,’ and they know you’re serious and not just looking for an easy buck.”

With footwear as the foundation, Camuto visited potential licensees.

“We did handbags, coats and eyewear after estab-lishing the footwear platform,” he said. They were all licensed in 2006 for rollouts in 2007 and beyond. Coats had a soft launch in 2006. “When you put in this kind of energy and surround it with talent, you can start a trend. All of a sudden, celebrities wanted to do their own brand, and wanted to be Jessica Simpson,” he said.

The company hit a bump with a lawsuit between Camuto and Tarrant Apparel Group, which was pre-viously sublicensed to make Simpson’s sportswear. Tarrant claimed Simpson had failed to promote and

be photographed in her Princy and JS by Jessica Simpson lines, but Camuto filed a counterclaim seek-ing more than $100 million for the damages caused by alleged misconduct in breaching and abandoning Tarrant’s contractual obligations. The suit was re-solved in november 2007, Tarrant relinquished the license and Camuto was free to reassign it.

Camuto turned to Jones Group for jeanswear, which launched at retail last fall, and is launching sportswear with Jones for fall. (See story on page 12).

“We started with jeanswear because she’s a denim girl,” said Camuto. “It was really perfect. It seemed like a natural, rather than starting with suits.”

Camuto selected Jones for jeanswear and sports-wear for several reasons: “Jones is a big company, and they have the integrity, the inner workings and the sourcing capability,” he said. “Jack Gross [ceo of jeanswear for Jones] is hungry, super, and he’s pas-sionate. We met a lot of people, and clearly they were the best for the classification. The jeanswear got off

to a great start. There was great execution, and ev-eryone’s happy, including Jessica.”

Going forward, there are still some categories Camuto is eager to sign. Among them are home, fine jewelry, tabletop and bath and body. They are also considering extensions like bridal and bridesmaid dresses and evening shoe collections.

Another growth vehicle would be to open free-standing stores to showcase the entire Jessica Simpson Collection. Camuto said he would look for a partner who was savvy and understood the market.

International expansion represents more oppor-tunity. The collection is already sold in 28 countries, with footwear and fragrance having the biggest pen-etration. Asia, Western Europe and the Middle East are the main overseas targets for next year.

Camuto said another reason why the partnership works is that Simpson is very involved in the process.

“She can be at a meeting for eight, nine hours, or she can be working two to three days in a row. Her mom [Tina Simpson] is also very talented. We have an office in California, and Tina’s at work there almost every day,” he said. Camuto said Tina and Jessica approve every piece in every line. “Jessica knows her shoes and she has quite a good following — three million fol-lowers on Twitter.”

While the Simpsons are partners in creat-ing and approving products, they aren’t owners of the business. They receive royalties based on sales. Camuto said he has a long-term deal with the Simpsons, with options to renew.

“I think we’re a good combination. We’re not looking to exploit her. We’re not just look-ing for a quick buck. [The Simpsons] feel posi-tive about us, too. It’s in our DnA to make the best product and to give the best perceived value. The customer sees Jessica Simpson with great product, day in and day out, at a great price. That’s what makes it a success. She talks about it, she wears the product,” said Camuto, who heads a team of designers that produces more than 22 million pairs of shoes annually under the Jessica Simpson, Vince Camuto, BCBGeneration, Lucky Brand Jeans and Tory Burch brands, among many others. “I see every shoe that comes out of this company.”

Would he consider taking Camuto Group — which generates $2.5 billion at retail across all its brands — public some day? “I never say no. But we’re having too much fun,” he replied.

Camuto gets kudos for his impeccable timing.“He’s an incredible merchant, and from the

perspective of footwear, he knows how to build product. His footwear is trend-right and priced appropriately,” said Andrew Jassin, managing director of Jassin Consulting. “He hit the shoe cycle and accessory cycle full stride in the middle of when it was hot, and then continued to build upon it. He makes nice shoes, and you don’t have

to spend $400 to be in fashion. It’s almost brilliant.”Stores have had good success with Jessica Simpson’s

products, and attribute it to Camuto’s understanding of product and his team culture.

Liz Rodbell, executive vice president of merchan-dising at Lord & Taylor, said Camuto “is consistently on target with emerging trends, and the organization has a strong production arm that produces timely, quality products at very accessible price points.

“The Jessica Simpson footwear business is perform-ing well this season, and dresses are on track for sub-stantial growth,” she added. “We’re very pleased with the performance all around. The Jessica Simpson lines are fashion right — on trend, which is something that’s very important to a younger customer. Additionally, the collections are nicely detailed with a feminine flair at great values. Vince and the team have a clear focus on what each of their footwear brands stands for and they maintain the visions consistently. All I can say is Vince is on the trends at the right time.”

10 WWDSECTION III Monday, March 28, 2011

The Master PlanVince Camuto saw Jessica Simpson as a lifestyle brand all along.

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Vince Camuto

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DResses

WWD IN PERSON

By DAVID LIPKE

JESSICA SIMPSON and The Jones Group Inc. want a bigger share of shoppers’ closets.

Following the success of its Jessica Simpson jeanswear launch at retail last June, Jones is expand-ing the licensed brand’s reach into a full sportswear range this fall.

“The response to the jeanswear was so great, from both the retailer and consumer perspectives, that I thought there was another component — to build Jessica Simpson into a full lifestyle brand with sportswear,” said Jack Gross, chief executive offi -cer of the Jones Jeanswear Group within The Jones Group. Gross oversees the brand’s jeanswear and sportswear lines, which are licensed from master li-censee Camuto Group.

Jessica Simpson sportswear will launch in 470 doors this fall, including Macy’s, Belk, Dillard’s, Bon-Ton and Von Maur, which all currently carry the

brand’s jeanswear, which Jones licensed in 2009 and introduced at retail last year.

Sportswear will be in fewer doors than the 670 that now sell the jeanswear, but Gross said the presentation will be expansive in those launch doors.

“Intensifi cation per door will be great-er in sportswear to really give it impact. The retailers are going to give us out-standing positioning,” he explained.

The sportswear will be merchandised adjacent to existing jeanswear installa-tions. About 400 of the existing doors have full in-store shops, featuring the clean, white fi xturing and Jessica Simpson visu-als that Jones supplies for an attractive, uniform presentation.

Gross expects sportswear and jeans-wear combined to ring up $150 million to $200 million at retail annually by next year, evenly split between the two categories. Down the road, sportswear is forecast to outpace jeanswear.

The sportswear offerings are item-driven rather than collection-oriented. Pants, at $69 retail, are a key category and will be available to retailers on a weekly replenishment basis. They come in three key fi ts: boot cut, wide leg with cuff and skinny.

“The pants are timeless, so we don’t think there is a liability with them,” said Gross, regarding inven-tory positions.

He said “essential” items will generate 35 to 45 percent of sales, with more fashionable “wow” items comprising the remainder. Pants are expected to ac-count for 20 to 25 percent of “essentials” and tops will be 15 to 20 percent.

Tops will retail for $39 to $79, blazers for $119 to $129, knits for $34 to $59 and sweaters for $49 to $98,

with higher-end pieces in fabrics like faux fur.Dresses are also important, forecast at 7 percent

to 8 percent of sales, with a key jersey style at $79. “It’s a tunic dress that can be hiked up or down and worn with tights or jeggings,” said Patricia Kenny, president of sales for sportswear.

Shorts, at $59 to $69, will be included in early fall shipments — unusual for this time of year — in fab-rics like men’s tweed or pleather with lace trim. “We want wear-now products at the right time for the cus-tomer,” said Gross.

Jessica Simpson sportswear is priced at the top end of the juniors department. “We are pioneers in really going back to that better junior customer from many years ago. Most people left and went to the contemporary or ‘Impulse’ area,” pointed out Gross. “I felt there was a white space in juniors for better quality, more details and better price points.”

Another recent launch in this tier, the Material Girl line from Madonna and Iconix Brand Group mostly sells between $12 and $40, with a few high-er-end fashion pieces at $80. That line is sold exclu-sively at Macy’s in the U.S. and The Bay in Canada in juniors departments.

Apart from the weekly replenishment program for pants, deliveries will take place every four to six weeks. Each delivery will encompass about 15 styles, with up to four colors for each style, or about 60 SKU’s per delivery period. To ensure retail success, each group fl ows into the next in terms of items and colors. “When the group starts to break, they don’t become liabilities,” said Gross. “We create a constant fl ow that doesn’t look broken up, which is what happens when people ship collections.”

Simpson is slated to make several appearances at major retailers this fall to support the sportswear rollout. An ad campaign touting the launch will break in August magazines, featuring Simpson wearing the designs.

“Jessica is very involved in the brand. She and her mother really take pride in the brand,” said Gross. “Jessica is here for eight to 12 hours a day during the approval process, and she really looks at everything with a customer’s eyes. If you look at a Jessica Simpson dress or shoe or outerwear piece or sportswear or jeanswear, you can really recognize it as a Jessica Simpson design.”

The sportswear is sourced in Jordan, Egypt, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. “We have a very di-versifi ed sourcing base, and we are using our best factories because the needle and quality and consistency is very important,” said Gross.

Other denim brands in The Jones Group portfolio under Gross include Gloria Vanderbilt, Nine West Vintage America, Bandolino, Grane, L.e.i. and Glo. He also over-sees sportswear labels Bandolino, Gloria Vanderbilt and Pappagallo.

Further expanding the Jessica Simpson brand, The Jones Group will launch activewear at retail in

spring 2012. “It will hover between the sportswear and jeanswear and

rounds out the other component of the consumer’s life,” said Gross.

Simpson’s star power is a fundamental selling point for all of her licensed product, but Gross hardly sees it as the only, or even most important, factor in the brand’s success.

“The fact that she was a star was not the thing that most intrigued me. The fact that she had a brand and it was already successful was what was inter-esting,” said Gross. “The fact she was a star was an added value — versus in other situations where the star is the main focus and the product is secondary. This product speaks for itself. You don’t have to be a Jessica Simpson fan to appreciate it. I think with some other celebrity brands, the product lets down the consumer. I’m looking for sustainability, and I think she has sustainability.”

12 WWDSECTION III MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011PH

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RETAILERS HIT A HIGH NOTEJESSICA SIMPSON’S TEENAGE and twentysomething customers aren’t her only admirers. Retailers are singing Simpson’s praises as her brand prepares to launch sportswear in the fall.

The singer-cum-actress-cum-designer with the disarming honesty and ability to laugh at herself is also a shrewd businesswoman. Simpson’s brand generated $750 million in retail sales in 2010 and is poised to break the $1 billion mark in 2012.

With the Camuto Group, which has made Jessica Simpson footwear since 2005, she has inked licensing partnerships for 22 other categories, ranging from jeans, sportswear, fashion accessories, swimwear and dresses to outerwear, watches and fragrance. Department and specialty stores are eager to get their hands on the next piece of the franchise — the sportswear — which is aimed at better junior areas for fall.

At Belk’s, Simpson’s ready-to-wear will be sold in the young contemporary section of better sportswear departments. “The two businesses [denim and rtw] will be housed side-by-side,” said Kathryn Bufano, president and chief merchandising offi cer. “We see adjacencies with Kenzie Girl and Miss Me denim. Our junior girl is on the young side. Mothers and daughters shop together in many cases. We’ll align with the twentysomething customer. Even though the mom and daughter are shopping in juniors, it’s the postgraduate, early 30-year-old who will buy the sportswear.”

Belk’s has a “gigantic” shoe, handbag and costume jewelry business with Simpson, Bufano said. “We have a very nice dress business in the young contemporary dress area. When dresses and sportswear can catch up to shoes, that will really be something.”

A spokeswoman for Camuto said the company is focused on building in-store shops for Simpson. “We did 600 shops for jeanswear last year,” she said, noting that the shops convey a sense of glamour with chandeliers and sleek white fi xtures with chrome accents. “When we launch sportswear in the fall, it will be as an adjacency to the denim shops. We’ll be taking a bigger pad [on the sales fl oor] and increasing our size.” Shoes, accessories and jewelry are sold in other departments, but the in-store shops have bays devoted to those categories to remind shoppers of the full offering.

Martine Reardon, Macy’s executive vice president of marketing and advertising, said Simpson’s collection appeals to a crossover shopper, from 16 to 40 years old. “To me, it’s more about a mind-set than an age,” she said. “It’s someone who shops missy, but likes to see what’s going on in a more youthful brand. It’s fun, fashionable and trend-right. You’ll see some of the complete looks displayed together. We’re starting to do more of that in all our merchandising. We’re trying to help the customer put it all together.”

Simpson appeals to consumers because she’s not simply the face of the brand, said Reardon.

“Jessica was a singing star and actress,” she said. “She’s proven herself to be a designer who’s extremely involved in the look and feel of her brand. She’s a celebrity and a designer. They can be interchangeable, depending upon their talent. Jessica is not a spokesperson. She is the brand. It’s Jessica’s sensibility.”

“Our customers respond to Jessica Simpson because the line offers fun, stylish shoe wardrobe updates at a great price,” said Kristin Frossmo, Nordstrom national merchandise manager for Brass Plum shoes. “The brand is quick to respond to trends and understands the young, contemporary shopper.”

Lord & Taylor’s Jessica Simpson business has expanded over the past few years across all categories, beginning with shoes, sunglasses and dresses. “Now, it’s on to sportswear,” said Liz Rodbell, executive vice president of merchandising. “We have seen strength with dresses and dress shoes this season and the launch of denim was a success. Our customer has responded to the fi t and price-point. The collections are right on trend and have a feminine touch with a strong price-to-value equation that resonates with our customer.”

“When we launched denim, we had a strong direct-mail campaign,” Bufano said. “We do promotional pieces for the shoe business called Footwear Frenzy. We’re very aggressive in terms of going after this label. Shoes have been up by double digits year after year, as have handbags and jewelry. We continue to see that growth trajectory.”

Any marketing or advertising effort by stores is aided by Simpson’s own exposure. When she appears on TV or is mentioned in the tabloids, stores see sales spike. Likewise, when Simpson visits a store, “sales go off the charts,” Reardon said. “The last big thing she did was during the holiday season, when she did a PBS special and launched a CD.”

“Our young contemporary and junior customer is very tuned into media and fashion trends,” said Bufano. “She has very high awareness among our customers. We had a special event last fall in our Southpark fl agship [in Charlotte, N.C.] and close to 600 people drove from miles and miles around. She has a huge fan base, but her denim, dresses and shoes speak for themselves. Personalities and stars can only go so far, but her merchandise fi ts with her brand.” — SHARON EDELSON

A Winning ComboThe Jones Group preps for a sportswear launch.

Jack Gross

Cotton denim jeans for fall, from Jones’ licensed line.

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lUGGAGe

WWD In Person

JESSICA SIMPSON KNOWS how to steal the show.In a dress the color of French’s yellow mustard,

she arrived at a White House Correspondents Dinner after party last year and had the likes of Donatella Versace, Scarlett Johansson and Bradley Cooper taking notice. The dress may have had something to do with it, but the flashbulbs didn’t stop as she turned to ex-boyfriend Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, and met his then-girl-friend, now fiancé, Candice Crawford.

The moment was a clear indication that the fas-cination with the actress and pop star is still going strong. But why? While she has had a few hit singles, the albums she’s produced since appearing on her breakout MTV reality show “Newlyweds,” which ran from 2003 to 2005, have failed to climb the charts and the documentary-style program she appeared on for VH1 last year, in which she traveled the globe to un-cover unorthodox beauty rituals, got poor ratings.

Simpson’s name is behind an almost $1 billion fashion line, but the paparazzi aren’t waiting outside her door only because of that.

What Simpson has success-fully managed to do is pave her own path to fame and then tweak it, when necessary. When it became clear that she would never reach the pop stardom of Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, she came up with an alternative idea: put her marriage on TV and show that she’s not about being virginal or sexy, but she’s just like the rest of us, struggling in relationships and trying to balance it all. “She reset the bar for reality TV,” said Marie Claire editor in chief Joanna Coles. “The Kardashians and Snooki came after.”

Post “Newlyweds,” Simpson divorced Nick Lachey and the media covered her every move. She went on to star in a straight-to-DVD film, “Blonde Ambition,” but she didn’t provide much ad-ditional fodder for the tabloids, the way other starlets have, by going wild. Instead, she actually drew support, thanks to the me-dia’s obsession with her weight.

Remember that pair of ill-fitting, high-waisted jeans she wore on stage with a leopard print belt? “She’s open and honest about her weight and body is-sues,” said Kristin Perrotta, executive editor of Allure. “She laughs at her own malaprops. She’s publicly suffered heartbreaks. This makes her an easy target for the press, but it’s also why the pub-lic is enamored with her.”

And when former boyfriend John Mayer re-ferred to Simpson as “sexual napalm” in a Playboy article last year, it only made her more sympathet-ic, noted Laura Morgan, special projects director for Lucky, who had Simpson on the September cover (the magazine’s best seller last year). “What girl hasn’t had a jerky boyfriend say more than he should about her?” Morgan said, adding that it scored Simpson an Oprah booking. “If anything, the press is probably unfair to her only in that they underestimate how savvy she is about her image.”

Morgan noted that a lot of blonde bombshell types can alienate readers but Simpson has come to represent an aspirational yet attainable style icon. “She doesn’t promote fashion with a capi-tal F; she isn’t about the elitist aspects of fashion that some people find alienating or inaccessible,” Morgan said.

Simpson has created the right line for the right time, thanks to the democratiza-tion of fashion with high-

end designers doing capsule collections for big-box stores and retailers like H&M. She’s also one of the few celebrity designers who could make a very com-fortable living off her fashion label.

Some fashion purists were surprised to see Simpson on the cover of New York magazine’s spring fashion issue. Fashion director Amy Larocca said Simpson was chosen, in part, because she is able to generate such huge interest for such small choices. “Clearly there is something about her that strikes a chord,” Larocca said, adding that the volume of cov-erage Simpson got simply for wearing one pair of un-flattering jeans was unbelievable. “That she managed to turn such a strange incident into a reality show on MTV made me like her quite a lot,” Larocca said.

It’s anyone’s guess what’s next for Simpson, professionally. She is now engaged to former NFL player Eric Johnson and in terms of media cov-erage, it sounds like another magazine cover is in the works, with Lucky. Perhaps some details about her impending nuptials? “I think we will see more from her in music, movies and TV,” pre-dicted Lucky’s Morgan. “Jessica Simpson is going to be around for a long time.” — Amy Wicks

14 WWDSECTION III Monday, March 28, 2011

Image BuilderThe self-effacing star reinvents herself. The Social NeTworker

The Jessica simpson collecTion might project $1 billion in retail sales for 2012, but it’s not the only enterprise of the singer-turned-fashion-mogul’s empire that’s growing exponentially.

“it’s a very powerful text message,” simpson said of Twitter, the social medium where her personal account, @Jessica simpson, boasts more than 3.5 million followers. “i signed up because it’s a great place to reach out to my fans. i can have a voice.”

simpson insists her Twitter feed isn’t a strategic thing, and her stance on the digital platform goes as follows: if something comes to her at any given moment, she will tweet it. she likes to share tidbits that she thinks will be of interest to her fans, and she might even go a week (gasp) without tweeting if she feels like it.

“it’s authentic to my emotions. i don’t want to bombard people,” simpson said. “There’s a reason why there’s a 140-character limit.”

Jessica simpson collection has a company Twitter, too — (@Jscollection) — and although it has just 20,000 followers, the two accounts work together to execute the brand’s carefully crafted digital strategy. While tweets from @Jscollection are from a company standpoint, the ones from simpson herself are genuine, said leah Robert, vice president of licensing and marketing of camuto Group, the brand’s master licensee. “it’s a window into her.”

Robert cites spring 2010 as the digital turning point for the company and the moment they realized the scope of Twitter’s influence. simpson tweeted about the “Dany,” a seventies-inspired T-strap platform sandal she wore on the cover of a single — and the shoe sold out instantly. it had to be reordered three times for jessicasimpsoncollection.com, and it’s now on open stock and available year-round. it has become an integral part of the collection and one of the brand’s best sellers.

This is evidence that social media has become a legitimate form of advertising for the brand, and it has proven quite successful in propelling retail sales and e-commerce, as well as driving traffic to the brand’s Web site. “it’s become a top blogger shoe,” Robert said of the Dany. “Rumi neely [of the Fashion Toast blog] wears chanel with Jessica simpson shoes.”

neely, whose blog gets 90,000 page views a day on average, told WWD that she wears her Dany platforms all the time. “They are so girly and whimsical, and for their towering height, they’re pretty comfortable. i usually wear them with little white dresses and denim shorts and tights.”

Robert said bloggers and blogger-centric events are paramount to spreading the brand message, and careful attention is paid to giving product to bloggers and collaborating on giveaways so their readers will be exposed to the line.

This has also encouraged the company to pre-sell on the site and add features to enhance the user experience. For example, when simpson wears an item from her collection, she tweets about it; demand for it spikes, and a pre-sale tool is immediately enabled to take orders if the item isn’t available yet.

The Jessica simpson collection Facebook page has also seen growth from initiatives on the social platform, specifically since the unveiling of Jessica simpson Jeanswear last september. The “show me Your Blues” campaign was the company’s foray into social media, and fans were asked to upload photos of themselves wearing styles from the denim collection on to the brand’s Facebook wall. since the launch of this initiative, Jessica simpson collection’s Facebook page has seen a 400 percent increase in followers, going from just over 10,000 in september to 50,000 six months later. employees read all user comments on jessicasimpsoncollection.com and Facebook, and that has helped the company improve customer service in the digital space, according to Robert.

another Facebook initiative, “Win a chance to Get styled by Jessica,” ran from september to november, and in February, Jessica simpson collection partnered with haute look on a sweepstakes in which prizes included $500 gift certificates to both jessicasimpson.com and hautelook.com. To enter, users had to “like” both official pages. The latter sweepstakes resulted in a spike of 5,000 followers in one week.

investing in digital will continue to be a huge focus for the brand this year, since the target customer spends so much time online.

“as the collection grows, it’s important to invest in this medium. We can control the message and go directly to the consumer. We see immediate results and can fulfill consumer needs,” Robert said. “But it is organic in terms of how we get it out there. We let Jessica break the news and we take it from there.”

a collaboration with polyvore, implementing e-commerce on Facebook and securing more blogger partnerships are all on the digital horizon for the Jessica simpson collection. said Robert, “The most amazing way to reach your customer is through social media.” — Rachel StRugatz

Recent covers featuringJessica Simpson.

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