1. style and fashion

WASSON’S
WAY
TAKE A LICK
REMEMBERING BRANDT
THE BEAUTY WORLD REACTS TO
THE DEATH OF FAMED DERMATOLOGIST
FREDRIC BRANDT. PAGE 6
SOPHIE MILROM DROPPED THE LAW TO LAUNCH
EATPOPS, A HEALTHY VERSION OF ICE POPS, AND SHE
HAS SOME SERIOUS FINANCING BEHIND HER. PAGE 10
WWD
TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 ■ $3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR
MODEL: PHILLIPA/TRUMP; HAIR BY JASON MURILLO/KATE RYAN INC.; MAKEUP BY JAVIER ROMERO; FASHION ASSISTANT: ANDREW SHANG; LOEFFLER RANDALL BAG
Do the
Twist
Designers wove cable knits
throughout their fall collections
— in versions ranging from
traditional fisherman styles
to avant-garde hybrids. Here,
ICB loosely interprets the
look in a soft, cozy wool
and nylon sweater paired
with Augden’s Peruvian
alpaca skirt. For more,
see pages 4 and 5.
DAILY
ERIN WASSON IS
LAUNCHING A LINE OF
APPAREL AT PACSUN
THIS MONTH. PAGE 7
TARGET, NORDSTROM SIGN ON
Brands See Boost
From Pinterest Ads
By RACHEL STRUGATZ
PINTEREST MAY BE rewriting some of the new
rules of online marketing.
While advertising on the platform is still in its
infancy versus competitive sites such as Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram and companies need to figure
out what works best for their organizations, Pinterest
already has signed up some major fashion and retail
brands in the year since it unveiled Rich Pins including Target, Gap, J. Crew and Nordstrom. The six-yearold platform is home to 50 billion pins that live on
more than one billion boards, with two million people
pinning product Rich Pins each day.
According to industry experts, the discovery platform is a powerful referral tool, driving high percentages of traffic back to brands’ digital flagships — and both
Promoted and Rich Pins appear to be accelerating this.
Rich Pins, not to be confused with Promoted Pins
— the platform’s mode of advertising that was introduced in beta testing last May — are actually free for
businesses. They are just pins that contain detailed
product information, from real-time pricing to availability and where to buy an item.
But if a brand really wants to boost its reach on
the site, it has to pay for Promoted Pins. After seven
months in beta testing, the product opened up to all
advertisers on Jan. 1. There are two pricing models:
a CPM, or cost per impression model, that is typically
based on generating brand awareness, and a CPC, or
cost per click model, that’s more targeted for businesses wanting to drive clicks and conversion.
Both types of pins can drive a return on investment for brands, experts say. While advertisers have
to pay to play in order to amplify their pins on a large
scale, Rich Pins have the benefit of eliciting engagement and driving an action without the added cost.
While Pinterest still lacks the audience of
Facebook or the aspirational feel of Instagram,
SEE PAGE 12
American Apparel Taps
New Men’s Designer
By KARI HAMANAKA
PHOTO BY THOMAS IANNACCONE; STYLED BY MAYTE ALLENDE
LOS ANGELES — American Apparel has nabbed a
former Band of Outsiders designer in a move that fills
out the new executive team under chief executive officer Paula Schneider, as she seeks to stabilize the
struggling company.
Joseph Pickman, former Band of Outsiders men’s
design director, joined American Apparel last week
to head up men’s design as the firm seeks to revive
that business.
“The men’s business has been trending down for
quite a while and we need to really work on bringing
that back up to where it could be because we have the
consumer, but the conversions aren’t there,” Schneider
said in an interview. “So we’re working really hard to
update our basics and to also have a better merchandised experience when you walk in [stores].”
Pickman, who had been with Band for three-and-ahalf years, is now tasked with revamping the men’s offering to elevate it and “bring a lot of the aesthetic that
I developed at Band of Outsiders — that same spirit —
for the new product here,” he told WWD from American
Apparel’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters.
“We really, really work on the fit first — because the
fit is what makes the customer feel good in the clothes
— and then we look at fabrics,” Pickman said. “What
can we add to that assortment? Can we give them something a little more refined and still call it a basic?”
Pickman’s hiring follows the February addition of
senior vice president of marketing Cynthia Erland
and Thoryn Stephens as chief digital officer, a new
SEE PAGE 2
WWD TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015
WWD.COM
American Apparel Taps Pickman
position at the company. Creative director Iris
Alonzo and designer Marsha Brady were dismissed
from the company in February.
“We think the team is where it needs to be,”
Schneider said. “We’ll continue to evolve like any business and we’ll continue to assess, but I think we’re looking good and I think we’re looking really good for fall.”
Schneider sees fall as a pivotal point for American
Apparel because its product assortment will be more
“robust” and reflect the full efforts of the new team
and strategy.
The company’s gone through a
massive inventory cleanse, ridding
itself of millions of units of product, according to Schneider.
“We still have a couple million
units left so it’s just stuff that didn’t
work, or that didn’t sell or they
made too much of,” the ceo said. “I
think a big part of it had to do with
the demand forecasting that wasn’t
in place where you made more than
you could sell. Even if it was a great
style, if you brought it out last year
and the year before and the year
before that, probably whoever came
[into stores] has already bought it so
we need to infuse new. It’s a whole different merchandising strategy than was here before.”
Twelve weeks in and Schneider has had more to
contend with than most ceos brought in to heal an
ailing company.
American Apparel has racked up more than $300
million in losses over the past five years as it lost
its footing with consumers and buckled under the
weight of more than $200 million in debt. The company’s shares are down about 33 percent so far this
year for a recent market value of $121.62 million. On
Monday they closed down 1.4 percent at 69 cents.
American Apparel last week cut about 180 jobs,
offering severance packages to affected employees,
many of them in Southern California manufacturing positions. That follows 238 layoffs last year
and 160 in 2013 under founder and former ceo Dov
Charney, who was fired from the company last year.
Charney is reported to be close to filing legal action
against American Apparel seeking some $40 million
in damages. There is also an SEC investigation that
was launched in February looking more closely into
the events surrounding Charney’s dismissal.
Schneider declined to comment on whether
more cuts are anticipated except to say “these are
our needs for today.”
“I walked in here on January 5, there’s debt.
There’s expensive debt. We’re paying 15 percent interest when most
Paula
people are paying 5 or 6 based on
Schneider
previous management setting that
up. Millions of units of excess inventory and very little cash flow.
Yeah, you make decisions,” she said.
“Otherwise, we’d go right off a cliff
and it’s way too important a business to let that happen.”
Once the business is stabilized,
Schneider expects to grow the company’s retail operations, which she
characterized as “tremendously underpenetrated.” American Apparel
counts 240 stores in 20 countries.
The company’s wholesale business — printables and business to business — also
hold potential longer term. “It’s very small right
now,” she said of the business-to-business side of
wholesale. “We think that could grow exponentially. We also think that our e-commerce side could
grow exponentially.”
Then there’s the potential of wholesale. The
company is looking at what retailers it would potentially partner with on the wholesale side and if
it were to work with department stores, it would be
better-end options, Schneider said.
“But first, before we do that,” she said, “we have
to stabilize and we have to stabilize the merchandising. We have to stabilize the design. We have to
make sure the fits are good and that’s what we’re
working on right now.”
PHOTO BY RINGO CHIU/ZUMA PRESS/CORBIS
{Continued from page one}
Uniqlo’s U.S. Expansion Continues
By SHARON EDELSON
UNIQLO IS EMBARKING on the next stage of its
North American expansion with three new stores.
Slated to open in the fall is a 13,000-square-foot
unit at the Bellevue Collection in Seattle and a
10,000-square-foot store at Tysons Corner Center in
Tysons Corner, Va., while a 22,000-square-foot unit
at The Denver Pavilions on 16th Street in Denver
will bow in spring 2016.
With 39 stores across the U.S., Uniqlo has established footholds in key locations along the East and
West Coasts. With the new store announcements, the
Japanese retailer will have a presence in 10 markets, including New York, where in 2006 it opened
its first U.S. store in SoHo. Uniqlo also operates
stores in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia,
Connecticut and New Jersey, among other markets.
Uniqlo previously said it is opening a flagship at
Faneuil Hall in Boston this summer, although the
company hasn’t revealed its size.
One of the largest stores in the Uniqlo fleet, a
60,000-square-foot flagship, will open on Michigan
Avenue in Chicago in the fall. And Uniqlo will be heading north to Toronto, with two planned units at the Eaton
Centre and Yorkdale Shopping Centre, opening in 2016.
“We’re going to places where we can access new
markets and give a showroom to people and [tourists] from different regions of the country so they
can access us online,” said Larry Meyer, chief executive officer of Uniqlo USA. “We’re setting up our
expansion throughout the country.”
Last fall, Uniqlo opened 18 stores, the biggest number
of openings in its history. Meyer wouldn’t say how many
are planned for 2015, noting that there may be additional
leases signed if opportunities present themselves.
With only five years left to achieve Uniqlo
founder Tadashi Yanai’s oft-stated goal of doing $50
billion in sales by 2020, the pressure is on. North
America’s contribution to Yanai’s objective is $10
billion in sales and 1,000 stores operating by 2020.
“We’ll be part of the goal,” Meyer said. “We’re
going to do our job.”
De la Renta Broadens Eyewear Contract
By MISTY WHITE SIDELL
NEW YORK — Oscar de la Renta has expanded its
eyewear-licensing contract with Allure, a subsidiary of Marchon Eyewear Inc. The new, two-part
contract entrusts Allure with the development, distribution and sale of Oscar de la Renta’s signature
label eyewear, and renews Allure’s similar dealings
with the brand’s diffusion label, O Oscar.
“I think it’s a big opportunity for us….In markets
outside the U.S. it’s an important category for us in
terms of increasing brand awareness,” Oscar de la
Renta chief executive officer Alex Bolen said of the
label’s new eyewear deal.
“We expect [eyewear] to dramatically expand
from where it is today. In terms of geography, we
will offer eyewear throughout all of Marchon’s global distribution with a wider range of price points,”
he added, pointing to Asia and the Middle East as
two regions that the brand hopes to target with its
eyewear expansion.
While Marchon has overseen Oscar de la Renta
signature eyewear in the past, it was most recently
produced and distributed by Linda Farrow, whose
contract with the brand expired at the end of 2014.
The first eight designs from this new signature
label collaboration will debut during September’s
New York Fashion Week as part of creative director
Peter Copping’s second runway collection for the
house. Sunglasses are up first, but the label says
that optical frames will be unveiled in the future.
The initial sunglass styles, produced by craftsmen
in Japan and Italy, will become available for purchase
in October in Oscar de la Renta boutiques and on
the label’s Web site, as well as at select department
stores, optical boutiques and duty-free partners.
The designs, which will retail between $200 and
$600, draw visual inspiration from the brand’s jewelry collection.
“Peter believes in our jewelry, and sees it as a
very logical design element to bring into our sunglasses and eyewear,” Bolen said of the initial design concept.
THE BRIEFING BOX
IN TODAY’S WWD
Dani Witt is the subject
of Model Call. For more,
see WWD.com.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEXT MANAGEMENT
2
Pinterest has signed up some major fashion and retail brands
for a new kind of online marketing in the year since it unveiled
Rich Pins, including Target, J. Crew and Nordstrom. PAGE 1
American Apparel has nabbed a former Band of Outsiders
designer in a move that fills out the new executive team under
chief executive officer Paula Schneider. PAGE 1
Celebrity cosmetic dermatologist and skin-care creator
Dr. Fredric Brandt died Sunday, April 5, in what appeared to
be a suicide. PAGE 6
Francesco Smalto died Sunday at the age of 87 in
Marrakech, the Smalto fashion house said. The cause of death
is being reported as a heart attack. PAGE 6
An improving economy bolstered by rising consumer
confidence helped the U.S. leap over China and Japan as the
most attractive market for e-commerce development. PAGE 7
Patagonia is investing in Beyond Surface Technologies, a
Swiss chemical company, to improve the environmental impact
of the textiles the outdoor brand uses. PAGE 8
While luxury brands continue to court South Korean
consumers, it’s clear that many shoppers are shunning logos in
favor of no-logo, nondescript casualwear. PAGE 9
Ask Sophie Milrom what she thought she might be doing after
law school and starting a business selling ice pops would not
have been her answer. PAGE 10
Could DKNY be looking for a new creative director? Industry
sources say a search is on for a person to head the design
team at the label. PAGE 11
The talk may be all about whether Hillary will run, but it’s her
husband — former President Bill Clinton — who will appear on
the cover of Town & Country. PAGE 11
ON WWD.COM
Model Call: Brazilian model Dani Witt knows how intense the
international runway circuit can be. For more, see WWD.com.
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WWD Tuesday, april 7, 2015
Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini’s acrylic, wool and alpaca sweater.
s
4
s
an unexpec
Iceberg’s wool sweater.
ThaT old sTand-by
courTesy of color-blocking, sTi
s
ModaBox x Argyleculture’s acrylic sweater.
s
MM6 Maison Martin Margiela’s wool sweater.
Hilfiger Collection’s wool and polypropylene sweater dress.
s
WWD Tuesday, april 7, 2015 5
WWD.COM
J. Crew’s cashmere and mohair sweater.
s
cted twist
Philipp Plein’s polyacrylic fiber, extrafine merino and alpaca sweater.
— The cable-kniT sweaTer — received a youThful makeover for fall,
Tch variaTions and creaTive embellishmenT ThaT added visual pizzazz.
s
s
Delpozo’s alpaca and silk sweater.
Cacharel’s alpaca sweater.
Delpozo, Hilfiger, Margiela, MoDaBox, pHilosopHy, plein anD JoHnson pHotos By tHoMas iannaccone; Market assistant: anDrew sHang
s
Ulla Johnson’s eco alpaca sweater.
6
WWD TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015
OBITUARIES
Skin-care Pioneer Fredric Brandt
many leading injectables — including
Dysport, Restylane, Perlane, Isolagen,
Reloxin, Evolence, Cosmoderm and
Cosmoplast — to run clinical trials with
the Food and Drug Administration. In
2001, Brandt launched his self-named
skin-care line, which is sold in prestige
doors, including Sephora and Ulta.
His clients included Madonna, Kelly
Ripa and Stephanie Seymour. A spokesman for Madonna declined comment.
“Dr. Brandt was a true gentleman,
an innovator, and a friend,” said Ripa,
cohost of ABC’s “Live With Kelly and
Michael.” “His professionalism was only
matched by his charisma. He was charming. He was entertaining. He was a brilliant pioneer in the field of cosmetic
dermatology and his loss will be felt for
years to come.”
He also wrote 2007’s “10 Minutes/10
Years: Your Definitive Guide to a
Beautiful and Youthful Appearance,” and
2002’s “Age-less: The Definitive Guide to
Botox, Collagen, Lasers, Peels, and Other
Solutions for Flawless Skin,” coauthored
with Patricia Reynoso.
“All of us at Sephora are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Fredric
Brandt,” said Calvin McDonald, president and chief executive officer of
Sephora Americas. “He was a pioneer
in dermatology, and due to his dedication and skill in the field, a leader in
the beauty industry. He passionately believed that everyone should feel beautiful, and his ability to adapt the breakthroughs developed in his practice into
effective over-the-counter treatments
made him one of our clients’ favorites.”
“Everyone on the Sephora merchant
team will greatly miss Dr. Brandt, and
the spirit, humor and passion for ageless
beauty he brought to every encounter,”
added Artemis Patrick, senior vice president of merchandising for Sephora. “Dr.
Italian Men’s Wear Designer Francesco Smalto, 87
“His heritage is perpetuated by the tailors
and employees of the
house of which more
PARIS — Italian designer
than half, even today,
Francesco Smalto died
worked directly under
Sunday at the age of 87
him and are honored
in Marrakech, the Smalto
to reproduce his techfashion house said.
niques and attention to
The cause of death
the smallest detail,” said
is being reported as a
the company.
heart attack.
Its current artistic
Smalto founded his
director Youn Chong
men’s wear line in Paris
Francesco
Bak was recruited and
in 1962. The designer’s
Smalt in 2000.
trained by Smalto.
signature styles included
“His compliments
body-hugging silhouettes
renewed for each collection and his
and cigarette-rolled shoulders.
Smalto left the company, which he simple words of encouragement at each
meeting forged my respect for the massold, in 2001.
PHOTO BY JEREMY BEMBARON/SYGMA/CORBIS
By JENNIFER WEIL
ter and the extraordinary person that he
was,” Bak said.
Today, Smalto is carried in 210 sales
points in the world and on the Web site
smalto.com. The label became the official
dresser of France’s soccer team in 2013.
One year prior, the house was given the
“living heritage” label, which the country’s
ministry of economy, industry and employment set up to honor French companies
with exceptional craft or industrial skills.
Smalto fashion has appeared on the
silver screen, in movies such as “The
Last Emperor” and “Grace of Monaco.”
The designer was born in Reggio,
Italy, on Nov. 5, 1927.
Information regarding Smalto’s funeral arrangements was not immediately released.
This was a brilliant
man at the
uncontested top of one
of the most difficult
and competitive
professions.
’’
— JEAN GODFREY-JUNE
rector of Liberty in London. “He was a
lovely man who was dedicated to his particular vision of beauty — with an amazingly loyal clientele. He’ll be missed in
the industry.”
“I was Fred’s patient, his skin-care
customer, and one of his many admiring
friends,” said Linda Wells, editor in chief
of Allure. “A lot has been written about
Fred Brandt as the ‘Baron of Botox,’ and
although that’s fun and catchy, it doesn’t
fairly capture his singular intelligence,
his enormous care and his absolute excellence at his work. He had an immeasurable amount of compassion. Fred Brandt
believed in beauty and wanted everyone
he touched to experience it for herself.”
Brandt is survived by his brother
Paul. Tractenberg noted that donations
in Brandt’s memory could be made to the
Humane Society.
—WITH CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM SAMANTHA CONTI, LONDON
A look from
the Francesco
Smalto spring
2014 men’s wear
collection.
PHOTO BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI
PHOTO BY MICHAEL NAGLE
FUNERAL PLANS WERE finalized on
Monday for cosmetic dermatologist and
skin-care pioneer Fredric Brandt, who
died Sunday in an apparent suicide.
A public affairs officer for the Miami
Police Department confirmed Monday
afternoon that the department is investigating the death as a possible suicide.
Unconfirmed reports are that Brandt, 65,
hanged himself; the Miami Police declined
to elaborate on the method of death, as did
Brandt’s publicist, Jacquie Tractenberg.
Brandt’s funeral will be held this
week in Miami, she said, with a memorial service in New York City planned for
the week of April 13. Times and date had
not been set at press time.
Brandt was found at his Coconut
Grove, Fla., residence, reportedly by his
housekeeper, on Sunday. It is expected
that the Miami-Dade County Medical
Examiner will conduct an autopsy this
week, according to press reports.
The Miami Herald reported that
Brandt was devastated by comparisons to a wacky doctor played by
Martin Short in Tina Fey’s Netflix comedy, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
Short’s character, Dr. Franff, services
a narcissistic socialite, played by Jane
Krakowski, and the character was said
to be inspired by Brandt, according
to the Herald. Netflix publicist Karen
Barragan declined to comment Monday.
Born on June 26, 1949, in Newark,
N.J., Brandt graduated from Rutgers
University and obtained his medical
degree from Drexel University Medical
School. He went on to complete residencies at New York University and
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
While he explored various medical specialties — including oncology, nephrology, hematology and cardiology — he
was always drawn back to his love of
aesthetics. It was during his residency at
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
— where he focused on the research and
treatment of leukemia — that Brandt
began to understand the benefits of antioxidants to the human body’s health and
vitality. Working with green tea, vitamin
A, vitamin C and a series of Eastern botanicals, Brandt studied ways to combine
nature with cutting-edge science to fight
the destruction of the body’s cells. He
went on to complete his dermatology residency at the University of Miami.
In 1982, Brandt opened a private dermatology practice in Miami, and opened
a New York office in 1998. He had a reputation as one of the foremost cosmetic
dermatologists, with an expertise in injectables. W Magazine dubbed him “The
Baron of Botox,” as he was said to have
had more experience using Botox in his
practice than any other physician in the
world. He partnered with the makers of
Fredric
Brandt
’’
By JULIE NAUGHTON
Brandt worked tirelessly to share his scientific knowledge and expertise through
his highly effective and innovative products, which have been among our most
sought-after for many years.”
Future plans for Brandt’s company
could not be learned at press time.
“This was a brilliant man at the uncontested top of one of the most difficult
and competitive professions, who took
what was a crude science and turned it
into something so refined, so subtle and
so beautiful that it transformed literally
thousands of lives,” said Jean GodfreyJune, editor-at-large for Lucky. “He was
an exceptionally generous philanthropist
and was, to anyone who knew him, one
of the kindest people with one of the biggest hearts in the world.”
Added Sarah Brown, Vogue’s beauty director, “In addition to being a pioneer in
the field of cosmetic dermatology — certainly one of the country’s most talented
doctors — Dr. Brandt was the kindest, most
generous man. He cared about his patients
very deeply — not only how they looked,
but how they felt. He understood the powerful role his work could play in enhancing
a person’s self-confidence, and I think he
took great pleasure from that gift.”
“I met him several times over the
years,” said Ed Burstell, managing di-
WWD Tuesday, april 7, 2015 7
WWD.COM
U.S. Leads Pack in E-commerce Potential
By ARNOLD J. KARR
AN IMPROVING ECONOMY bolstered
by rising consumer confidence helped
the U.S. leapfrog over China and Japan
as the most attractive market for e-commerce development.
A.T. Kearney’s biennial Global Retail
E-commerce Index places the U.S. at the
top of the list with an attractiveness rating of 79.3, topping the 77.8 score of second-place China, the third-place finish of
the U.K. (74.4) and the fourth-place finish
of Japan (70.1).
China topped the 2013 study, followed
by Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. Countries
are rated on the basis of the size of the
market, consumer behavior, growth potential and infrastructure.
“Although China’s economy has
slowed down a bit, it’s still highly attractive,” said Hana Ben-Shabat, a partner at
A.T. Kearney’s New York office and coauthor of the study. “But the potential for
China is dependent on its infrastructure
and, while that’s solid in the tier-one
and tier-two cities that previously drove
e-commerce development, it’s poor in
many of the tier-three and tier-four cities where it will need to travel the ‘last
mile’” in its e-commerce development.
The lack of infrastructure is one of
the main reasons that India, the world’s
second most populous nation after
China, didn’t even make the list of the
top 30 e-commerce markets, Ben-Shabat
noted. The study points out only 39 million of India’s approximately 1 billion
people are online buyers, with only 69
percent having more than limited access
to broadband and mobile Internet. India
failed to achieve a top 30 ranking in the
2013 study as well.
The U.K.’s move into third place reflects its relative maturity in e-commerce
retailing, much of it attributable to its
early moves into online grocery buying.
While most U.S. grocers are regional,
the smaller size of the U.K. has fostered
the development of a number of national
sellers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s,
Waitrose and Ocado.
Kearney’s research showed that 60
percent of U.K. respondents have bought
groceries online in the last three months,
versus just 26 percent in the U.S. For fashion and apparel, the figures were 87 percent in the U.S. and 85 percent in the U.K.
Of 13 categories studied, none registered
a higher score in either market, although
electronics came close, with 83 percent in
the U.S. and 84 percent in the U.K.
But, in the U.S., a well-developed infrastructure and growing openness to
e-commerce purchases will spell opportunity in categories other than groceries, particularly in the home area. Just
46 percent of surveyed U.S. consumers
have bought home appliances online
in the last six months, 56 percent have
bought home furnishings and 36 percent
have bought other household items. Even
as it struggles with infrastructure in its
smaller cities, China has higher purchasing statistics in all three categories — 83,
65 and 84 percent, respectively.
Citing statistics from Euromonitor, the
study estimates that global e-commerce
sales grew 21 percent to $839.8 billion last
year and should grow about 18 percent
to close at the $1 trillion mark in 2015.
Growth rates are projected to remain at
double-digit levels through 2018, but they
will decelerate, with 2018 seen advancing
13 percent to about $1.5 trillion.
U.S. e-commerce expanded 15 percent
last year, to about $238 billion, making it
the world’s largest e-commerce market.
Germany and France moved up one
spot each from the 2013 study, to fifth
and sixth place, respectively, but the
biggest gain among European markets,
or any cracking the top 30, for that matter, was from Belgium, up 15 spots to
number nine.
With a relatively small population —
11.2 million — Belgians are highly con-
Global
E-commErcE
Hot SpotS
The markets with the
greatest potential for
e-commerce development.
2015
raNK
2013
raNK
coUNtrY
1
3
United States
2
1
China
3
4
United Kingdom
4
2
Japan
5
6
Germany
6
7
France
7
5
South Korea
8
13
Russia
9
24
Belgium
10
9
Australia
SOURCE: A.T. KEARnEy
nected and engaged, with e-commerce
seen growing 25 percent a year through
2020, A.T. Kearney said. While Belgian
retailers have been a bit slow moving online, companies in neighboring markets —
such as Germany’s Otto Group under the 3
Suisses brand; Amazon’s French Web site;
Netherlands-based Bol.com, and France’s
Pixmania and Redcats — have moved decisively to fill the void.
“As the Belgian example shows, one
thing retailers are finding is that e-commerce makes it possible for you to enter
a market without a huge capital investment,” Ben-Shabat said. “You don’t have
to open a store and take on a large overhead to get your brand in front of people
and possibly pave the way for a store
presence later.”
Four countries entered the top 30 in
this year’s study — Mexico at 17, Spain
at 18, Austria at 27 and Saudi Arabia at
28 — and four in the top 30 in 2013 —
Slovakia at 17, Turkey at 22, the United
Arab Emirates at 26 and Malaysia at 30
— fell out of the rankings.
In Mexico, almost half the population is
connected to the Internet and about twothirds of those connected make purchases
online, contributing to a 32 percent increase in e-commerce sales to $6.6 billion in
2014 and the expectation of similar growth
over the next five years, fueled by both foreign retailers and homegrown merchants
such as Soriana, Liverpool and Coppel.
With Spain generating economic
growth in 2014 for the first time in six
years, online sales are seen growing at
about a 16 percent clip annually for the
next five years.
Amazon has a 7 percent share of the
Spanish e-commerce market, focused
on electronics, books and CDs, while
local retailers such as BuyVIP and El
Corte Inglés have made inroads in the
fashion sector.
Except for Argentina’s 17-place drop,
Brazil registered the largest decline
from the 2013 study — down 13 places
to 21st — as macroeconomic conditions
eroded general economic conditions.
Still, e-commerce grew 18 percent to
about $13 billion last year and its highly
connected population is expected to
spur growth again this year, even as it
battles expected economic contraction,
a weak infrastructure and what A.T.
Kearney described as “burdensome regulations and taxes.”
Erin Wasson, PacSun Link Up Theodora & Callum Adds Kids
By KARI HAMANAKA
LOS ANGELES — Erin Wasson is bringing her signature style to PacSun stores
next month in a move the retailer hopes
will introduce an elevated aesthetic to
its core customer.
P.S. Erin Wasson rolls out to some 315
of the company’s stores on May 13. The
collection’s theme, “Land of the Free,”
A look from
the PacSun
collection.
fuses Americana and Western themes in
items such as bell-bottoms, an overall top,
swimsuits and pieces featuring a phrase
oft-used by Wasson: “Babe is Busy.”
“At this juncture in the road, I’m very
close to this customer, the younger girl
who’s very hip to what’s going on. I feel
like I can give these girls that authenticity,” said the 33-year-old model and actress.
Many of the items are inspired from
pieces hanging in Wasson’s own closet,
most of which is vintage. “I kind of just
wanted to stick to those things that have
been true to me and then translate those
pieces,” Wasson said.
The 25-piece collection retails between $25 and $60.
It’s one of the company’s largest collections to date and helps push the chain
into new fashion territory, according to
Heather Brown, women’s design director.
“We have items that maybe we could
see selling at PacSun anyway with
maybe a little bit of a twist,” Brown said.
“We also have a Western bodysuit and
normally we wouldn’t do a Western studded bodysuit but because we wanted
that showstopper piece, it brings in a
more fashion-forward customer.”
PacSun’s chief executive officer Gary
Schoenfeld sees opportunity for the collection to attract a slightly older crowd
into stores with what he called Wasson’s
“elevated sense of fashion and style.”
“We think the product is really trend
right for all of our customer base and then,
additionally, I think she’s probably more
known to a bit of an older segment, so it’s
an opportunity to bring in more customers
that are in their 20s,” Schoenfeld said.
The company’s target age range is
from 17 to 24.
PacSun and Wasson are looking ahead,
with the fall collection already in the works.
“More than anything, I’m looking for
this as a chance for me to build a brand
and for this to be a moment of longevity,”
Wasson said. “[And] not just stick around
for a couple of seasons.”
April 13. Chasing Fireflies is known to
ship 29 million copies annually and has
nearly 500,000 unique monthly Web site
NEW YORK — From the start of their ac- visitors. Next year a boys’ line is expectcessories-driven company nearly five years ed to debut, which should be welcome
ago, Theodora & Callum founders Stefani news to Gruber’s son Callum. The foundGreenfield and Desiree Gruber always ers also have T+C, a diffusion collection
banked on launching children’s wear. Now of accessories and handbags that is licensed to Collection 18.
they have with a girls’ collection.
With multitiered distribution in such
Testimony to the launch is the fact
that the company is named after their retailers as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman
children and the children’s wear designs Marcus, Nordstrom Direct and Shopbop,
Theodora & Callum is pursare reminiscent of printed
ing other avenues of growth
scarves that first put the
through corporate gifts,
pair in business. During a
as well as personal ones.
joint interview, Greenfield
“They’re great dinner-party
and Gruber said after nugifts. I mean, who needs anmerous friends (including
other candle?” Greenfield
well-known ones like Heidi
said. “Candles burn. With a
Klum and Sarah Jessica
scarf, you definitely get an inParker) asked when they
vitation back.”
might introduce a girls’
Greenfield and Gruber, who
collection, they decided
first met more than 15 years
to pursue the idea. HSN’s
ago when the latter handled
chief executive officer
publicity for Scoop, refer to
Mindy Grossman connecttheir company as a creative
ed them with David Niggli,
factory, but each also has inpresident of one of its subAn
ad
for
the
new
dividual pursuits. In addition
sidiaries, Chasing Fireflies,
children’s
line.
to her business My Next Act,
a girls’ label and catalogue
Greenfield is creative brand
business that Greenfield
knew from poring over the pages with her director at Diane von Furstenberg, and
she has started shooting the second seadaughter Theodora.
Once a licensing deal was worked son of the E! docu-series “House of DVF.”
out, Theodora & Callum created the Greenfield also hosts “Curations Caravan”
collection of dresses, hats, headbands, on HSN. Gruber, the founder and ceo of
tanks, skorts, totes and espadrilles dec- the multimedia production company Full
orated with bows, ruffles, lace, sequins Picture, is at work on the new season of
and other adornments. The Theodora & “Project Runway” and “Project Runway
Callum for Chasing Fireflies collection Junior,” which both will be filmed in New
will be sold starting today on the lat- York City this summer. The age range for
ter’s Web site, and it will be featured on the spin off will include teens, but further
the cover of the catalogue that launches details have not yet been revealed.
By ROSEMARY FEITELBERG
8
WWD tuesday, april 7, 2015
textiles
Patagonia Invests in Beyond Surface Technologies
A PIONEER IN sustainability,
outdoor specialist Patagonia is
making a strategic investment in
Beyond Surface Technologies,
a fast-growing Swiss chemical
company, to improve the environmental impact of the textiles
the brand uses to manufacture
its performance apparel.
The investment comes
through Patagonia’s $20 Million
& Change fund that launched
in 2013 to help innovative, likeminded companies bring solutions to the environmental crisis and other positive change
through business. Patagonia did
not disclose the
Here and right,
two styles
of Patagonia
waterproof
jackets.
size of the investment in Beyond
Surface Technologies, founded
in 2008 by scientists and marketing experts with more than
40 years of experience in the
textile industry with the premise of making textile treatments
based on natural raw materials
without sacrificing performance
or reducing the lifespan of a
product. The investment is said
to be in excess of $1 million.
The agreement comes as sustainability has come to the forefront in apparel and textile manufacturing, from smaller yarn
and fabric firms to corporate
giants such as Kering, VF Corp.,
H&M and Levi’s committing to
programs aimed at improving
their environmental footprint.
Patagonia noted that chemicals are a required component
in achieving the high performance needed for harsh outdoor conditions and are what
makes waterproof materials stand up to torrential
wilderness downpours,
jackets that can resist
wind on a steep pitch
and pants that have
the right amount of
protection in kneedeep fresh powder.
Yet these chemicals used to create
such technical performance can be
toxic and persist in
the environment.
“This is the
tension we feel
every day, making
the best technical
performance while remaining
completely independent and in
control of the original founders.”
Beyond Surface Technologies
makes textile treatments based
on natural raw material. Its
line of miDori bioLink textile finishing products
has earned the USDA
Certified Biobased
Product label that verifies that the renewable biobased content of the products
meets or exceeds
levels set by the
USDA. Biobased
products are defined as finished or
intermediate materials composed in
whole or in significant part of agricultural, forestry, or marine ingredients.
The miDori line is aimed at
eliminating the use of formaldehyde-based products in garment
production. The company also
has developed a bioSoft range
of soft hand-wicking finishes for
sportswear, as well as an oil-absorbing, water-repelling, nonwoven fabric for oil relief efforts
called Oilguard.
Founded by Yvon Chouinard
in 1973, Patagonia is a certified
B-Corp. company whose mission is to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm
and use business to inspire and
implement solutions to the environmental crisis. Since 1985,
Patagonia has dedicated one
percent of sales each year to environmental causes.
products for our core sports
and working to fulfill our environmental commitments,” said
Patagonia chief executive officer Rose Marcario. “We look
for better, cleaner, safer ways
to do things, we apply
our own R&D and look
for brilliant companies to partner with.
Beyond
Surface
Technologies has
the potential to
help Patagonia
and our entire
industry get to
the next level of
chemical safety
without compromising performance, and we’re
very excited to
invest in their success.”
Patagonia, based in Ventura,
Calif., said that consistent with
prior environmental innovations over the past 20 years,
it plans to share any breakthroughs that Beyond Surface
Technologies may produce with
the entire outdoor industry in
order to amplify the environmental impact to the greatest
extent possible.
Matthias Foessel, ceo of
Beyond Surface Technologies,
said, “Patagonia’s investment
gives us the opportunity to accelerate testing and reduce time
to market for our pipeline of
groundbreaking new treatments
for the entire apparel industry.
Patagonia is enabling us to grow
even faster, benefiting the environment and enhancing product
’’
By ARTHUR FRIEDMAN
In fiscal year 2014, the company gave 770 environmental
groups in 16 countries a total of
$6.6 million toward protecting
wildlife, wilderness, rivers and
oceans, as well as promoting renewable energy and sustainable
agriculture, and fighting pollution
and harmful resource extraction.
“As a company made up of
activists, our mission to inspire
and implement solutions to the
environmental crisis goes far
beyond our own company,” said
Lisa Pike Sheehy, director of
global environmental initiatives
at Patagonia. “These groups are
mobilizing their communities
on the front lines to take action
in strategic and impactful ways.
Supporting them is the cost of
doing business.”
Since the program began in
1985, Patagonia has given more
than $56 million in grants and
in-kind donations to more than
3,000 organizations.
In addition, Patagonia’s $20
Million & Change fund has received interest from more than
600 companies who share similar business and environmental
missions and invested in 10 companies to date, including Bureo
Skateboards, Kina’Ole Solar, CO2
Nexus, Yerdle and California
Safe Soil. Last April, the fund
made a similar strategic investment in CO2Nexus, Inc., a company that has developed a sustainable method of processing
textiles and garments with liquid
carbon dioxide using zero water,
consuming less energy and generating little waste.
Chinese Firms Tackle Challenges at Intertextile
SHANGHAI — China’s apparel,
textile, yarn and knitting industries put up a united front here
last month as pressures from a
broader economic slowdown, a
rise in domestic wages and the
strength of the yuan against the
euro and yen all take their toll.
The spring edition of the
Intertextile Shanghai Apparel
Fabrics show joined with CHIC
2015, including a mini edition
of The Micam Shanghai footwear exhibition, and coincided
with two smaller fairs, Yarn
Expo Spring and PH Value,
previously known as the China
International Knitting Trade
Fair. All the fairs were held at
the newly constructed National
Exhibition & Convention Center.
CHIC hosted more than 1,000
brands from more than 21 countries, while Intertextile had more
than 2,600 exhibitors from 24
countries for this spring edition,
a sharp rise from the 1,500 that
showed the same time last year.
Olaf Schmidt, vice president
of textiles and textile technologies at Messe Frankfurt, organizer of Intertextile, said the multiple fairs running together across
2.4 million square feet at the convention center was advantageous
to exhibitors and visitors.
“We are now able to cover
the whole textile value chain,”
Schmidt said. “It’s great for exhibitors and even better for buyers.”
Many of the buyers were taking advantage of the new arrangement by visiting more than one
neighboring metro station, causing long queues for tickets and
trains, the current economic
and political climate had many
domestic exhibitors down.
“Things are getting harder
and harder for our industry,”
ing polluters. I have friends who
have moved their small factory
to Indonesia and they are saving upward of 400,000 yuan, or
$60,000. It’s not hard to understand why so much manufacturing is moving away from China.”
and Korean brands all proved
popular, with crowds of buyers
looking to take advantage of the
relative strength of the yuan. The
enthusiasm was tempered somewhat by China’s broader economic
malaise, which put some custom-
’’
We are looking to source functional
fabrics and there is much more
choice now than...in previous years.
— sheby kwok, quick feat int’l ltd.
photo by dave tacon
By CASEY HALL
The scene at Intertextile.
fair, though most were concentrating on either Intertextile or CHIC,
and visiting the others more out
of interest than to do any serious
business. Intertextile exhibitors
reported foot traffic equal to that
of the autumn fair, traditionally
the bigger of the biannual events.
Despite huge numbers of visitors, enough to overwhelm the
said Jean Yuan, from Shaoxing
County Jiema Import and Export
Co. “Not only has the economy
slowed down, but we also no
longer get the support from the
government we used to because
textiles and apparel manufacturing has a bad reputation
for pollution. The government
doesn’t want to be seen support-
Reflecting broader industry trends, those who were at
Intertextile to buy were particularly interested in high-tech and sustainable fabrics, with the All About
Sustainability hall introduced last
year proving a crowd favorite.
Sheby Kwok, sourcing manager for garment manufacturer
Quick Feat International Ltd., was
in the market for functional fabrics for both men’s and women’s
wear. “For now we will be sourcing more Japanese fabrics, maybe
also European, because their currencies are quite low now,” Kwok
said. “We are looking to source
functional fabrics and there is
much more choice now than there
has been in previous years.”
At CHIC, European, Japanese
ers off buying up big quantities.
“Their economy is still growing at seven percent, but to speak
with a lot of Chinese buyers
here, you would think the economic situation was much more
dire,” said Gabriele Giannini
from exhibitor Lanificio Comero.
“Look at Italy, growing at zero
percent. That’s a bad economy.”
Meanwhile, overseas visitors such as Gustavo Ricci
from Brazilian e-commerce
site Mandores were confident
value could still be found among
Chinese exhibitors.
“The prices are still good,
even with the currency situation,” Ricci said. “Here, you can
definitely find good quality at a
good price.”
WWD tuesday, april 7, 2015 9
WWD.COM
South Koreans Forgo Logos With ‘Nono’
there are trends and then there are the
megatrends, which everyone is more or
less practicing. the current megatrends
are no-logo and normcore.”
according to fashion experts, the nologo trend is all about identity. “Fashion
trends tend to change quickly in Korea,”
said a representative at 8 seconds, one
of Korea’s main fast-fashion brands.
“these days, young Koreans think of
fashion as [an individualistic] way to
sEOUl — While Chanel might be staging its cruise show here on May 4 and
luxury brands continue to court south
Korean consumers, it’s clear that many
shoppers are shunning logos in favor of
no-logo, nondescript casualwear.
young Korean consumers are channeling athletic and clean-cut normcoreinspired looks. these include
sweatshirts, sweatpants, mom
Young South Korean
jeans or skinny jeans with
consumers are embracing
sneakers, letterman jackets,
normcore and no-logo trends.
mannish wool coats, toques and
tote bags. Nothing here looks
vintage, scuffed or even slightly
worn. Korean consumers favor
fabrics and shapes that are
sharp, crisp and one-color, creating an immaculate, almost
futuristic-looking version of the
trend. retailers that trade in basics stand to gain in the current
climate. Examples include Gap,
Hennes & Mauritz, Zara and
local brands such as 8 seconds,
Beanpole, Mixxo and a-land.
Koreans have even coined
their own term for the no-logo
“mega” trend. the “Nono’s”
of Korea, short for “no logo, no brand,” express their personality….they don’t
denote a consumer demographic that want to show logos or brands.”
su-min Oh, fashion research team
focuses on design and value over brand
loyalty, and self-expression and identity director at Cheil industries Fashion
Division, said logos and status symbols
over status.
“the fashion community in Korea is “are definitely less popular than before.
very influenced by Western culture and People care more about style, design and
fashion,” said Chae-yeon song, cofound- not just about names these days; brand
er of styleshare, one of Korea’s largest loyalty is decreasing.”
according to the Korea Chamber of
online fashion communities. “in Korea,
Sustainability In Focus at Parsons
By rOsEMary FEitElBErG
NEW yOrK — When the incoming dean of the school of Fashion at
Parsons the New school for Design,
Burak Cakmak, officially starts at the
downtown campus in august, he will be
all about sustainable design.
in his previous role as vice president of corporate responsibility for the
swarovski Group in london, Cakmak
traveled extensively to establish global environmentally minded programs
and forge strong research partnerships with retailers and luxury brands.
Connecting with suppliers, stores,
non-governmental organizations, governments and media, Cakmak put in
place best-practice industry standards
across all business functions including raw material sourcing and supply
chain management. His experience
in the area included a run as general
manager of Made-By Benelux in the
Netherlands where he worked with
H&M, tommy Hilfiger, acne, Primark
and other brands. Before that, he was
Kering’s first director of corporate sustainability. Cakmak started his career
as senior manager of social responsibility at Gap inc., a post he held for
eight years.
Cakmak succeeds simon Collins,
who relinquished his deanship last
summer, but remains as the school’s
creative adviser and board of governors member. Following an international search that culled “several hundred candidates,” five external ones
and one internal candidate made formal presentations before Cakmak was
chosen, said Parsons’ executive dean
Joel towers.
aside from his 15-year commitment
to sustainability issues, Cakmak brings
with him numerous connections to the
fashion world and significant international experience, including set-
ting up academic projects in the U.s.,
U.K., France, China, Brazil and india.
With firsthand knowledge of how a
business evolves based on designers’
and creative directors’ key decisions,
Cakmak decided that education holds
the best opportunity to help instill in
aspiring designers the need to further
sustainability, by respecting nature
and society and providing more traceable products. He said his experience
developing products from beginning
to end “through production and process,” and a sound understanding
of marketing and communications,
should serve him well in his new role.
intrigued by how technological changes dovetail into design,
Cakmak pointed to 3-D printers
MakerBot, shapeways and Carbon3D’s
CliPs [Continuous liquid interface
Production] technology that grows
parts instead of printing them layer by
layer as examples of new ways of approaching sustainability. in addition,
the fact that last month a $1 billion
valuation was given to Farfetch, which
links up shoppers with independent
retailers “is an indication of how the
company will become the enabler for
young designers in the future” as it expands, he added.
When towers met Cakmak for the
first time in his New york office two
years ago to discuss sustainability, he
was struck by how “extremely smart”
and in-the-know Cakmak was. as the
New school’s self-described “resident tree hugger,” towers has long
been committed to environmental and
urban ecology issues as an associate
professor of architecture and sustainable design as well as a practicing
architect with 30 years of experience
in sustainable design and urban ecology. reaffirming the school’s multidisciplinary approach to design, tower
said, “Fashion is not something that
lives in isolation.”
Commerce, retail sales in Korea are set to
grow by 2.4 percent this year to 276 trillion
won, or $251.37 billion at current exchange.
retail sales grew at a similar rate in 2014,
increasing 2.2 percent on 2013 figures.
“this growth is projected to be small
due to [the] economic slowdown and
lower levels of consumer sentiment,” the
KCCi said.
in February, the Korean finance
ministry said sales at the country’s top
department stores were estimated to have fallen 9.7
percent in January from a
year earlier. the ministry
blamed part of the drop
on the timing of the lunar
New year holidays, which
fell in late January last year
but were in the middle of
February this year.
Hye-jin Hong, the designer
behind contemporary fashion
house studio K, said tough
economic times could be part
of the attraction of the no-logo
trend for consumers.
“[like much of the world,]
because of economic uncertainty, people try to wear
simple, non-trend-sensitive
clothing they can wear for
years to come….they want to minimize
consumption and maximize their clothes’
wearability,” she said.
in spite of the economy, the Korean
fashion market is maturing and experts
say that younger generations are making more “value-conscious” purchases.
analysts at samsung Design Net said
Korean consumers want more than just
status items; consumers are seeking a
photo by SimpSon Kim
By Crystal tai
whole different set of specialized products and shopping experiences.
“Nowadays, peoples’ interests have
expanded to technology [like the iPhone,]
or lifestyles [like well-being, eco-friendly
living, vintage, etc],” said su-min Oh, an
analyst with samsung. “they are interested in more than just fashion now….and
the market has noticed this.”
Given Korea’s fairly rigid society and
high level of conformity, the newfound
popularity of non-branded, no-logo items
is particularly noteworthy. Just a few
years ago, monogram luxury bags were
so ubiquitous they were nicknamed “3
second bags,” as one could spot one being
worn by women everywhere.
tapping into the no-logo trend, Korean
brands like handbag firm Couronne and
8 seconds are putting a greater emphasis
on product development and design than
slapping labels on products.
“When we think about brands like
Burberry, we think about their iconic
trenchcoat; or when we think about Uniqlo,
we think of their Heattech line,” said
samsung’s Oh. “Korean brands are also following this flow. For example, at 8 seconds,
they are heavily focusing on the marketing
of the ‘wonder series’ line [a line of breathable and insulating inner wear].”
Hong, the studio K designer, agreed
that Korean consumers are becoming
more discerning.
“Over the past decade people have become more informed. they don’t just care
about a name: it’s about their chosen
lifestyle, the cost of the item, and many
other things,” she said. “We can definitely say Korean consumers are more
mature now.”— WITH CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM REUTERS
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10 WWD TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015
PHOTOS BY THOMAS IANNACCONE
A selection of EatPops.
What a Dish
eye
THEY ARE WEARING
®
Technicolor Parade
“In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it” didn’t begin to describe the scene
at the 2015 Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival, a cheerful tradition staged annually
along Fifth Avenue in New York City. This year’s participants went all out with
imaginative millinery, wearing head-to-toe looks that ranged from serious and chic
Sunday-service outfits to what onlookers really came to see: elaborate and sometimes
kooky hat extravaganzas requiring a bit of a balancing act.
— WWD STAFF
PHOTOS BY GEORGE CHINSEE
after functional benefits like
ASK SOPHIE MILROM what
“Activate” and “Restore” and all
she thought she might be doing
seven flavors are all-natural with
after law school and starting a
no added sugars, sweeteners
business selling ice pops would
or coloring. (A box of three,
not have been her answer. “It
with Lichtenstein-inspired
seems so random. I’m a lawyer,”
packaging by Doubleday &
the 27-year-old entrepreneur
Cartwright, costs $6.99.)
trills one recent afternoon in
Just shy of a year later,
New York. But it was while
Milrom’s frozen treats are in
studying for the bar exam that
150 stores in the Tristate area,
the idea for EatPops was born.
including Whole Foods, and she
“For the first time in my life
recently launched in Los Angeles
certain things were just too
with AmazonFresh. She was
inconvenient — cooking, or
able to scale the business after
running out for a custom meal.
a round of funding in October,
And so I went to the food store
when she secured a group
to stock up on snacks, and was
of investors who include the
surprised that everything had
a ton of sugar or artificial
flavors or sweeteners,” she
says. “I was thinking about
the juice craze and how it’s
so inaccessible to people,
because it’s one, really
expensive, and two, really
inconvenient. I realized that
a way of making a shelf-stable
version of the juice craze was
freezing the juices.” Eureka!
She started making
ice pops out of the typical
juice blends one might find
at Juice Press or Organic
Avenue, testing them on her
friends (and keeping them
in an industrial freezer
in her living room) before
manufacturing a batch of
samples. “Some things taste
delicious together but when
you mix them they turn a
really unappetizing color,”
she says of the process. “So,
orange juice is delicious
and grape juice is delicious
and together they don’t taste
bad but they’re brown. And
nobody’s going to buy a brown
Sophie Milrom
ice pop that isn’t chocolate.”
founders of Sweetgreen and Kal
EatPops launched last
Vepuri, whose portfolio includes
summer at Life Thyme Market
Warby Parker and The Arrivals.
in the West Village, while
They saw an opportunity in the
partnerships with fitness brands
effervescent Milrom’s drive: She
like SoulCycle, Lululemon and
called her company Innocent
ModelFit followed throughout
Foods and aims to grow it into a
the summer. With EatPops,
lifestyle brand.
Milrom is capitalizing not only
As to the bewildering turn
on the zeitgeist at large, but also
her career has taken, Milrom
her personal healthy outlook
has come to terms with her
(in her business bio she notes
calling. “I realized that a lot
that she “meditates twice a day,
of the entrepreneurs I look
goes to yoga 5 times per week”).
up to, most found
“Somebody said
problems in their
once if you had a
FOR MORE PHOTOS, SEE
[own] homes and
Ferrari you wouldn’t
put diesel fuel into
WWD.com/eye. were solving that
exact problem,
it. I think everybody
not a problem in
is realizing that it’s
someone else’s
really important
home,” says Milrom. “So, for
what you put into your body,”
example, the founder of Spanx
she says. “Everything in the
always said that she was cutting
frozen-dessert section of the
off the bottom of her pantyhose.
grocery store ranges from really,
And I thought that was a really
really, really bad for you, like
practical way of approaching it.
cookie-dough ice cream, to less
Like, if I have this problem and
bad for you. But there’s nothing
I’m solving it for myself, I can
that offers you nutritional value
help other people solve it, too.”
or functional benefits.”
She adds: “Nothing makes
As such, EatPops’ flavor
me happier than when people
combinations — including beet,
look at me and say, ‘Why didn’t I
apple and carrot or kale, banana
think of that?’” — ALLY BETKER
and pineapple — are named
WWD Tuesday, april 7, 2015 11
WWD.COM
CLINTON’S TOWN & COUNTRY TEASE: The
talk may be all about whether Hillary
will run, but it’s her husband — former
President Bill Clinton — who will appear
on the cover of Town & Country’s May
philanthropy-themed issue, which hits
newsstands April 14. The issue dovetails
with T&C’s second annual philanthropy
summit, which will take place on May 7
at the New York Historical Society.
According to editor in chief Jay
Fielden, booking Clinton wasn’t as hard as
working around his crammed schedule.
“We went to Haiti with him to see what
he does best, which is to wheel and
deal and put multinational companies
together,” Fielden told WWD. “The
interview took place about five weeks
ago, which was close to deadline. We
got a little harried. We only had eight
minutes to get the cover shot.”
Clinton was on site — a farm two
hours outside of Port au Prince — to
work on the Haiti Lime Project, in
which his foundation helps Haitian
farmers secure funding to plant lime
trees. Clinton, who had hooked the
farmers up with Firmenich, a Swiss
oils and essences company, was busy
schmoozing and shaking hands after the
meeting, while T&C photographer Alexei
Hay watched his eight-minute window
dwindle to three minutes.
Hay captured a noticeably youngerlooking Clinton posing by a tree on
the farm with a helicopter in the
background — a shot that looks more
or less like a painting — but one that
Fielden denied was Photoshopped.
“That’s a real helicopter in the
background, and that’s a real Panerai
watch that he’s wearing that he owns,”
Pendergrass, Reshma Saujani, Connie Britton
and Katie Couric.
T&C vice president, publisher and
chief revenue officer Jennifer Levene Bruno
said panels will touch on philanthropic
efforts in Hollywood, Wall Street and
Washington, D.C. The event will also
be a full day versus last year’s half day,
and it will make use of social media.
Today, T&C will try to bolster support
for its summit through a social campaign
with the tag #LoveToGive, in which
individuals are encouraged to raise
awareness for the causes they support.
Like last year, Fidelity Charitable is
the main sponsor with City of Hope also
returning. New sponsors include Bally,
Morocan Oil, PBS and One Hotels.
the editor said with a chuckle, noting
that Clinton’s appearance marks T&C’s
first presidential cover.
The story, which is written by Klara
Glowczewska, the magazine’s travel
editor-at-large, explores Clinton’s
philanthropic efforts in Haiti, as well as
his potential role in a Hillary Clinton
White House. “If Hillary becomes
president, I’ll have to assess what
— ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD
ANGELS FACE OFF: Lane Bryant, seeking
Photo by Alexei hAy
MeMo pad
Bill Clinton on the cover of Town &
Country’s May philanthropy issue.
she wants me to do. It’s hard for any
party to hang on to the White House
for 12 years. A thousand things could
happen,” Clinton said in response to
Glowczewska’s question of “What if
Hillary runs and becomes president?”
T&C hopes to nab the former
president for its summit before he goes
in first-spouse mode. He would join
already-booked speakers such as John
to elevate its image and alter certain
notions on large sizes, officially launched
its #ImNoAngel campaign Monday at the
brand’s 34th Street flagship in Manhattan.
The campaign also involved “pop-up”
concerts Monday in New York City, with
the first all-female hip-hop group Salt-NPepa. Joined by campaign models Ashley
Graham, Marquita Pring, Candice Huffine, Victoria
Lee, Justine Legault and Elly Mayday, Salt-NPepa traveled around the city performing
in an open-top #ImNoAngel bus. Salt-NPepa’s performance was accompanied by
a choreographed flash mob. Salt-N-Pepa is
a supporter of body acceptance.
The campaign centers around a
series of photographs and a video taken
by photographer Cass Bird featuring the
models dressed in the brand’s Cacique
lingerie and styled by Kathryn Neale. They
wiggle, describe themselves as “hot”
and one professes “I’m no angel,” in an
apparent crack at Victoria’s Secret top
models known as Angels.
“Our brand has begun to change the
conversation of traditional notions of
beauty, and we are excited to break
the mold of how society defines sexy,”
said Lane Bryant president and chief
executive officer Linda Heasley.
— DAVID MOIN
NOT STANDING BY HER: It’s rare that in
the aftermath of a public scandal —
especially a media scandal — that no
one is fired. But that was the case for
Rolling Stone’s editors and Sabrina Rubin
Erdely, who penned the controversial
investigative piece “A Rape on Campus”
for the magazine.
Erdely — who admitted to cutting
corners in her reporting, which focused
on what turned out to be a fabricated
account of a gang rape of a student on
the campus of The University of Virginia
— will be permitted to continue writing
for Rolling Stone.
Her reputation elsewhere in the
media isn’t quite so solid. WWD reached
out to GQ, The New Yorker and Men’s
Health, three magazines where the
freelance writer has contributed in the
past, and her prognosis for future work
didn’t look good.
GQ declined to comment as to
whether Erdely’s byline would appear
in its pages again, while the New Yorker
and Men’s Health did not respond to
requests seeking comment.
But sources at both of the latter
two titles were doing all their best to
distance themselves from her, pointing
out that Erdely hadn’t written for
either publication in a decade. At The
New Yorker, where Erdely is cited as a
contributor on its Web site, it was noted
that the writer penned just one “Talk of
the Town” as a freelancer more than 10
years ago. Her status on the magazine’s
site is merely linked to that one
contribution, and by the sound of things,
her return to pages of The New Yorker is
very unlikely.
— A.S.
Fashion scoops
ROLL CALL: Patricia Barbizet, chief
looking for a new creative director?
executive officer of the Pinault
Industry sources say a search is on for
family holding company Artemis and
a person to head the design team at the
chief executive officer of Christie’s
label, which is owned by LVMH Moët
International, has been promoted
Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Caroline Brown,
to commander of France’s Legion of
Honor. It’s the national merit system
chief executive officer of Donna Karan
created by Napoleon Bonaparte,
International, is said to be tapping into
which just announced
the young designer market to
For more
its traditional Easter
come up with a candidate for
scoops,
see
promotions. — JENNIFER WEIL
the role. Public School, Prabal
Gurung and Andrea Lieberman,
WWD.com STAY GOLDEN: The Initiatives
designer of A.L.C., are among
the names that have been
in Art and Culture will
bandied about. Lieberman
hold its fifth annual Gold
had no comment, as did Gurung and a
Conference on Thursday, with a twospokeswoman for DKI. Asked whether
day schedule of conversations, panels
he was considering the position, Maxwell
and presentations. This year, the
conference’s events will adhere to the
Osborne, design partners with Dao-Yi
official theme, “Gold: Transparency,
Chow in Public School, said, “not at this
Trends and Techniques.” “We
moment,” adding that they have enough
have been overwhelmed by the
going on with their own line. Jane
fascinating recent developments in
Chung is the longtime executive vice
the gold industry, as we have been and
president of design at DKNY.
— LISA LOCKWOOD continue to be with the history and
legacy of this precious metal,” said
IAC founder Lisa Koenigsberg of the
REGGAE ON MELROSE: Ziggy Marley is
planning to give Melrose Avenue a
theme. Topics that will be discussed
Jamaican flavor when he headlines John
over the conference’s many panels
include “Designing for Millennials,”
Varvatos’ annual Stuart House benefit
“Cutting Edge Technology and Its
on April 26 in Los Angeles. The reggae
Potential,” Gold in Beauty: Body
musician will be joined by this year’s
Adornment,” and “Jewelry Trends
honorary chair, Chris Pine, and there will
Driven by the Catwalk.” Speakers
also be guest DJ performances by Nick
include Ana Khouri, Anita Ko and Daniel
Simmons and Wade Crescent. The designer
will close the street outside his West
Brush. Sessions will take place at
Hollywood boutique for an afternoon
the City University of New York’s
of live music, shopping, auctions, food
Graduate Center. The IAC will also
and fashionable festivities. “This year
host two cocktail events: a reception
marks the 12th anniversary of the
at the Aaron Faber Gallery on
John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit,”
Thursday night to celebrate the
Varvatos said. “Over the past 11 years,
gallery’s 40th anniversary, and a
we’ve raised over $5 million for Stuart
closing reception on Friday night held
House. I’m excited that Chris and Ziggy
at Doyle & Doyle’s flagship store in
will join me to support the cause.”
the Meatpacking District.
DKNY CREATIVE HEAD: Could DKNY be
— JEAN E. PALMIERI
— LAUREN MCCARTHY
REACH THE
FASHION INDUSTRY’S
TOP TALENT
WWD CAREERS.COM
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Contact Tiffany Windju at 310.484.2537 or [email protected]
12 WWD TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015
WWD.COM
Rich Pins: Pinterest’s Marketing Play
{Continued from page one}
generating substantial revenues
as a result — the platform is making an aggressive push. Pinterest
has raised upward of $790 million
in the past year-and-a-half alone,
or a total of $1.1 billion. With a
company valuation of $11 billion
after its latest round of funding
last month, Pinterest is readying
to focus on creating a meaningful
revenue stream.
Pinterest’s investors clearly
need to see a consistent revenue
stream to confirm their hopes
of a return on their investment.
But all they have to do is look
at Facebook: The social network
racked up $3.59 billion in advertising dollars in the fourth
quarter of last year (a 53 percent
it does have a specific purpose
that its peers don’t: it’s a discovery platform where millions of
users come to view others’ pins.
While social commerce on sites
such as Facebook has failed to
meet retailers’ expectations
because people are coming to
them to interact with friends
or brands, and not necessarily to shop, the digital scrapbooking element of Pinterest
could have better luck driving
sales because of its event focus:
Decorating a room, or planning
a dinner party or a wedding.
Target uses both Promoted
and Rich Pins, according to
Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president of media and guest engagement at the discounter, who
noted this combined marketing
approach doubled Pinterestreferred traffic to target.com in
2014, year-over-year.
$11B
’’
PINTEREST’S LATEST VALUATION.
Rich and Promoted Pins are
not mutually exclusive, according to Target. A Rich Pin means
the pin pulls through item
data such as name, price and
availability from target.com.
A Promoted Pin means Target
is paying for the pin to get it
Pins from Target.
Nordstrom, which has more
than 4.4 million fans on Pinterest
and started using Rich Pins
about a year ago, said the largest
customer-driven activity to nordstrom.com comes from Pinterest.
“The way that people use
Pinterest is very product-
’’
The way that people use Pinterest
is very product-focused, and as
a retailer we hope they will shop
with us because of the breadth
of products [on the platform].
— BRYAN GALIPEAU, NORDSTROM
viewed by more people. Nearly
all of Target’s Promoted Pins
are Rich Pins. Pinterest also
recommends that a pin is rich
before promoting, since Rich
Pins pull through an additional
Target logo and help to maintain
the branding as it is pinned further downstream.
hasn’t done any Promoted Pins
yet, but it is constantly evaluating the opportunity.
British women’s and men’s
wear brand Reiss contended that
Pinterest fueled the highest average order value from any social
channel last year. Since partnering with the platform in a marketing capacity, the brand has experienced a 46 percent jump in
Pinterest-referred revenue.
Reiss’ Rich Pins notified
users when prices dropped on a
pinned product — and the brand
said it’s seen a tangible return
on investment from its efforts on
Pinterest thus far. For instance,
the brand saw a 22 percent increase in traffic to its site and
a 24 percent lift in revenue, as
well as higher individual order
values. The company attributed
55 percent and 46 percent increases in transaction and revenue, respectively, directly to
Pinterest, year-over-year.
Although Pinterest has definitely been late to join the advertising game — contemporaries
like Facebook and Twitter have
both been working with marketers for several years now and
focused, and as a retailer we
hope they will shop with us because of the breadth of products
[on the platform],” said Bryan
Galipeau, Nordstrom social
media director, adding that the
brand sees about 150,000 pins
coming from its Web site per
month. The company said it
A Nordstrom pin.
leap from the same time in 2013).
Sixty-nine percent, or $2.5 billion,
of Facebook’s ad revenue comes
from mobile — and based on this,
the 80 percent of Pinterest users
who access the platform from a
mobile device can be a massive
opportunity for marketers.
Kevin Knight, head of agency
and brand strategy at Pinterest,
said brands that implement Rich
Pins on average see a doubledigit increase in click-through
rates versus those that don’t.
Additionally, 30 percent of the
total impressions that result from
a Rich Pin are free downstream,
meaning the brand is racking up
free impressions every time the
image is re-pinned.
He’s spent the past year working closely with brands through
a series of creative workshops
to help them get the most out of
their presence on the platform,
but the most surprising thing
he’s discovered is that what resonates with Rich Pins is the opposite of what typically works on
other social networks.
“The biggest factor that drives
the success of a pin is how helpful the pin is,” Knight said. “It’s
the actionable details.”
For example, Knight
found that the notion
of a Rich Pin blending
in with organic content
is not what results in a
high-performing pin.
In fact, the exact opposite is true — and when
a pin includes branding and a logo, it actually performs better, according to Knight. This
has been the case with
publications like GQ as
well as big-box retailers like Target.
It goes against what
experts deem best
practices — and the
notion that consumers don’t want such
in-your-face ads. They
do on Pinterest, apparently. Less is not more
on Pinterest, Knight
said. The more detail
a pin has, the better
it will perform. While
some brands still stick
to a purely visual approach when pinning
— because this is what’s
been successful on places like Instagram — this
approach is not what he recommends on Pinterest.
“We’ve done a lot of work
with Target, [and] in a tasteful
way they will put the bull’s-eye
[logo] on something,” Knight
said. “The presence of a Gap
logo or a bull’s-eye actually
communicates to a consumer
that it’s affordable and accessible. Fashion is a big thing on
Pinterest, but people want to
apply it in their lives. The accessibility of a lot of these brands
resonates [with pinners].”
Weitzman Gets Moving for Instagram
A still from Stuart Weitzman's first
advertising campaign on Instagram.
STUART WEITZMAN is ramping up its social media advertising efforts, launching
Instagram-based ads for the
first time on Wednesday.
The campaign will feature
Cinemagraphs — a photography
and video hybrid created by
Ann Street Studio’s Jamie Beck
and Kevin Burg — and highlight
the brand’s key spring styles: a
high-heeled slide, a gladiator, a
fringe sandal and a fringe bootie. Beck and Burg created four
Cinemagraphs, marking the
first time the brand will offer a
campaign that’s exclusive to social media.
Stuart Weitzman has amassed
an Instagram following of more
than 181,000. It was this grow-
ing base and Instagram’s new
autoplay function for videos
that gave the brand the push it
needed to focus more marketing
dollars on the platform.
“When you scroll through
Instagram and see a little bit of
motion, you stop,” said Susan
Duffy, chief marketing officer.
“We want to capture our client’s attention.”
The footwear brand has been
working with the photo- and
video-sharing platform’s parent
company Facebook since 2012.
Stuart Weitzman has upped its
efforts on the company’s namesake social media network
dramatically, spending nearly
two-thirds of its entire 2014
Facebook budget in just the first
quarter of this year. The brand
plans to increase media spending on the platform by more
than 300 percent in 2015.
Stuart Weitzman also will
remarket the campaign to
Facebook users after they
have already seen it on their
Instagram accounts.
The footwear company will
start testing Rich Pins this
week, with product selections
based on real-time analytics.
Footwear that has garnered interest on social media will be
targeted for these enhanced
pins, which will contain realtime pricing, availability and
link consumers to a direct
point of purchase.
— RACHEL STRUGATZ