Olivier Zahm by Terry Richardson | Source: purple DIARY

The Future Of Fashion: Olivier Zahm (Style.com)
“The French editor and founder of the twice-yearly independent publication Purple Fashion has many other passions… but in an increasingly conformist world, Zahm offers an original, entertaining, and astute voice.”

Abercrombie Will Keep Discounting (WSJ)
“Abercrombie & Fitch said… it will continue its uncharacteristically high levels of discounting through the spring in order to boost store sales… it is willing to sacrifice margins if necessary to improve sales.”

Burberry accuses TJX of selling counterfeit goods (Reuters)
“Burberry Group… has sued TJX, accusing the operator of the off-price TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores of selling counterfeit goods.”

Céline starts from clean slate (Wealth Bulletin)
“After struggling for years to forge an identity, the label is finding influential retailers including Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are clamoring to carry its collection, even as they cut back their portfolios to focus on best sellers.”

Paris: A Rounder Season (NY Times)
“Louis Vuitton seemed to provide the perfect bookend to the Milan-Paris ready-to-wear season… Between Miuccia Prada in Milan and Marc Jacobs at Vuitton we saw the return of the lush, full-hipped woman, her breasts served up like ripe fruit.”

Abercrombie & Fitch, Ginza | Source: Fashionsnap.com

TOKYO, Japan — After several years of “will they or won’t they” speculation, American casual fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch finally opened its first retail store in Japan this past December. The 11-story shop in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza neighbourhood is just steps away from Uniqlo’s flagship store and Swedish fast fashion brand H&M.

As with every big retail opening in Tokyo, the first day of sales saw long lines of customers and swift business. The rumoured haul: ¥50 million (or about $550,000). Even without the benefit of an opening party or major press event, Abercrombie was able to rely on a small group of Japanese fans who had previously bought the brand’s products as souvenirs on trips to Hawaii or the continental United States.

But the big question is, will Abercrombie be able to win over new fans in Japan and replicate the unbelievably successful Japanese market entries of other mass fashion brands?

So far, the signs do not look good.

… Continue Reading

Kate Moss for Longchamps | Source: Longchamps

Kate Moss: Bags of Style (IHT)
“‘I am not doing it for different personalities — it’s what I like,’ says Ms. Moss — or Kate, as she is known. At age 36, she has taken another step in her second life, as a designer rather than as a supermodel using her pretty face and sensual lips to promote other brands.”

Esprit 1st-Half Net Profit Down 5.2 percent; Beats Forecasts (WSJ)
“Fashion retailer Esprit Holdings Ltd. said Wednesday its first-half net profit fell 5.2% percent from a year earlier as a disappointing wholesale business offset the improvement in its core retail operations.”

Abercrombie & Fitch’s Style Sense Wears Thin With Some Shoppers (WSJ)
“Retail analysts said Abercrombie’s troubles go beyond pricing to its once unerring sense of style, a problem that could be trickier to fix. The logo T-shirt and torn jeans ensemble that Abercrombie made the unofficial school uniform a decade ago has played out.”

Marc Jacobs to Stream Show Live While Robert Duffy Hypes It via Twitter (NY Magazine)
“Further democratizing the Fashion Week process, Jacobs’s business partner Robert Duffy just started tweeting to document Marc’s progress on the collection.”

Luxury in 2010 (CNN)
“Is there a luxury hotlist for 2010? CNN’s Ayesha Durgahee reports.”

Private Sale

Designer Bargains, for the Invited (WSJ)
“Online retail startups that specialize in “private sales” of discount designer apparel are gaining traction in the U.S. and, armed with fresh venture capital, plan to branch into new businesses.”

Couture houses refuse to tumble (Toronto Star)
“You can never be too rich, too thin or own too many couture items. High-end buyers continue to pop in to Paris for the shows.”

Neiman Marcus, Inc. Reports June Revenues (WSJ)
“In the five-week June period, comparable revenues in the Specialty Retail Stores segment, which includes Neiman Marcus Stores and Bergdorf Goodman, decreased 23.0 percent. The Company experienced weakness across all geographies and merchandise categories in the Specialty Retail Stores segment.”

Gap, Abercrombie June Sales Trail Analysts’ Estimates (Bloomberg)
“Gap Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported June sales declines that were steeper than analysts estimated as a rise in U.S. unemployment and a drop in consumer confidence kept shoppers away from the malls.”

American Apparel June same-store sales drop 13 pct (MSN Money)
“Many merchants in June struggled to drum up sales amid continuing worries about the overall economy and jobs, but clothing retailers have been particularly hard hit as consumers cut back on discretionary spending.”

Abercrombie & Fitch ad campaign, courtesy of Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch shares drop sharply (AP)
“Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. tumbled Thursday after the teen retailer posted a bigger-then-expected drop in same-store sales for May. Its stock shed $3.56, or 11.3 percent, to $28.12 in midday trading.”

Across Low and High Ends, Retail Sales Fell in May (New York Times)
“While there have been early signs of stabilization, including improving consumer confidence, concerns over unemployment and the troubled housing market have led many Americans to adopt thriftier behavior, spending on food and other everyday essentials and not much else.”

Offers for Safilo due on Friday – sources (Reuters)
One or more private equity funds will present offers for Italian eyewear maker Safilo SpA on Friday, two sources close to the matter said.

Chief Executive of Versace Is Expected to Resign Friday (New York Times)
“Giancarlo di Risio, chief executive of Gianni Versace since 2004, is expected to resign at a board meeting on Friday in Milan.”

Nina Ricci Pre fall 2009, courtesy of WWD

Nina Ricci: Theysken’s Beat Goes On (WWD)
Olivier Theyskens will be staying put at Nina Ricci with an “expanded accessories line, particularly handbags.”

Retail Stocks: Sizing Up 2009 (Seeking Alpha)
Seeking Alpha lists the reasons why 2009 will be an ugly year for many brands.

Retail’s winners and losers (Just-Style)
Wal-Mart was a retail winner in 2008, but Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch were amongst the big losers.

Wal-Mart CEO Sees New Consumer Mind-set (WWD)
“The economy will turn around some day — but don’t expect conspicuous consumption to make a comeback.”

Online fashion firm ASOS H1 profit up 68 pct (The Guardian)
In another signal that affordable online retailers could fare better than bricks and mortar operations in the economic downturn, ASOS H1 profit rockets up 68%.

H&M Still In Fashion (Forbes)
“Swedish-fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz posted a decent set of October sales.” But “analysts warned the company would not be able to avoid the ripple effects of the global financial crisis.”

Has Abercrombie Lost Its Shirt? (Motley Fool)
Abercrombie & Fitch’s  skimpy aesthetic is also reflected in the company’s declining sales performance for Q3 2008.

Profits flat at Burberry (Drapers)
“Burberry saw sales rise 20% in the first half of the year with pre-tax profit flat during the period, but warned of tougher trading since the start of the second half.”

Adidas to launch new brand (Drapers)
Adidas will launch SLVR, a new lifestyle collection which “will sit alongside Adidas’ Y-3 and Adidas Originals sub-brands.”

ASOS homepage, photo courtesy of ASOS.

This marks the week that one of America’s most successful fashion brands hits the shores of Europe, with the opening of the first European Abercrombie and Fitch flagship in London’s Savile Row. The hype has been nonstop, with the media going crazy,  London buses trumpeting the new store’s appearance by draping themselves in images of perfectly proportioned models baring their torsos (and the preferred Abercrombie aesthetic) for all to see. According to reports, there will always be two models in swimwear in the store at all times.

Shopping at an AF store is about the experience of Abercrombie and Fitch. It speaks volumes about the brand and what it stands for. The signature music. The achingly hip (an invariably attractive) store associates. The artfully ripped clothes and distressed sweatshirts. I remember being shocked one day, walking into a suburban Chicago A&F store to see the sales associate spraying perfume on the mannequins in the store. It seemed to me that over years, the company had got its in-store experience down to an exact science, a formula that works in New York and Newport and everywhere in between.

The science of A&F is now being tested in London.  It will be interesting to see how this formulaic aesthetic and defined approach works in London. Up until now, the brand has had quite a bit of appeal here in Europe, especially because of the fact that it wasn’t (legally) available here. European shoppers would come back with one of those perfectly hip pieces of Americana — jeans or a sweatshirt — as a postcard of their latest trip Stateside. What Abercrombie does, it does very well indeed.

However, once the brand becomes more readily available here and the novelty factor wears off, this tried-and-true formula will be put to the same test as every other store’s offering. London shoppers are a demanding bunch and are used to rapid turns of inventory, cutting edge design, an innovative merchandising. They will be looking for something fresh each time they come into the store, and I suspect the formula may need some tweaking and constructive diversions from the tried-and-true in order to translate Abercrombie’s American success to this new market. With that said, I can’t wait to check out the store myself and see how it has all turned out.