Oren Michels | Photo: Scott Beale

NEW YORK, United States — Today, rapid innovation in consumer technologies and accelerating adoption rates are driving explosive growth of new devices and platforms — from iPads and gaming consoles to web-connected cars and internet-enabled TVs — putting pressure on brands to design and support a diverse and fast proliferating array of digital touchpoints. Keeping pace with consumers means thinking beyond the web browser. The days of simply building and supporting a brand website are over. But creating new experiences and applications for every new channel dramatically increases the cost and complexity of engaging consumers, a significant challenge for even the most savvy and well-financed brands.

While there is no escaping this new reality, forward-thinking brands are learning to efficiently leverage external partners and developers to create new experiences and applications for them — driving innovation and increasing revenue while reducing cost and complexity — by creating and publishing open APIs.

An API, or application programming interface, enables interaction between pieces of software, much the same way that a user interface facilitates interaction between people and computers. Specifically, an API makes it easy for one piece of software to open part of its functionality or content for other programs to leverage. Technology leaders like Google, Facebook and Amazon have long published open APIs, making specific content and functionality available to external partners and developers who can then use these building blocks to create new experiences and applications. For example, Amazon’s Product Advertising API provides programmatic access to the retailer’s vast product range so that external developers can easily advertise Amazon products on third-party websites.

Now, embracing APIs and the ecosystem growth strategies they enable is rapidly becoming vital for all brands and retailers, not just technology companies. Indeed, Gartner predicts that by 2014 over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies will have APIs.

BoF spoke with Oren Michels, co-founder and CEO of leading API management, infrastructure and strategy firm Mashery, to find out more about the fast approaching future of brand APIs.

… Continue Reading

Thomas Tait | Source: Mother Blog

A London Design Maverick as a Pragmatist (On the Runway)
“Thomas Tait was in New York last week for London Showrooms, a presentation of young British fashion talent. Actually, Mr. Tait is Canadian, educated at a technical school in Montreal. In 2010, he completed the master’s program in women’s wear at Central Saint Martins in London, whereupon he joined that distinguished race known as the Young Fashion Designer.”

Urban Outfitters Losing Investors With Failing Fashions (Bloomberg)
“‘Bizarre’ and ‘lackluster’ fashions at its namesake stores may be why Urban, which also operates Anthropologie and Free People, is losing investors’ confidence, said Pamela Quintiliano, a New York-based analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. The shares have slid 27 percent this year, the biggest drop among U.S. specialty apparel retailers except for Aeropostale Inc.”

Gap bets on discounts to draw holiday shoppers (Reuters)
“Gap Inc said it plans to “compete aggressively” on discounts to attract shoppers in the crucial holiday season as the no. 1 U.S. clothes retailer continues to look for ways wrestle back market share from its peers. The retailer, which competes with more affordable and fashionable foreign players like Zara owner Inditex, Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing and Hennes & Mauritz , is trying to keep pace with fashion trends by revamping its stores and merchandise, but without much success so far.”

Nordstrom eyes Vancouver for expansion (Vancouver Sun)
“Nordstrom’s interest in its northern neighbour mirrors that of several major U.S. retailers lately… The big retail chains are looking for good opportunities and right now there aren’t a lot of good opportunities in the United States, so Canada is a natural place to look, and B.C. in particular because the economic performance here has been pretty good.”

There’s No Business Like Shoe Business (WSJ)
“Ms. Skovgaard’s designs are more rebellious than reserved, more dangerous than dainty, and since launching her eponymous collection in 2007, she has gained recognition across the fashion industry… In 2010, Ms. Skovgaard won accessory designer of the year at the Elle Style Awards, and most recently, she took the title of accessory designer of the year at the 2011 Dansk Fashion Awards, one of Denmark’s most prestigious industry prizes.”

Albert Kriemler of Akris | Source: Estilo Moda

The Discreet Charm of Akris (WSJ)
“Perhaps it is Kriemler’s understated, reluctant approach to anything overt or loud—fashionable or otherwise—that attracts women as powerful and talented as Condoleezza Rice, Angelina Jolie, Susan Sarandon and Nicole Kidman to his clothes… Kriemler works extensively with artisans from Akris’s hometown of St. Gallen. The town is renown in the business for its skilled craftsmanship in linen, cotton and embroidered fabrics, and has long been a focus for fashion houses including Chanel, Marc Jacobs and Giorgio Armani. Akris has proper form and heritage, too.”

World’s Biggest Fashion Brands Invest in The Fancy (BetaBeat)
“The Fancy, one of the consumer facing projects under the thingd umbrella, has secured a $10 million round of financing at a valuation north of $100 million. Interestingly, the big bucks don’t come from a typical venture investor, but from a new lead investor PPR, the $16 billion French multi-national run by Francois Henri-Pinault, which owns the globe’s biggest fashion brands… The Fancy is about visual discovery and has become a natural home for fashion brands, which see a high level of engagement from tastemakers around their goods.”

Richemont cautious after H1 beats expectations (Reuters)
“Richemont, the maker of Cartier jewelry and Jaeger-LeCoultre watches, struck a cautious note for the luxury goods industry outlook as growth rates are starting to ease from the strong performance seen in its first half. Between April and September, sales at the world’s second biggest luxury goods group jumped 36 percent at constant exchange rates and October sales were up 26 percent, in a sign consumers could be turning more hesitant about treating themselves to pricey timepieces.”

Nordstrom full year profit outlook below St view (Reuters)
“Upscale department store operator Nordstrom Inc did not raise the upper end of its full year profit forecast even as it reported a jump in sales and profit in the third quarter, and its shares fell more than 3 percent… The department store chain said it now expects fiscal 2011 sales at stores open at least one year to rise about 6 percent, up from an earlier range of 4 to 6 percent.”

Versace: What’s the bright idea? (Independent)
“‘Iconic pieces for young people – the essence of Versace’ is how Donatella Versace describes her collection for H&M… H&M’s link-ups with some of fashion’s biggest names began in a blaze of publicity in 2004 with Karl Lagerfeld – and that sold out in a matter of hours. Its creator – who starred in the accompanying advertising campaign – has since said the experience was responsible for making him a household name.”

Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2005 | Source: Hapsical

Tents, but No Circus (NY Times)
“But what the increasingly industrialized Fashion Week now signally lacks is a certain giddy excitement, the fanfare and promise of genius that were common in the days when you could still get close enough to it all to see the greasepaint and smell the sweat… Ms. Roitfeld claimed flatly that fashion is not much fun anymore. ‘It’s less light-hearted, less spontaneous,’ Ms. Roitfeld said. ‘Fashion has become an industry, one that increasingly stifles creation.’”

Saks, Nordstrom Say Luxury Sales Firm (Bloomberg)
“So far so good in the luxury sector, say top executives of Saks Inc. and Nordstrom Inc., as stock markets lurch up and down amid global economic uncertainty.Saks Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sadove and Nordstrom Chief Financial Officer Michael Koppel say sales at their luxury chains are holding up and that they are sticking to their forecasts.”

Cult following helps Superdry sales soar (Guardian)
“Shares in SuperGroup rose 7% after the company said total group sales were £54m in the three months to the end of July. Wholesale sales almost doubled on the strength of international demand for the retailer’s clothing. SuperGroup listed last year and has divided City opinion, with some investors viewing it is a temporary fashion fad rather than a long-term bet.”

The Rising Popularity of Hong Kong’s Young Haberdashers (Red Luxury)
“Creativity from an unlikely source — young, ambitious entrepreneurs– is cultivating China’s homegrown luxury industry. Particularly in Hong Kong, where relaxed taxes and government initiatives appeal to new businesses, industrious young men have created a niche market for haberdashery that is earning serious attention.”

Paris to sell its young (FT)
“The Council of Fashion Designers of America is taking a page out of the British Fashion Council’s playbook and is bringing 10 of the past CFDA/US Vogue Fashion Fund finalists to Paris Fashion Week. The finalists will be able to use showrooms to help them “expand their international business and increase their presence outside of the United States,” according to Steven Kolb, CFDA chief executive.”

Louis Vuitton store in Chengdu | Source: Forbes

Chasing Luxury Dreams – A Tale from Chengdu (Forbes)
“It’s one thing that the Chinese government spearheads infrastructure projects such as massive railway development; it’s another thing that it promotes luxury consumption. Yes, that is exactly what the government of Chengdu, a second-tier city in south-west China, has proudly done… According to Chengdu Retail Industry Association, Chengdu is home to 80 percent of international luxury brands and ranked third behind Beijing and Shanghai in luxury sales.”

Tory Burch markets minority stake; could be planning IPO (FT)
“Tory Burch, the New York-based apparel company, is selling a minority stake… Chris Burch, company co-founder and ex-husband of its namesake designer, has been shopping part or all of his stake in the New York-based women’s fashion company… The move by Chris Burch, as well as the company’s reported search for a new COO and CFO, will pave the way for the company to IPO in 12-18 months, the two industry bankers said.”

Why the Wealthy Will Stop Spending (WSJ)
“Luxury (at least in the U.S.) is no longer a stable industry. It is increasingly becoming the most manic segment of our consumer economy, as it follows the hyper swings of the stock market rather broader economic growth. The new normal for luxury means there is no more normal. As financial markets, wealth and luxury spending become more intimately linked, luxury will be prone to more sudden spikes and crashes.”

Nordstrom in New York to Use an Alias (NY Times)
“Called Treasure & Bond, the new store will open Friday in SoHo and will be less than a tenth the size of a typical Nordstrom department store. In fact, it is a big experiment that will not even contribute to Nordstrom’s bottom line, as the profits have been committed to charity… Retail analysts said it was sensible for the Seattle-based chain, which for years has been trying to figure out the New York market before formally opening a full-fledged department store.”

Andrej Pejic, the top model who won’t get out of bed for less than $50 a day (Telegraph)
“Willowy, blonde-haired Pejic, 19, was catapulted into modelling high-end women’s fashion by none other than Carine Roitfeld, the revolutionary former editor of Vogue Paris. ‘Put him in Fendi!’ is what Pejic recalls Roitfeld saying unexpectedly on the shoot she was styling for the magazine.”