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Jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co has made two senior appointments from in house.
Executive VP (global supply chain) and chief transformation officer David Love becomes executive VP and president of Levi Strauss Asia, Middle East and Africa, while senior VP (product development and sourcing) Liz O’Neill is now chief supply-chain officer.
Liz O’Neill, chief supply chain officer
Love remains a member the company’s worldwide leadership team, which O’Neill will be joining. Both will report directly to president/CEO Chip Bergh.
David Love, executive vice president and president of Levi Strauss Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Love is an LS&Co veteran with more than 30 years of product development and sourcing experience. In his new post he will be responsible for leading the company’s commercial operations, spanning all brands and channels, across Asia, the Middle East and Africa (AMA).
He joined the company 1982 as a manager of technical services at Levis’ UK factory, and has since held global positions.
O’Neill joined LS&Co in 2013 to lead global supply-chain sourcing and strategy, a role involving shipping to more than 100 countries. Previously she was at Gap for 13 years and has also worked for The Disney Store in Los Angeles and Abercrombie & Fitch in Ohio.
Luxury Italian fashion house Bruno Magli Hong Kong has established its first foothold in Asia with a shop-in-shop retail boutique.
Marking its 80th anniversary, the heritage brand earlier announced expansion plans for Asia.
Its debut outlet is on the new Shoes Town floor at the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay. It is the first of 16 mono-branded stores Bruno Magli plans to roll out in China next year and beyond.
Covering 226 sqft, the boutique showcases men’s and women’s footwear collections, women’s handbags, men’s bags and small leather goods, all crafted in Italy from nappa leather and suede. A new retail concept for the store was created by New York’s Kramer Design Group, featuring Carrara marble punctuated with accents of the brand’s signature colour palette, and highlights of burgundy combined with brass.
American brand Elizabeth Arden, one of the oldest names in the beauty industry, is embarking on an ambitious repositioning plan and its president is counting on her Singapore roots to steer the beauty behemoth ahead of the competition.
“Being a Singaporean, what you learn since young is to always stay ahead of the game,” said Ms JuE Wong, who took the helm at the more than century-old brand slightly more than a year ago, becoming the highest-ranked Singaporean in a multinational beauty company.
“When I was growing up, there was only one university. If you (didn’t) make it to the National University of Singapore (NUS), you basically (had) to think of somewhere else to go,” said the 49-year-old, who eventually opted to pursue her undergraduate studies in Australia after missing out on her first choice to read law at NUS.
“That’s why I think I’ve always been conditioned and trained to be an outside-the-box thinker,” she added.
This sense of fast-thinking adaptability is what Ms Wong wants to inject into Elizabeth Arden, as the iconic brand seeks to win over consumers from the younger generation amid the constant emergence of newer brands and a changing retail world in a digital age.
While the brand’s 106 years of heritage underscores “trust and credibility that can only be earned over time”, Ms Wong admitted that it can also, at times, work as an obstacle when it comes to attracting younger consumers, especially those between the ages of 28 and 40. Hence, the company is turning its target to even-younger millennials who have shown a greater willingness to give the brand a try.
“When we did our consumer insights, we found that people from the age group of 28 to 40 know who we are and know enough to often think ‘This is my mother’s brand’. On the other hand, those younger than 25 have not heard that much about us. They do not have any perceived baggage and so (are) willing to give us a chance.”
To appeal to this group of digital-savvy millennials, Elizabeth Arden stepped up its digital strategy with a social media campaign called “From the desk of #LizArden” and partnered beauty app YouCam Makeup. According to Ms Wong, both initiatives have been a success, especially the latter, which delivered a sizeable boost to its e-commerce sales.
Available in the US and China, the app is equipped with facial recognition technology that allows users to virtually try on various makeup products and provides direct links for shoppers to make purchases on Elizabeth Arden’s online platform.
“We met the developers in September, had a soft launch in October and by the time we rolled out officially in December, we already had 58 million downloads and 22.9 per cent of these reposted a selfie marked with our name. I had almost a million dollar in sales (within) 30 days,” Ms Wong told Channel NewsAsia.
In Singapore, the company launched a pop-up store, featuring a smart mirror and an interactive wall that tells the history of Elizabeth Arden, outside Robinsons at The Heeren to mark the roll-out of its latest product earlier this week.
“By making ourselves more cutting-edge and more engaging for the younger audiences, I think we make ourselves relevant,” said Ms Wong.
Even in a downbeat brick-and-mortar retail market, Ms Wong remains confident that the beauty giant can turn around the situation by identifying pockets of growth in areas such as the colour cosmetics and spa categories.
For instance, the company started introducing services from its Red Door Spa brand at selected retail counters in the US. Sales at these counters have since posted “double-digit growth”, according to Ms Wong. “We are offering a point of differentiation … and I think that’s how you cultivate a new generation to experience what the brand is all about.”
Nonetheless, the businesswoman acknowledged that the brand’s digital ventures are no walk in the park. Coupled with the fact that it would be the first time she is taking on a leadership position at a giant such as Elizabeth Arden, Ms Wong admitted that it has been “a bit of a leap” but she was not daunted.
Elizabeth Arden Pop-op Store at Orchard Road
Prior to becoming president of the Elizabeth Arden brand, the Singaporean was the chief executive of venture-backed cosmeceutical company StriVectin as well as Astral Health and Beauty, and held senior positions at then-emerging brands including Murad and N.V Perricone MD.
“Compared to the smaller brands, there’s enough resources at Elizabeth Arden and I was able to push a lot of my ideas. Of course, if I made a mistake, it would be amplified but does that make me less of a risk taker? No … and the Singaporean in me, ‘kiasu’ as we call it, means that I’m not going to lose,” she added with a chuckle.
“Even though I’ve been away longer than I lived in Singapore, but once a Singaporean, always a Singaporean.”
DARING TO GO: SWITCHING FROM COMMODITY TRADING TO SKINCARE
This huge appetite for risks is also observable from Ms Wong’s resume. After graduating from the Australian National University with a degree in political science, she decided to take a plunge into the trading world and later spent seven years on the trading floor at Cargill Commodities.
“I wanted something out of my comfort zone and it was very challenging,” Ms Wong recalled. “We had a daily scorecard of the books that were closed … it was like playing chess and at the end of every day, you either checkmate or you get checkmated.”
A “self-driven reason of wanting to know better ways of skincare” led Ms Wong into the beauty industry in the US during the 2000s, and for the Singaporean, there was no mountain that was too high to conquer.
“After leaving Murad to join private equity-owned Perricone, it was since that time (that) I never had to look for a job because every time I take a brand and turn it around, another private equity firm would come to me or the same private equity firm would offer me another brand,” said Ms Wong, who was nominated as the Top 50 women to watch by Wall Street Journal in 2004.
“It was very validating because I realised that at the end of the day, you can get so much recognition if you had a real scorecard. And in that regard, I think my days in commodity trading really prepared me for today.”
While her fast-talking persona and dare-to-go attitude has resulted in “some hindrances” at the start of her career, Ms Wong does not regret the career switches that she has made, and hailing from the little red dot on the world map definitely has not stopped her from climbing up the corporate ladder in the Big Apple.
Ms Wong said: “My mother would tell you this story … when I was 12, I told her that one day I was going to work in the Big Apple and she replied to me saying, ‘Don’t be silly’. I don’t remember this … but if I did, a part of me perhaps realised that Singapore may be a small country but it had a very good reputation.
“Literally everybody has heard of us and we never really had to explain where we come from. And because I came from a country that’s so well respected, it gave me the courage to dare to dream.”
Calvin Klein, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH today announced the opening of the first Calvin Klein accessories store in Hong Kong at ifc mall at Central Waterfront.
Considered one of the country’s iconic world-class shopping malls, ifc mall is the destination for an extraordinary shopping, dining and entertainment experience. The new Calvin Klein accessories store is located on level 1, and offers both men’s and women’s Calvin Klein Platinum accessories and leather goods.
The new store’s interior is marked by simple geometric forms that create a strong but neutral framework for product display. The crispness of the store’s geometry contrasts with the muted palette of oiled wood, lustrous rose-toned metal, honed stone and concrete.
Calvin Klein, Inc. is one of the leading fashion design and marketing studios in the world. It designs and markets women’s and men’s designer collection apparel and a range of other products that are manufactured and marketed through an extensive network of licensing agreements and other arrangements worldwide. Product lines under the various Calvin Klein brands include women’s dresses and suits, men’s dress furnishings and tailored clothing, men’s and women’s sportswear and bridge and collection apparel, golf apparel, jeanswear, underwear, fragrances, eyewear, women’s performance apparel, hosiery, socks, footwear, swimwear, jewelry, watches, outerwear, handbags, small leather goods, and home furnishings (including furniture). For more information, please visit calvinklein.com.
With a heritage going back over 130 years, PVH Corp. has excelled at growing brands and businesses with rich American heritages, becoming one of the largest apparel companies in the world. We have over 30,000 associates operating in over 40 countries with over $8 billion in 2015 revenues. We own the iconic Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Speedo*, Warner’s and Olga brands and market a variety of goods under these and other nationally and internationally known owned and licensed brands.
Furla Singapore has launched its Made For You personalisation service – available only in its Marina Bay Sands flagship store.
The Italian luxury brand says the service is designed to “further enrich the relationship with customers”. Overall, the mix of combinations of fabrics and fixtures adds up to 8500 combinations.
The innovative made-to-order service offers a unique luxury experience within the premium segment.
“For the first time, Furla’s joyful message, contemporary creativity and finest Made in Italy expertise will be customisable in a light-hearted, intimate and engaging manner,” says the company.
“Customers can unleash their creativity and design their exclusive Furla dream bag, choosing between the bestselling Furla Metropolis cross-body bag or the new IT Bag Artesia top handle style.
Made For You materials include calfskin, ostrich, crocodile, snakeskin and calf hair for the Metropolis bag while the Artesia can be customised in calfskin and ostrich. All are lined in leather. The kaleidoscopic colour palette features up to 39 shades that differ from the seasonal assortment.
Moreover, customers can choose the colour of the stitching, of the clasp and of the hand-painted edges, creating unique tonal or contrasting one-of-a-kind effects. The selection of clasps includes silver or gold metal, plus black or tone-on-tone enamel. Finally, each bag can be monogrammed or personalised according to the customer’s desire.
From order to delivery takes between eight and 12 weeks, depending on the material chosen and on market demand. Each bag comes with a personalised hand-written certificate featuring all of the bag’s characteristics.
The Made For You service will be available in different retail formats, from permanent dedicated corners in key flagship stores to itinerant formulas to pop-up events. Depending on the venue, Furla has studied different in-store solutions to present the Made For You service, from sleek wood and burnished metal tables to temporary wall installations, both complete with a full kit of colours, swatches, details and combinations.
Furla has also developed a dedicated micro-site with 3D configurations to enable customers to create their virtual bag by playing around with the various combinations. The app will also be available on tablets in the stores allowing the sales assistants to simulate the various bags for the customer. During the Made For You experience, the sales assistants will serve as the “artisan”, supporting the client as she “designs” her very own Furla creation.
Hermès and Nike have revealed new collaborations with Apple, to produce exclusive co-branded Apple Watches.
Hermès introduced new Apple Watch styles and an expanded assortment of wristbands that incorporate its signature palette alongside a series of bold new colors.
Meanwhile, Nike is focused on functionality for the sportsperson, with the Apple Watch Nike+ Series 2, featuring GPS, a two-times-brighter display, water resistance to 50m and a dual-core processor.
Launch dates in Asia
In Asia, the Apple Watch Hermès will be available from September 23 in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan. The Nike watch goes on sale from yesterday, September 9.
The Hermès models range in price from US$1149 to $1499, while the Nike sells for a more affordable $369 – $399. The Hermès wristbands will also be sold separately.
Hermes says the design process was driven “entirely by a shared ambition for ultimate beauty and utility,” featuring exclusive watch face designs inspired by the iconic Clipper, Cape Cod and Espace Hermès models.
“Ours is a partnership born of parallel thinking and mutual regard — we share similar preoccupations, ever evolving and refining our design,” said Jonathan Ive, Apple’s chief design officer.
Siri speaks
The Apple Watch Nike+ also includes exclusive Siri commands and Nike watch faces along with deep integration with the new Nike+ Run Club app to motivate wearers to go for a run, coaching plans that adapt to their unique schedule and progress, and guidance from the world’s best coaches and athletes.
“Apple Watch is the ultimate device for a healthy life and we wanted to push it further to create the best smartwatch in the world for runners and athletes,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO. “Apple Watch Nike+ takes performance tracking to a whole new level and we can’t wait to bring it to the world’s largest community of runners.”
Japanese casual-clothing chain Uniqlo’s new store in Singapore takes up three floors – and marks its biggest gamble in Southeast Asia yet.
In the Orchard Road shopping precinct, the 2700 sqm Uniqlo Singapore flagship is the brand’s largest store in the region. Its parent, Fast Retailing Co, is opening Uniqlo stores in the US, London and across Asia to help reduce its dependency on its home market where household spending is falling.
Uniqlo has about 130 outlets across Southeast Asia, opening a six-storey China flagship store in Shanghai a year ago. Chairman Tadashi Yanai says he has plans to open 100 stores a year in China on it way to a potential 3000. There are about 30 stores each in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, in Japan Uniqlo closed a net six stores in August, as same-store sales decreased by 1 per cent year-on-year. Sales at company-owned stores slipped by 0.5 per cent, but the company’s increasing online business saw overall sales increase by 0.2 per cent.
Uniqlo cited cooler temperatures in the first half of the month and heavy typhoons from mid-month onward for the store sales decline.
To raise funds to cut debt, South Korean apparel retailer E-Land Group is selling a youth clothing brand to China’s V-Grass Fashion Co for nearly US$900 million.
South Korea’s largest apparel retailer, E-Land Group says it expects to close the sale of its Teenie Weenie business for around 1 trillion won by year-end. It says the sale will help cut its debt-to-capital ratio by about a third.
Led by the success of cosmetics firms, demand in China is surging for Korean products, as well as Korean TV dramas and K-pop music.
Teenie Weenie has the strength of both being a Korean firm with a Chinese partner, says VP Lee Gyu-Jin. Launched in China in 2004, it already has a strong profile for its casual clothing. It has 1400 department store and other outlets in China with annual revenue of 420 billion won.
V-Grass is a Shanghai-listed women’s apparel company with a market value of about $685
million and is little known outside China. Earlier this year it said it planned to raise up to 1.35 billion yuan ($202 million) in a private share placement “to fund projects”.
Earlier, E-Land Group dropped a plan to sell its Kim’s Club hypermarket chain to US private equity fund KKR, citing differences over price.
Italian luxury leathergoods brand Furla has reported a 38 per cent increase in travel-retail sales for its first half, with Japan being its strongest market.
Furla has 223 travel-retail points of sales in 52 countries, the latest openings for Furla Asia including Singapore’s Changi Airport with Lagardere Travel Retail.
Following record results last year in terms of sales and profitability, the Furla Group overall has continued growth in its latest first half with sales of €194 million (US$217 million) up 28 per cent from the figures for the same half last year.
The group has 425 mono-brand stores, up from 415 at the end of last year. Counting multi-brands and department stores, the group is present in more than 1200 other locations worldwide, and has its products in more than 100 countries.
Furla Group’s latest mono-brand store openings include Citic Mall in Shanghai and Mira Mall in Hong Kong.
Japan remains its strongest market, representing 26 per cent of total sales in the half, with a 30 per cent increase. Furla Asia/Pacific sales rose 22 per cent, equal to almost 20 per cent of the total sales for the group.
Canadian fashion brand Dsquared2 has opened its first Vietnam boutique at the newly-revamped Saigon Center.
Dsquared2 Vietnam is located at unit 11-12 on level 1 with the front spreading out over 18 meters onto Le Loi Street – one of main thoroughfares of the city center.
The store’s interior is decorated with marble stones, ash gray and brown silk wool carpets. For the Vietnam store, Dsquared2 introduces its collections including Italian classics for men and a capsule line of cocktail and evening gowns for women. Also available in the store are underwear and accessories.
Dsquared2 was founded by Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten, who are its creative directors. The two worked together on the interior design of the Vietnam store in order to maintain the brand’s DNA.
Dsquared2 Vietnam is the third Southeast Asian store after Singapore and Hong Kong. Talking about the opening of the store, Dean and Dan said, “We are proud to have a retail presence here, in a market where consumers that care about international fashion are constantly increasing and we believe this store represents a new chapter and an energetic retail future in Asia for our brand!”
The brand was brought into Vietnam through Maison, a fashion distributor launched in 2012 and home to more than 17 international brands including Coach, Dorothy Perkins, Karen Miller, Mango and Topshop.
French luggage brand Delsey has opened its first flagship in the Philippines.
The Delsey Philippines store’s opening coincides with the brand’s 70th anniversary and marks another Asian market in a growing footprint in the region.
Located in Ayala, Glorietta 4, the store follows the global concept “Maison de Voyages” featuring French design features such as European tiles, Chen Karlson drop lights and moldings bearing a resemblance to the Louis XVI era.
“This new store concept is in line with Delsey’s global standing as the premier French luggage brand,” said Reginald de Vera, brand manager of Delsey. “We are very happy to set up more Delsey Maison de Voyage stores in the Philippines as these will transform the way Filipinos shop for luggage and other travel necessities.
“This is also a good venue for us to showcase our collections that are innovative, stylish and very French,” he said.
Fast Retailing raised its full-year earnings forecasts after sales at its Uniqlo casual-wear stores in China and South Korea grew more strongly than expected during the first half of the financial year, showing its overseas expansion is bearing fruit.
Overseas growth is key to the Japanese firm’s goal of becoming the world’s top apparel retailer by 2020 ahead of Zara owner Inditex, Hennes & Mauritz and Gap.
Chief executive Tadashi Yanai said Fast Retailing would have more Uniqlo outlets overseas than in Japan by this autumn, with openings in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to continue at break-neck pace.
“Maybe in about five years, we’ll have 1,000 stores [in China],” he said, compared with 415 at the end of February. “Eventually we want to have about 3,000 stores [there].”
Uniqlo, known for its HeatTech fabric technology and rainbow-coloured basics, now has close to 1,600 stores globally, with about 46 per cent of those outside Japan.
Fast Retailing said it now expected operating profit of 200 billion yen for the financial year to August, up from its previous estimate of 180 billion yen. The average forecast of 22 analysts was for 197.25 billion yen.
Asia’s biggest apparel retailer also bumped up its revenue forecast to 1.65 trillion yen from 1.6 trillion yen and its net profit estimate to 120 billion yen from 100 billion yen.
Overseas sales at Uniqlo jumped 49 per cent in the first half from a year earlier, led by China and Korea, although the United States remained a weak spot. The firm did not break out sales results by country, only saying whether they met its targets.
In Japan, sales rose 12 per cent during the period as shoppers snapped up items like its ultra-light down jackets and extra-fine merino sweaters.
Fast Retailing also got a boost from the yen’s depreciation, booking a 13.5 billion yen foreign-exchange gain for the six-month period.
But the company also warned it was facing rising import costs from the weaker yen. As a result, it will raise prices by 10 per cent on average for roughly a fifth of its products in the next autumn/winter season at Uniqlo Japan.
Shares in Fast Retailing have gained 10 per cent in the year to date, while the Topix Index is up 13 per cent.
Separately, Britain’s Co-operative Group, the supermarkets-to-funerals operator that almost collapsed in 2013, said it had been rescued by selling assets including its pharmacies and could now focus on rebuilding.
Co-operative reported pre-tax profit of £124 million for the year to January 3, against a loss of £255 million a year earlier, on revenue of £9.4 billion, helped by disposals.
The mutually owned group said it had emerged from the rescue phase of a three-year turnaround as a slimmer business focused on its food stores, funerals, insurance and legal services. It has cut net debt to £808 million from £1.4 billion.
Chief executive Richard Pennycook said the hard work of rebuilding the group was under way after the completion of its rescue plan.
Italian luxury leathergoods brand Furla has reported a 38% travel-retail sales increase in H1 2016.
Furla currently has 223 travel-retail points of sales in 52 countries, the most recent openings in Bucharest Henri Coandă International airport and Singapore Changi airport terminal two with Lagardère Travel Retail.
Following record results in 2015 in terms of sales and profitability, the Furla Group overall has continued growth in the first half of 2016 registering €194m ($217m) in sales versus €151m in H1 2015, an increase of 28%.
This increase is equal to +27% at constant exchange rates and proves Furla Group’s growth is well distributed worldwide thanks to increases in sales ranging between +22% and +34% in all geographical areas where the brand is present.
The Furla Group now counts 425 mono-brand stores, up from the 415 units registered at the end of 2015. Around 50% of these mono-brand stores are composed of property and franchising points of sale.
Counting multi-brands and department stores, the Furla Group is present in more than 1,200 other locations worldwide. It is directly present in more than 100 countries with its products.
Furla Group, recently opened new mono-brand stores in locations such as Citic Mall in Shanghai, Mira Mall in Hong Kong, GUM in Moscow and in Nice. In the second semester of 2016, the Furla Group plans to open new stores in London (Brompton Road) and in Paris (Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré).
Japan remains its strongest market, representing 26% of total sales in the semester with a 30% increase just like the US. In Europe, sales excluding Italy—that alone is responsible for a 34% sales increase—have increased by 26%. Asia/Pacific sales have risen 22%, equal to almost 20% of the total sales for the Group. Like-for-like sales have also surged significantly with well-balanced results across all regions.
In 2016, Furla Group, which boasts a 1,500-strong workforce, intends to increase investments in areas that already appreciate the brand and where the Group sees even more potential: marketing, communications, digital and e-commerce markets.
Furla Group general manager Alberto Camerlengo said: “We’re extremely proud of our results for the first half of the year. The Furla Group continues to grow exponentially both geographically and across the different product categories, continuing to assert itself on a global level as one of the leading Brands in all markets.
“The quality, freshness and innovative aspects of our products are recognised all over the world and we have been able to achieve these results thanks to the commitment and dedication of our team. We will continue to work towards new growth goals, opening new distribution channels, reinforcing existing relationships and focusing on new projects for the future.”
SMCP, the group behind French fashion brands Claudie Pierlot, Maje and Sandro plans to pursue its international expansion, particularly in China, where it will continue to open about 30 shops a year.
SMCP president/CEO Daniel Lalonde says the strategy has not changed after majority owner KKR agreed to sell control to China’s Shandong Ruyi in a €1.3 billion (US$1.4 billion) deal that made the company cancel its application for a Paris flotation.
Shandong Ruyi will own 80 per cent of SMCP while KKR will retain a 10 per cent stake. The balance will be held by founders Evelyne, Ylan Chetrite and Judith Milgrom shared with management.
Meanwhile, SMCP has bucked the global fashion industry’s sluggish sales growth trends with a 9.3 per cent increase in like-for-like revenue in the first half.
Including the impact of foreign exchange and new stores, first-half sales were up 19.2 per cent at €377.2 million globally.
Lalonde says SMCP’s digital strategy is paying off with online sales making up 10 per cent of total revenue, up from 6 per cent last year.
Celebrating the sportsman’s life story, a video documentary Force Supreme: The Story of My Life was put together by Swedish director Johan Renck, known for his music videos and commercials.
In his 40s, Beckham is still a fashion and grooming icon, and in the skincare movie he tells how his life is still evolving.
He says he uses Force Supreme serum to improve his skin, and says the range’s new Life Essence “is really a booster in the morning”.
French luxury skincare brand Biotherm launched Biotherm Homme in 1985 and offers more than 80 products for different skin types and concerns. Biotherm Homme is a brand in the L’Oreal Luxe portfolio.
