July 3rd, 2012

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H&M opens first Cos store in Hong Kong

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Swedish fashion retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz has opened its first Cos outlet in Hong Kong. The store is the brand’s 53rd store across the globe, and is located on Queen’s Road Central is spread across two floors and 556 square metres. It features the Cos collection, including women’s wear, men’s wear and children’s wear.

Marie Honda, who is responsible for the overall Cos brand said: ”We are very pleased to have opened in Asia and to be expanding internationally. Opening our first store in Hong Kong, a city renowned for culture, art and fashion is an exciting step for Cos. We hope our customers will be happy with the brand, the collection and the new store.”

Posted in Apparel, Brand, Children, Men, News, Operations, Retail, ladies | No Responses »

Europe’s Markets Gain

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Europe’s major stock markets made modest gains in mid-morning trading today, with the DAX in Frankfurt leading the upswing.

The German market was up 0.8 percent to 6,550.49 points, followed by the FTSE MIB in Milan, which climbed 0.5 percent to 14,385.40. The FTSE 100 in London and the CAC 40 in Paris were both up 0.2 percent, to 5,653.39 and 3,246.91, respectively.

The euro traded at $1.26, while the pound traded at $1.57 at 11:25 a.m. CET.

Retail and luxury stocks were mostly up with the markets. The morning’s biggest gainers were Brunello Cucinelli, which climbed 3.1 percent to 11.47 euros; Metro, which rose 1.3 percent to 23.46 euros; Ferragamo, which climbed 1.2 percent to 16.37 euros, and Beiersdorf, which also advanced 1.2 percent to 51.92 euros.

Among the few stocks that fell was Hermès International, which was down 2.5 percent to 234.10 euros.

Markets made gains amid good news in China and the euro zone. In China, the services sector index, which includes construction, rose in May. In Spain, meanwhile, unemployment fell 2.1 percent in June, although the country still has the highest jobless rate in the euro zone.

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N Brown Revenues Rise; Chairman, CEO To Retire

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

British home shopping retailer N Brown Group Plc on Tuesday said its total revenues in the 17 weeks ended June 30 increased 2.5 percent. Like-for-like revenue growth was 1.9 percent after excluding sales from stores opened in the last year.

The company also announced that its Chairman Lord Alliance of Manchester CBE and Chief Executive Alan White have announced their intentions to retire from their respective roles.

During the 17 week period, ladieswear revenues were lower than expected, primarily due to the ongoing unsettled weather conditions which have depressed the sales of summer clothing. However, menswear, footwear, lingerie and home and leisure product categories showed improvement.

The company said its online revenue growth remains strong and now accounts for almost 53 percent of total sales.

Lord Alliance of Manchester CBE, Chairman, will make the statement on current trading at the annual general meeting being held today.

Looking ahead, the company said, “Neither the prevailing economic backdrop nor the weather conditions are helpful to our business. However our flexible business model allows us to target the marketing investment and manage our cost base in order to deliver the best result in any given circumstances.”

In a separate statement, the company said Lord Alliance of Manchester has announced his intention to stand down as Chairman after over 40 years in the role. He will be replaced by Andrew Higginson, formerly an executive director of Tesco plc, who will join the board as a non-executive director in July and become Chairman on September 1. Lord Alliance will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

Alan White, who has been chief executive of N Brown since 2002, has also informed the board of his intention to retire from the company in the second half of 2013. The company said White intends to build a portfolio of non-executive roles.

In addition, Nigel Alliance OBE and Lord Stone of Blackheath, two of the long-standing non-executive directors will step down from the board at the end of 2012.

The company will make two new appointments to replace these directors by the end of 2012.

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Ralph Lauren to remain at helm until 2017

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Ralph Lauren, the 72 year old founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the eponymous brand, will remain at the helm of the business until 2017 after signing a new five year employment contract.The agreement replaces a contract that would have expired next April, at the conclusion of the company’s current fiscal year. It will keep him at the helm of the company he founded until April 1, 2017, the end of the firm’s 2017 fiscal year.

Lauren’s new compensation package is less weighted toward cash and more toward equity to be derived through stock and option awards.

Under his new contract, Lauren’s salary increases 40 percent to $1.75 million a year from its previous level of $1.25 million. His target and maximum cash bonuses — phrased as “nonequity incentive plan compensation” in proxies like the one filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday — are reduced to $9 million and $13.5 million, respectively, from their previous levels of $13 million and $19.5 million.

Ralph Lauren Corp. filed a Form 8-K with the SEC detailing the new arrangement Monday, the same day it submitted its definitive proxy with the SEC.

In the proxy, Lauren’s reported compensation for fiscal 2012 rose 22.3 percent to $36.3 million from $29.7 million in 2011. The cash portion of his pay was unchanged, with salary and cash bonuses remaining at $1.25 million and $19.5 million, respectively. The salary and bonus numbers have remained unchanged for the past three fiscal years, with the $19.5 million representing the maximum possible and 150 percent of the target amount. The company said in its proxy that net income before taxes last year rose 23 percent above fiscal 2011 results, which also generated maximum bonus payouts.

In fact, all of Ralph Lauren’s top executive officers but Lauren — Roger Farah, president and chief operating officer; Jackwyn Nemerov, executive vice president; Tracey Travis, senior vice president and chief financial officer, and Mitchell Kosh, senior vice president of human resources — were eligible for and received an additional 10 percent above the maximum provision, for respective bonuses of $9.9 million, $3 million, $880,000 and $880,000.

The boost in Lauren’s reported compensation last year came from a 77.6 percent advance in Lauren’s stock and option awards, which totaled $15.3 million versus $8.6 million in the prior year. Because of vesting schedules and fluctuating stock prices, these awards aren’t necessarily received by the executives earning them but are required to be reported at fair market value at the time they are granted.

With Lauren’s new salary higher and his potential cash bonuses lower, his eligibility for stock and option awards has been modified so that it is now based on value, rather than the previous configuration that was tied to a specific number of equity units. The target amount for grants will be $14 million. One-third of this amount will fall under options that can’t increase, while the remaining two-thirds will be for restricted stock units that can increase up to 50 percent if performance criteria are met or be reduced if they aren’t.

Farah’s reported compensation was down 1.2 percent last year to $19.3 million, while Nemerov’s rose 19.3 percent to $12.1 million.

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David Jones Proposed Offer Under ASIC Scrutiny

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Tuesday said it is examining the proposed takeover offer for David Jones Ltd. after the department store owner said that UK-based EB Private Equity has withdrawn its A$1.65 billion takeover bid.

ASIC said it has been monitoring developments closely since the offer was made public on June 29 and its withdrawal on July 2. As usual, ASIC is looking at potential issues regarding disclosure and trading in David Jones stock both by domestic and international parties. ”ASIC is looking at potential issues regarding disclosure and trading in David Jones stock by domestic and international parties. ASIC’s priority is to ensure market integrity is maintained and that markets are fair, orderly and transparent and that, if there has been a breach of the law, those responsible are held to account,” a statement read.

British and Luxembourg-based investment fund EB Private Equity for department store proposed 1.65 billion Australian dollars ($1.69 billion) for the retailer, an offer that became public last week, and prompted a surge in David Jones’ stock price.This came as investors questioned the credibility of the offer and some characterized it as a hoax.

After receiving the offer last Friday, David Jones and its investors were cautious about the credibility of the private equity firm and the retailer requested further information from the private equity firm and offered, through Chairman Bob Savage, to discuss the proposal with EB’s Chairman John Edgar. David Jones had earlier sent a letter requesting details on how EB plans to fund the offer and about its management.

According to reports, EB is a little known firm and many senior investment bankers have not heard of the private equity firm. Its website does not have the names of executives, phone numbers or previous deals. David Jones said Monday that EB Private Equity noted that the “recent publicity around its proposal has made it difficult to proceed.”

In a July 2 letter to the Australian Securities Exchange, which David Jones has made public, the company said it had ensured it abided by the ASX’s continuous disclosure rules and defended the decision to eventually name EBPE as a bidder for the company.

The shares are flat at $2.33, but is down from the close of A$2.59 on Friday and Monday. Yet, the shares are higher than Thursday’s close of A$2.26 before the offer was made public.

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Coast opens London flagship

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Aurora Fashions owned occasionwear banner Coast has opened its first flagship store in the UK, on London’s Oxford Street. At more than four times the size of traditional Coast stores, the £1m ($1.57m) is a key part of the brand’s strategy to capture a a larger share of the growing occasion wear market around the world.

It said the store will be a prominent showcase for the brand, particularly among international visitors to the West End, and the opening has been timed to benefit from the increased footfall expected during the Olympic Games. The company plans to roll out the concept to key regions in the UK and overseas, beginning with Manchester, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The store has a team 60 specially-trained occasionwear specialists who have a detailed understanding of events enjoyed by both domestic and international customers, including dress codes for different religious and social occasions. In-store iPads also display information in 10 languages.

Coast managing director Margaret McDonald said: ”With the eyes of the world on London right now, I can’t think of a more perfect time to open the doors of our new flagship store on one of the country’s most iconic shopping streets. Despite facing ongoing financial pressures, our customers are determined to continue looking great for a big occasion. We’re proud to be responding to this demand with a unique store environment and service experience that turns shopping into an occasion in itself.”

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Men’s Wearhouse CFO Neill Davis To Resign, Diana Wilson To Succeed

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Men’s Wearhouse Monday said Chief Financial Officer Neill Davis, intends to leave on August 2, to join Francesca’s Holdings Corp as its president. Diana Wilson will succeed Davis as interim CFO and will work closely in the area of investor relations with David Edwab, vice chairman.

Wilson most recently served as executive vice president and chief accounting officer for Men’s Wearhouse and has been closely involved with the Company’s UK corporate apparel operations since the acquisition of Dimensions and Alexandra.

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