PAUL MARCIANO The success of Guess, the most European of all ...

INTERNATI O NAL EDITION
Issue #4 - November 2007
FASHION & LUXURY
Fashion Stocks: listed
Fashion & Luxury Companies
remain stable after boom
in the third quarter
Financial Statements:
Italian yacht-makers cruise
the wave of success
PAUL MARCIANO
The success of Guess,
the most European
of all the American brands
GILDO ZEGNA
TARGETS 2007
AND UPS THE
LUXURY STAKES
TOMAS MAIER:
WHEN YOUR
OWN INITIALS
ARE ENOUGH
WESTWOOD,
WHEN
IRREVERENCE
BECOMES STYLE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE

PAMBIANCO ANALYSIS
3 Financial Statements: Italian yachtmakers
cruise the wave of success
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
6 Garilli and Jannuzzelli, Gruppo Baglietto’s
golden moment
PAMBIANCO ANALYSIS
9 Private equity funds storm the fashion
arena
LEADERS
11 Paul Marciano: “I have a dream called
Guess”
FASHION STOCKS
16 Listed Fashion & Luxury Companies:
remain stable after boom in the third
quarter
ITALY
Numbers, Facts and Leaders of Fashion and Luxury
INTERNATI O NAL EDITION
Issue #4 - November 2007
FASHION &LUXURY
Fashion Stocks: listed
Fashion & Luxury Companies
remain stable after boom
in the third quarter
Financial Statements:
Italian yacht-makers cruise
the wave of success
PAUL MARCIANO
The success of Guess,
the most European
of all the American brands
GILDO ZEGNA TOMAS MAIER: WESTWOOD,
TARGETS 2007 WHEN YOUR WHEN
AND UPS THE OWN INITIALS IRREVERENCE
LUXURY STAKES ARE ENOUGH BECOMES STYLE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
copertina.indd 2 06/11/2007 12.39.50
INDEX
18 Ferragamo’s final objective: to take the
company public (Affari&Finanza)
18 Bulgari invests in accessories
(Finanza&Mercati)
19 Pomellato’s success: profits of €130
million (Il Sole 24 Ore)
19 Costume National celebrate 21 years
(Finanza&Mercati)
20 Future plans for Geox: apparel and
footwear (Finanza&Mercati)
21 Luxottica bucks the trend: we’re
sticking with Wall Street (Corriere della Sera)
22 Corneliani: excellence in menswear
REST OF THE WORLD
23 Columbia Sportswear Company
reports record third quarter 2007 results
23 Timberland: going green is the winning
recipe (Economy)
23 Hugo Boss +9% in third quarter 2007
24 South Coast Plaza: a haven for affluent
Californian (Il Sole 24 Ore)
Top Stories:
Paul Marciano
Below:
Gildo Zegna,
Tomas Maier,
Vivienne Westwood
25 Lectra, innovation and competences to
tackle future challenges
M&A - LICENCES
26 Nike wears the Umbro T-shirt
26 Lagerfeld inks deal with Vaprio Style
26 Safilo extends Claiborne licence to 2012
LEADERS
28 Gildo Zegna targets 2007 and ups the
luxury market
DESIGNERS
33 “When your initials are enough”:
exclusive luxury by Tomas Maier
36 Vivienne Westwood, when irreverence
becomes style
39 Piero Lissoni, the designer who never
wants to grow up
SHOP OPENINGS
42 Zegna relaunches superluxury with
three new global stores (Il Sole 24 Ore)
42 First Ferrari Store opens in Barcelona
42 Moschino to open new boutique in St.
Petersburg
MANAGERS
45 Gap: Calhoun President of Banana
Republic (FashionMag.fr)
45 Cerruti names Knott Creative Director
(The Daily Fix)
45 Patrick Bizot leaves Clarins
(FashionMag.fr)
45 Brooks Brothers: appoints Diane
Hamilton new President and Coo
(Fashionmagazine.it)
ADS & EVENTS
48 Puma celebrates the creativity of new
talent
49 Giorgio Armani at the Swarovski
Fashion Rocks!
49 Hammer Museum event honouring
Miuccia Prada
Milan Court Register no. 344 of 2/05/2005
Editor in Chief: Carlo Pambianco
Editorial Staff: Chiara Dainese, Paola Cassola, Claudia Cogliandolo, Rossana Cuoccio
Contributors: Alessio Candi, Mai Esteve, Gloria Magni, Luca Testoni
Advertising: Alessia Cappelletti
Editor of the magazine: Pambianco Strategie di Impresa S.r.l., Corso Matteotti n. 11, Milano
Editorial Staff: redazione@pambianco.com -+39 02-76388686
Advertising: adv@pambianco.com - +39 02.76388600
Subscriptions: abbonamenti@pambianco.com - +39 02.76388600
6
18
25
26
39
IN ORDER TO RECEIVE ON A MONTHLY BASE THE PDF FILE OF PAMBIANCOWEEK
PLEASE REGISTER ON WWW.PAMBIANCONEWS.COM. IT’S FREE
CONTACTS: NEWS@PAMBIANCO.COM
48

TOP STORIES
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF ITALIAN YACHT-MAKERS
Financial Statements: Italian yacht-makers cruise
the wave of success
The 47th Genoa Boat Show, the leading trade
show for the world of pleasure cruisers and
sailing craft gave Pambianco the opportunity
to analyse and identify the trends and size of
this market, which sees Italy as the predominant
player.
Our analysis revealed that the top ten yachtmakers
powered aggregate sales of €2.6 billion
in the last financial year, accelerating the value
of the market by 20% on the year earlier.
As usual, Number One ranking goes to Ferretti
Group, helmed by founder and President Norberto
Ferretti, whose luxury motor yachts rank
among the world’s most exclusive - thanks to
brands the calibre of Ferretti Yachts, Pershing,
Itama, Bertram, Riva, Apreamare, Mochi Craft,
Custom Line and CRN. Indeed, Ferretti closed
the year ending 31 August 2007 with 21% revenue
growth to €933 million. “I’m really satisfied
with the excellent results achieved this
year – said Ferretti Group’s Managing Director,
Vincenzo Cannatelli – in which the company
spurred brisk growth across the board. A performance
that we believe will lead to a sustained
and stable growth rate in the years ahead.
We are forging ahead with our plan to improve
the operating performance of our shipyards
and continue to keep a sharp focus on product
quality. This latter factor, combined with the
further development of our foreign business,
is an increasingly key factor in our expansion
drive”.
Azimut-Benetti, the nautical group that is looking
increasingly to the developing markets,
places second with annual sales of €800 million,
marking 8% growth. Results that confirm
the success of Azimut-Benetti and a brand
portfolio that boasts Azimut Yachts, Atlantis,
Benetti Yachts and Fraser Yachts. “The major
driver of the group’s success and growth
– commented Paolo Vitelli, President – is our
entrepreneurial vision, which is underpinned
by four cornerstones: pursuit and retention of
our market leadership supported by a policy of
sustainable growth; coherence of the product
portfolio; focus on the company’s core business;
and taking excellent care of our clients.”
In third place we find Del Pardo, which reported
a value of production of €135 million for
the year-end 31 August 2006.
23/10/2007
TOP 10 BY VALUE OF PRODUCTION
(Million Euro)
FERRETTI GROUP
AZIMUT BENETTI
DEL PARDO (1)
Source: Pambianco Strategie di Impresa
135
AICON 127
GRUPPO BAGLIETTO 121
CRANCHI
RODRIQUEZ
SANLORENZO
PERINI NAVI
119
109
105
76
OVERMARINE 60
(1) As at 31 August 2006
800
NORBERTO FERRETTI AND VINCENZO CANNATELLI - FERRETTI GROUP
933
3

AICON
SANLORENZO
GRUPPO BAGLIETTO
FERRETTI GROUP
PERINI NAVI
DEL PARDO (1)
AZIMUT BENETTI
RODRIQUEZ 6
CRANCHI 4
OVERMARINE
(1) As at 31 August 2006
Source: Pambianco Strategie di Impresa
PAOLO VITELLI - AZIMUT BENETTI
TOP 10 BY % GROWTH
Based in Messina, Sicily, Number Four position goes
to Aicon - which designs, produces and commercialises
luxury pleasure craft and was floated on the Milan
Stock Exchange last April - with 2007 sales of
€127 million, marking stellar growth of 115%. “The
double-digit growth achieved in all our indicators
– said Lino Siclari, President and MD of Aicon – is especially
significant when you take into account that
3
8
21
18
16
65
TOP STORIES
84
23/10/2007
115
LINO SICLARI - AICON
the fourth quarter of the nautical year, which covers
June-August, is influenced by the lower number of
business days due to the summer holidays, which leads
to a slight dip in productivity”. In addition, we underscore
that the group recently acquired the Morgan
brand, whose Lobster Boats will be produced at
Giammoro, close to Aicon group’s yards.
Baglietto group, the industrial pleasure craft arm of
multinational Camuzzi SpA , founded in Milan in
1929, places fifth. Baglietto, created by the acquisition
of Cantieri Navali Baglietto and Cantieri di Pisa,
closed the financial year by spurring 65% growth in
the a value of production to €121 million.
In sixth place we have Cranchi, owned by Aldo Cranchi
and Tullio Monzino, whose business turnover added
on 4% to €118 million. The company is run by
the family and has always turned down the several
acquisition offers tendered over the years, preferring
to keep its independent spirit. The group’s impressive
performance was thanks to the extensive investments
in technology and research in the pursuit of quality,
as opposed to major investments in advertising.
On the heels of Cranchi, Number Seven ranking goes
to another Messina-based yacht maker, Rodriguez,
owner of the Conam and Intermarine shipbuilding
yards, which ended 2006 up 6% with a production
value of €109 million.
Sanlorenzo, founded in Viareggio in 1958 by Giovanni
Ianetti but later taken over by Massimo Perotti
(April 2005), places eighth. The company closed the
2006 financial year with an impressive leap of 84% in
sales to €105 million. The company told us that these
excellent results were driven mainly by its strategy to
4

MASSIMO PEROTTI - SANLORENZO
supply only unique and exclusive products, built and
tailored to meet the lifestyle needs of the client.
Ninth place goes to Perini Navi, the yacht-maker
specialised in the design and building of large sailing
craft. Indeed, this maker of sail-driven yachts has
seen its revenues grow from €20 million in the 1980s
to just short of €80 million last year, delivering 18%
growth. Perini Navi has expanded over the years by
TOP STORIES
WHO OWNS WHO
23/10/2007
40ALLOY - SANLORENZO
buying up several companies, including Beconcini e
Picchiotti, with the aim of enlarging its production
capacity.
Last but never least, Overmarine comes in tenth, adding
on 3% in annual sales to €60 million. Amongst
other things, this yard makes the “Mangusta” yacht
designed by French group Rodriguez, whose shares
are traded on the Paris bourse.
Company Acquired Company Company Acquired Company
Aicon Aicon Ferretti Group Ferretti Yachts
Morgan Itama
Azimut-Benetti Atlantis Mochi Craft
Azimut Pershing
Benetti Riva
Balmoral Capital Canados Gruppo Baglietto Baglietto
Del Pardo Dufour Cantieri di Pisa
Grand Soleil InRizzardi Diano
Leonardo Ferragamo Camper & Nicholsons Yachting Italcraft
Nautor’s Swan Posillipo
Ferretti Group Apreamare Rizzardi
Bertram Perini Navi Beconcini
Crn Perini Navi
Custom Line Picchiotti
The detailed analysis of the 2006 financial statements for the nautical companies is available for sale.
Please send an email to c.cogliandolo@pambianco.com or phone +39 02-76388600 for further information.
5

Exclusive Interview
23/10/2007
6

Garilli and Jannuzzelli,
Gruppo Baglietto’s
golden moment
Until a few years ago, their core interests were in energy
and their names, thanks to Camuzzi SpA, were well
known in multiutility land. Indeed, the company was
Italy’s Number One player in gas commercialisation
and distribution. A market they left in 2004, after which
they decided to move the barycentre of their operations
to a new upmarket sector. Indeed, Camuzzi decided to
enter the Made in Italy excellence of the luxury boat
industry, heading straight for the front door and creating
a hub of aggregation, fruit of the merger of the sector’s
two most prestigious and historical shipyards: Baglietto
and Cantieri di Pisa.
And here we are with the two lead players of this challenge,
Fabrizio Garilli and Ruggeromassimo Jannuzzelli,
respectively, President and Executive Vice President
of Gruppo Baglietto, who, of like minds and with great
complicity, tell us the story of this challenge.
What led to the creation of this initiative?
We began to realise over the years that the future of Italian
industry could only lie in the top end of the market.
Our orientation then turned to what is perhaps the
sector of luxury par excellen-
ce, yachts, of which Italy is the
undisputed leader. The opportunity
then arose to acquire Baglietto,
an incredibly prestigious
and historic brand (it was founded in 1854!), whose production
was indissolubly linked to our Italian navy, for
which it also built the famous MAS. And so Camuzzi
Nautica was born.
But if I’m not mistaken the name has changed since
then…
Yes, that’s right. The holding was incorporated in 2004
and made its fi rst acquisition, like all our holding companies
set up for this purpose, with Camuzzi as part of its
company name. At fi rst it was called Camuzzi Gruppo
Nautica, then it became Camuzzi Nautica. However, today
the companies and the overall group have reached a
“The goal? To become a global
leader in superluxury yachts”
23/10/2007
size that we believed worthy of the appropriate name, so
we decided to give the group an Italian name, “Gruppo
Baglietto” because it is one of the group’s most important
brands and drivers, both of sales and image. Because
it is an Italian brand, the producers are Italian, the shipyards
are in Italy, the history is Italian and, above all, the
shareholders and partners are Italian. We believe it right
to convey the idea of “Italianness”. And of course, we will
apply the same logic to all the other group companies,
for example, Gruppo Baglietto. Montecarlo, Gruppo Baglietto
Tunisia…
What is the current positioning of the two brands, is
there any risk of overlap?
Above all, we must point out that each shipyard has
specialised in highly different materials over the years.
Baglietto makes aluminium and steel boats, while Pisa
uses fi breglass, although we don’t rule out the possibility
of Pisa making longer hulled steel boats in the future.
Nevertheless, the true differentiation lies in the product
contents. Baglietto produces performance boats that are
sporty, technologically advanced and uniquely designed
for clients that like to be seen,
also on the water. I must admit
that the market is leaning heavily
toward this trend, which
we believe “extreme”; we are
talking huge dimensions, almost a ship, 60 metres worth
and capable of reaching 30-35 knots. On the other hand,
Cantieri di Pisa serves the client who loves onboard
comfort, silence, elegant lines and design, refi ned materials,
a client who lives the sea in a far more reserved
and private way. In essence, the two brands are highly
complementary and there is no risk of overlap.
What is the job of the Tunisian shipbuilding hub
(Gruppo Baglietto Tunisia)?
The main job of the Tunisian division is to increase the
production capacity of both yacht brands, especially
Cantieri di Pisa. We have two production sites in Tuni-
7

Akhir 145
sia that integrate with each other: one site produces the
basic part of some of Cantieri di Pisa’s boats, that is the
hull and superstructure, while the other produces carbon
parts, which can be used both by Baglietto and Cantieri
di Pisa.
You unveiled the Akhir at Monte Carlo, how did
it go?
Really well, the Akhir is an incredibly successful icon in
the yachting landscape and the decision on the new line
was no simple operation as we had to choose from two
options, that is, either completely change tack or stay
on the path of continuity kee-
ping the lines created by the
architect Spadolini. We opted
for the second, entrusting the
project to the architect Carlo
Galeazzi. I am confi dent that
the new Akhir will mark a watershed
in the performance of Cantieri di Pisa.
Lets talk about the results achieved by Gruppo Baglietto,
which are enjoying ongoing growth…
In 2006 we already posted an excellent performance,
with a value of production of €121 million and an EBI-
TDA margin of 12.6%. The forecast for 2007 is for a production
value of €152 million and an EBITDA margin
of 11.99%, with an orderbook of €448 million. But the
last year of the industrial plan, 2009, when we will also
have implemented a number of more optimal services,
is expected to generate the best results, with a value of
production target of €233 million.
Given the stellar performance of yachts… would you
say funds or stock exchange?
The last two transactions show that the funds and the
stock market are both successful, as in the cases of Fer-
“The new Akhir will mark
a watershed in the performance
of Cantieri di Pisa”
23/10/2007
Baglietto Blue Scorpion 53m
retti and Aicon. Market listing is not an easy thing to manage,
it mostly serves those who need fi nancial resources
to make investments, as opposed to a fund or a fi nancial
investor. It’s not an easy choice, we have enough time
ahead of us to think about such alternatives and anyway
we want to consolidate what we’ve achieved so far, we
especially want to fi nish the journey embarked on.
The trend of the major groups in the last two to three
years is to sharpen their focus on the client and on real
estate. Are these also priorities for your group?
Absolutely, yes, it is a key need. Our typical client is highlevel
and needs a number of
services of the same high level.
The fi rst service is that of real
estate, which means the client
has a mooring for his yacht.
Italy has no harbours capable
of hosting 50m boats.
The countries surrounding Italy are far more ahead in
this respect, which is regretful because that side of the
business is important and Italy is missing out on it. Indeed,
North Africa, Spain and France all beat us 10:0.
One of the fi rst services could be to ensure the client
a mooring, at the end of the day, most of the boats sail
around this great lake called the Mediterranean, between
Greece, the Cote d’Azur, Sardinia and Turkey.
What future do you envisage for yachts from the standpoint
of the current boom? Will it continue or stabilise?
The international scenario is spawning new, highly compelling
markets for the nautical industry, such as Russia,
China and India. We have accepted the challenge
of taking a lead role in this market evolution, while remaining
coherent with our positioning and true to our
DNA.
8

LIFESTYLE
PAMBIANCO ANALYSIS: TEN YEARS OF PRIVATE EQUITY
IN FASHION AND LUXURY
Private equity funds storm the fashion arena
The global increase in
the number of consumers
with high spending
power, famous brands,
CARLO PAMBIANCO
low debt, high margins
and frequently fragmented
shareholder structures
or generational transitions
are the features that
not only attract the interest
of the private equity
funds, but lead these
to believe the sector can
fuel hefty investment returns.
The high liquidity of the
new actors marries well
with the need of many
fashion companies to secure the resources needed
to finance growth and compete in the global
% of M&A Deals
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
23/10/2007
marketplace. A trend confirmed also by our analysis
of the past Ten Years of Private Equity in Fashion
(1998-2007). The weighting of transactions involving
private equity funds on the total number of
M&A deals has climbed from 12% in 1998 to more
than 30% in 2007, ongoing growth that started to
accelerated sharply in 2005.
But let’s get back to those returns. The goal of the
funds is to invest in companies by taking a minority
or majority interest, grow the company and then
make their exit, thus enhancing the value of the
investment. In the period of analysis, not only the
number of investments, but also the number of disposals
rose, with 22 sales between 2005-2006 and
12 already in the first six months of 2007.
The main ways for the funds to dispose of their
investment is to list the fashion company on the
stock exchange, sell it to an industrial company or
to another fund, sell it back to the original seller or
keep it as a short-term portfolio investment.
COMPARISON OF M&A AND PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007*
Number of M&A Deals Number of Private Equity Deals
* Estimates through end-2007 based on the same assumptions for the second half as the first half of the year.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
% of Private Equity Deals
9

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
7
16
The investment cannot be held for the long-term given
that the funds’ bylaws usually call for the disposal
of all the stakes and repaying the fund stakeholders
after a ten-year period.
The highest valuations and, as a result, the highest
returns are more easily achieved by floating the company
on the stock exchange
or, to a lesser extent, selling
it to an industrial group or
another fund.
The way-out scenarios that
lead to the lowest valuations
and lower returns centre on
the buyback of the stake by the original seller or on
keeping it in the portfolio and cashing the relative
dividends.
We analysed the 75 largest of the 258 private equity
deals identified between 1998 and the present day,
corresponding to around 30% of the total.
That analysis shows that five (7%) companies were
listed on the stock exchange, nine (12%) were sold
to industrial groups and another nine to other private
equity funds. In four cases (5%), the company
was reacquired by the original seller, while 48 investments
(64% of the total) remain in the fund portfolios.
More than 60% of these 48 investments were made
after 2005.
Therefore, the results of our analysis show that it
is too soon to comment on the success or not of
the deals made. Nevertheless, up to now, the inte-
TOP STORIES
INVESTMENTS AND DISPOSALS
(Number of Deals)
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007*
Investments Disposals
18
18
* Estimates through end-2007 based on the same assumptions for the second half as the first half of the year.
16
THE LOGIC OF THE FUND - TO ACHIEVE THE
HIGHEST RESULT IN THE SHORTEST TIME – DOES
NOT ALWAYS MARRY WELL WITH FASHION
23/10/2007
20
2
34
3
32
rest of these players has been expressed via large
acquisitions (the latest being Valentino), but have
not been followed up with equally brilliant way-out
transactions.
Those results aside, the deals bringing these new
players to the fashion landscape have had one favourable
impact in that they
have pushed the companies
into thinking about their future,
in terms of both strategic
objectives and growth
plans.
Indeed, when a fund buys
into the share capital of a company, it obliges the
management or the owner to heighten their focus
on the business plan in terms of investments and the
expected returns, which often leads the company to
enhance the efficiency of its capital management.
Going forward, the success of these deals will depend
on the funds’ ability to study the sector more
deeply in order to acquire the skills needed to increase
their contribution also to the company’s management.
Fashion companies need to be approached with
more sensitivity, with greater emphasis on the whole
of the business and not just on the numbers.
Effectively, the logic of a fund - to achieve the highest
result in the shortest time – does not always
marry well with fashion, given that the building of
a brand requires not only investments but years of
highly coherent actions in the market.
8
39
14
58
24
10

Paul Marciano,
President of Guess
23/10/2007
11

Paul Marciano - President of Guess
Marciano: “I have a dream
called Guess”
He greets you with “Hi, how are you”. And you can
sense he isn’t faking it as he adds “Nice to meet
you”. He also apologises for not having been
able to make an earlier appointment and doesn’t complain
about the ‘damned’ tight (inopportune) timing of
the interview due to editorial and journalistic constraints.
Quite the opposite in fact: “No problem – he says – I’ll
help you meet your deadline”. Despite the fact that the
person speaking is Mr. Paul Marciano. Or Monsieur Paul
Marciano, given that he is from Los Angeles, but originally
hails from France. Along with his brother Maurice,
Paul Marciano founded and controls Guess, a brand that
today seems to be able to permit itself anything, certainly
it can now get rid of that dubious question mark suffi xed
to the original logo (Guess?). Permitting itself anything
means that to fete Guess’s 25 th anniversary it can take
25 pages in WWD, the U.S.’s leading fashion magazine,
as it did last April 18. But permitting itself anything also
means closing the second quarter of the fi scal year (end-
June) with a 48% increase in sales to $388.3 million and
a hefty 82% leap in earnings to $37.5 million. In terms
of Guess’s full year, that translates into a revenue target
range of $1.79 billion to $1.84 billion. Basically, Mr. Paul
is at the helm of an empire. And we’re not jesting now
when we say time is money. Nevertheless, Paul – as he
immediately tells us he prefers to be called in the interview
– doesn’t hide his fondness for a good chat. Leading
one to realise that this man who wears unbuttoned
white shirts under his jacket when he’s not wearing a
simple round-necked sweater or T-shirt, does not reserve
his smile only for the cameras and has lots of fun indeed.
And not only because “it is the 16th quarter running that
we’ve powered earnings growth and this year will see
us beat our record anew”. Sure, business is going like a
train, but the spirit of this man with the white hair and
twinkling eyes is rooted in his origins: “We’re from Mar-
23/10/2007
LEADERS
seilles, so not from Paris, but from the south, from sunny
and beautiful places”. And so is in his character, therefore
“it doesn’t make sense to open a base in a city where you
don’t feel comfortable and this is why, because we love
the place, the people and the food, we chose Florence for
our European HQ”. However, Paul’s esprit – he arrived a
few years after Maurice in Los Angeles, where he founded
Guess? in 1982 – shows more than anything else in
a couple of the group’s historical coups : “I invested in
advertising campaigns – he tells us – before I had one
single product in the market; I launched models who
went on to become stars before anyone knew who they
were”. Just a glance at the list of Guess Girls who made
it big thanks to Marciano is enough to make anyone
suffer: from Claudia Schiffer to Eva Herzigova, from
Laetizia Casta to Carla Bruni. Today, Paul has set
GUESS INC.
2006 2005 2004
Sales 1,185,184 936,092 729,262
% Increase 26.6 28.4
EBITDA 231,077 136,449 90,924
% EBITDA 19.5 14.6 12.5
Net Income 123,168 58,813 29,566
% Net Income 10.4 6.3 4.1
Source: Company fi nancial statements
Million Dollar
12

Viareggio Shanghai
We are an American brand
with specific and
different quality features…
his sights mainly on conquering
Europe “After Italy, we
plan to open across the whole
of Europe, especially towards
the East. The projects for shifting
the barycentre of the U.S. colossus right through to
the locations for the store openings, have already been
fi ne-tuned and are ready to launch. Even the product
segmentation has been studied in advance “with features
designed to appeal to the customers of the different
regions”. And then, seeing that “it’s all a question of a
dream, why rule out the acquisition of other brands”.
Paul sums it up in one word: “Exciting”.
Paul, let’s start at the beginning. You and your brother
Maurice are from Marseilles. How high does this count
in the success attained by Guess?
It is of absolute importance. Very important. I spent
20 years of my life in the south of France, and that does
not equate to Paris, let alone Northern Europe. It means
growing up on the Mediterranean, living a beach life, from
sunrise to sunset on the sea. It means we have developed a
livelier mindset, that of southern Europe, that we are very
open and familiar with the Europeans. A factor that was
determined when, in the early Nineties, we faced the shock
of landing on this side of the Pond. Above all, distribution
From left to right, the Guess stores of Budapest, Basel, Milan and Paris
23/10/2007
LEADERS
was a whole different ball game
to America, in fact, in Europe
the independent retailers prevail
over the department stores.
What made you choose to base your Italian HQ in
Florence?
We wanted to launch starting with Italy as it is the hardest
test and therefore the most decisive for our debut
in Europe. As to the city itself, if you think in terms of
logistics (airline services), Milan would have made more
sense. But Milan was not comfortable for us so we chose
Florence because we love the city, the people, the food
and Tuscany. We were defi nitely comfortable there. It’s
what makes sense in decisions, it’s not just the business.
Nevertheless, you are planning to shift the barycentre.
And Italy?
We’ve passed the toughest test. After our success in Italy
came Europe and Italy’s current contribution to our
European business has fallen to around 40% and will
fall further. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be downsizing
our Italian operations. It is the result of the expansion
plan, above all into Northern and Eastern Europe, into
Russia, which means we will need a new logistics hub
and so we have set up the European HQ in Lugano.
13

What are the growth numbers in Europe?
We have 134 own-brand stores in Europe, including accessories,
jeans and the Guess by Marciano line and the
factory stores (while in North America, we have 347 stores).
There were only 32 at the end of 2004. And next
year we plan to open another 70, which translates into
about 50% growth. Growth will be homogenous in that
we will open everywhere.
23/10/2007
LEADERS
How do you explain this European
success?
We are the strongest American
brand in Europe thanks to a brand
strategy focused on high quality
in each of the segments we serve
and we use licensees who are
more like partners than suppliers.
In addition, trading in our shares
has rocketed in the past two years
because the market has understood
this strategic focus and that
it is accompanied by a very clear
and well-defi ned segmentation.
We don’t expect to partner everyone
everywhere. We want to
adapt to the diverse needs, thus
the need for productions with
specifi c and different features for
America, Asia and Europe. No
other pathway exists. We are highly
consistent in this and have
therefore created excellent teams
to cover each area.
Communication has played a key role. Your strategy
has always counted on testimonials who have marked
fashion history. How did this happen and how will you
develop it in the future?
Our communication success is the fruit of a combination
of fate, fortune and passion. I never listened to anyone
when planning the Guess image. And I’ve never worked
with an ad agency. I simply searched for what I thought
was best for Guess and started
by looking for young models
who hadn’t yet made a name
for themselves. It’s something
I still do today: create the model
and at the same time the
photographer. It’s something
I wouldn’t know how to give
up. This has helped and helps
Guess too. For example, I couldn’t
use Kate Moss because her
image would cloud that of the
brand. But, above all, it wouldn’t
be exciting.
What is there of LA, of California
in Guess?
We started off in downtown
LA 26 years ago because it was
comfortable, sexy and trendy.
We found a place that was both
city and country that also had
the ocean. We certainly hadn’t
forgotten Marseilles. All of which
is in Guess’s genes too.
14

How is your relationship with Maurice?
An interesting question. I’ll answer with the facts: we
went to the same school, did our homework (really badly)
together, and, as teenagers, worked in the bars of
Saint Tropez and then in the discothèques. At 18, we
produced ties together and then the fi rst blazers. And it
just went on from there. I work with my brother every
day and spend each weekend with him, so our families
move from Hawaii to Haiti to Saint Tropez. I can’t imagine
a single weekend without Maurice. The relationship
is absolute.
When did you realise that Guess had become a worldwide
brand?
I never did. I dreamt of it from the start. And there is
proof of that also in Italy, where we started to invest in
advertising in Vogue, as well as in magazines such as Donna
Moderna and Lei, as early as 1985-86. It was crazy
and everyone was asking me: Why are you throwing all
this money away in advertising. From their perspective,
they were right. In fact, at that time we sold nothing on
this side of the ocean. We had no products, but had already
created our name.
Which are the brands you appreciate most?
In the luxury sphere, Dolce & Gabbana are at the top
of my list. I love their products and admire their strategy,
which has adeptly mixed fashion with a strong and
sexy image. In the denim market, I really like Diesel. We
are alike and I fi nd that Diesel has demonstrated great
From left to right, the Guess stores of Budapest, Milan, Venice and Apgujeong (Korea)
23/10/2007
LEADERS
Paul and
Maurice Marciano
consistency in maintaining and forging ahead with the
product-image combination. With great and irreplaceable
discipline.
How do you see Guess in ten years time?
We’ll have 2000 stores. We’ll need to stay disciplined. I
believe that is the only road forward for us.
Do you also see an extension of the brand into parallel
markets, such as hotels?
No, we have plenty of development projects to keep us
going without getting involved in such ventures.
A question on a factor that should help you a lot in
this period: the euro/dollar record…
Europe streams about one-third of sales (45% in America).
In 2Q (April-June), European sales accelerated
121.2% to $107.9 million. That is more than twofold
growth on the year earlier. But I don’t believe the euro
(which is at more than $1.4) can stay at the current level,
it’s madness. I think it will retreat to the $1.2 mark. At
any rate, our 2007 outlook is more than excellent. We
had our best year ever in 2006. And this year we expect
to power an increase of at least 35%-40%.
One last question. The numbers say that Guess is a
business driver. Is it a good time to buy some other brands?
Anything’s possible. As I explained before, it’s just a matter
of dreams.
15

FASHION STOCKS
The Pambianco Index, which comprises the top
25 listed fashion and luxury companies in Europe
remained relatively stable (+0.2%) throughout
October. The Index gained around 20.7% since the
start of the year. The continual weakening of the
dollar against the euro and an unstable American
market have penalised European fashion and luxury
stocks. Investors are sceptical as turbulent financial
markets (the American market, in particular) hit
the consumption of luxury and fashion goods.
Despite the latest stock market downturns, companies
like Hermès, LVMH and Luxottica have reported
excellent financial results.
In October, Hermès posted a sales growth of 15%
and registered a profit of €721 million in the first
COMPANY STOCK EXCHANGE
PRICE
31 AUG 07
23/10/2007
half of 2007, an 8.2% increase on a constant FX
basis compared to the same period the previous
year. Best business group performer was “Art de
Table”, which reported a 20% sales increase. In the
same period the company reported a net profit of
€120 million (16.6% of the company’s turnover).
The French luxury goods company also appears to
be getting into the travel industry as they recently
revealed the creation of a new “Hermès Voyageur”
subsidiary.
The world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate,
LVMH, reported a profit increase of 12% in the
first half of 2007 and an increase in operating profit
of 11%, recording excellent sales performance
in all its business groups (Wines & Spirits, Fashion
PRICE
31 AUG 07
% CHG
SEPTEMBER
% CHG
01/01/07
MARKET CAP.
(€ mln)
ADIDAS Frankfurt 45,96 46,09 0,3 21,8 9.218
AEFFE Milan 3,64 3,69 1,4 -10,0 396
AICON YACHT Milan 3,60 3,72 3,4 -9,2 406
ANTICHI PELLETTIERI Milan 9,40 9,50 1,1 0,1 428
BENETTON Milan 11,90 12,76 7,2 -11,8 2.332
BULGARI Milan 11,04 10,79 -2,3 0,4 3.192
BURBERRY London 657,00 615,00 -6,4 -4,7 3.073
ESCADA Frankfurt 25,69 28,57 11,2 -3,8 464
GEOX Milan 15,07 16,51 9,6 40,5 4.128
H&M Stockholm 405,50 423,00 4,3 22,3 34.375
HERMES Paris 78,92 90,78 15,0 -4,2 3.292
HUGO BOSS Frankfurt 48,89 45,20 -7,5 8,4 1.657
INDITEX (ZARA) Madrid 47,26 51,35 8,7 25,8 32.174
IT HOLDING Milan 1,52 1,76 15,5 12,6 435
LUXOTTICA Milan 23,87 21,14 -11,4 -9,2 9.660
LVMH Paris 83,73 88,88 6,2 11,2 43.428
MARCOLIN Milan 2,28 2,52 10,3 20,3 113
M. BURANI FG Milan 23,03 22,80 -1,0 12,1 640
MARZOTTO Milan 3,98 3,83 -3,9 11,5 260
POLTRONA FRAU Milan 2,74 2,70 -1,5 -8,5 377
PUMA Frankfurt 300,20 295,54 -1,6 -0,2 4.940
RICHEMONT Zurich 77,15 82,65 7,1 16,4 30.082
SAFILO Milan 3,27 2,93 -10,5 -34,9 830
STEFANEL Milan 3,00 3,00 0,0 -1,6 158
SWATCH Zurich 382,00 370,00 -3,1 37,4 12.288
TOD’S Milan 58,89 57,80 -1,9 -5,4 1.745
VALENTINO Milan 34,55 35,02 1,4 13,0 2.503
October 2007
Listed Fashion & Luxury Companies remain stable
after boom in the third quarter
16

& Leather Goods, Perfume &
Cosmetics, Watches & Jewellery
and Selective Retail). Watches
& Jewellery were the best performers.
The eyewear company,
Luxottica, whose CEO is Andrea
Guerra, recorded a company turnover
of €3.778 billion in the
first nine months of the fiscal
year, registering a 11.4% acceleration
in sales on a constant FX
basis and a 5.9% increase at current
FX compared to the same
HERMÈS
period the previous year. Net
profits rose by 19.8% to €395 million in the first
nine months of the fiscal year. The company has also
raised its forecast for the current year. The eyewear
company also unveiled its plan to create an eyewear
store chain in the U.S. called ‘ILORI’, which will
target the high-end of the market.
Good sales performers were It Holding (+15,5%),
Marcolin (+10,3%) and Escada (+11,2%) who gained
ground despite negative sales performance in
August and September.
Another positive performance was announced by
Geox (9.6%) whose competitive advantage derives
from the plan to open another 200 mono-brand stores
worldwide and to create a diverse range of apparel
and footwear products. Despite communicating
favourable results in the third quarter, Safilo was the
worst performer, with the stock shedding 10.5%.
Financial reports will be published on 6 November.
1250
1200
1150
1100
1050
1000
1.205,1
1.000= 1/1/2007
LA MODA IN BORSA
23/10/2007
Contractions were also suffered by Hugo Boss (-
7,5%) and Burberry (-6,4%). Hugo Boss stocks were
down to 45.2 per share, after Permira priced its initial
public offering at €48.33 per share.
Burberry, on the other hand, lost ground despite an
initial positive performance in the first half of 2007.
The company recorded a sales increase of 15% at
current FX and 19% on a constant FX to £449 million.
Best sales performers since the start of the year
were Geox (+40,5%), Swatch (+37,4%) and Inditex
(+25,8%). Worst performers were Safilo (-34,9%),
Benetton (-11,8%) and Aicon (-9,2%).
Italian leather goods maker, Piquadro, will start
trading on the Milan Stock Exchange and has set
its initial public offering price at €2.20 per share.
Italian luxury jeweller, Damiani, will begin trading
on the Star segment of the Milan Stock Exchange
by 8 November. The initial public offering was priced
at €3.8-5.2 per share.
Pambianco Fashion Index
OCTOBER 2007
BOTTEGA VENETA
BY SAFILO
1.207,1
Index from Da 1st inizio January anno2007
1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10 13/10 14/9 15/9 16/9 17/9 18/9 19/9 20/10 21/10 22/10 23/10 24/10 25/10 26/10 27/10 28/10 29/10 30/10 31/10
1350
1300
1250
1200
1150
1100
1050
1000
1.000= 1/1/2007
1.207,1 + 20,7%
+ 0,2%
950
3/1 17/1 31/1 14/2 28/2 14/3 28/3 11/4 25/4 9/5 23/5 6/6 20/6 4/7 18/7 1/8 15/8 29/8 12/9 26/9 10/10 24/10 7/11 21/11 5/12 19/12
17

ITALY
Ferragamo’s final objective: to take the company public
“For luxury markets,
becoming a
listed company
increases exposure
and visibility to
the financial industry,
private business
market and
media”. “The quotation
of Salvatore
Ferragamo on the
stock exchange
will be carried
out by 2008”,
the group’s CEO,
Michele Norsa,
who was snagged
by Ferragamo a
MICHELE NORSA
year ago. “Taking
this company public will certainly improve competition
and drive the company forward into achieving its
objectives”. Norsa’s objectives are to increase the price
and quality of the product and to explore new market
possibilities. He makes a net distinction between
‘mature markets’, for example Europe and Japan and
‘young markets’, the rapidly growing ones. For Griffe,
90% of sales derive from abroad. “Abroad, we are a
strong brand thanks to the family’s long-term objectives.
We were an international business from the very
beginning”. In 2006, the company reported a turnover
of €630 million, a 10% increase compared to the same
FRANCESCO TRAPANI
Bulgari invests in accessories.
The CEO of Bulgari, Francesco
Bulgari invests in accessories
Trapani, during the
opening of the new
accessories flagship
store in Rome, said
that he had an eye
toward broadening
the reach of his family-run
luxury business
and wanted to greatly
enhance the reputation
and visibility of
the brand.
Accessories represent
around 10% of the
company turnover,
followed by jewellery
(40% of the turnover),
watches (30%) and perfume
(20%). “In the last three years
23/10/2007
period the previous year and forecasts a further 12%
increase in sales (at constant exchange rates) for this
year. The U.S is Ferragamo’s strongest market, having
conquered the smaller luxury malls in minor cities.
“We have a very strong presence in the U.S. Our
turnover is around US$250 million. We have been
able to conquer cities such as Philadelphia, Boston,
Scottdale and Detroit. Outstanding sales performance
was also reported in China. “If you had told me 10
years ago, I would
not have believed
it. China will
overtake Japan
in 2 or 3 year’s
time, as no other
market is expanding
at such a rate.
Brazil is another
territory to conquer:
“In the last
12 months, Brazil
has made great
progress”. Messico
is the same:
“Messico has outdone
Germany in
terms of sales performance”.
(Extract
from “Affari&Finanza”
of 15/10/07. Edited
by PW)
we have greatly invested in the
accessory sector” adds Trapani.
“We are working hard on the
product, its distribution and
production. We have found a
small company that produces
leather goods in Tuscany and
we will open a factory there in
February”.
The accessory market is a very
competitive one but the Bulgari
brand has a very good reputation”,
Trapani said.
Today Bulgari operates 190
stores dedicated exclusively to
accessories and hopes to open
a dozen stores per year. (Extract
from “Finanza&Mercati” of 24/10/07.
Edited by PW)
18

23/10/2007
ITALY
Pomellato’s success: profits of €130 million
Pomellato, the jewellery group is celebrating its 40th
anniversary with the opening of a new headquarters
and an ambitious plan: to open a series of Pomellato
stores. The group forecasts a consolidated turno-
Costume National celebrate 21 years
ENNIO CAPASA
“We are finally free, we are
finally 100% owners of Costume
National and this has been a
very important step for us. We
are very happy with the figures
and we are hoping to open a
number of stores in the near
future”, explains Ennio Capasa,
owner of the brand, Costume
National.
Last December Ennio and Carlo
Capasa were able to re-acquire
15% of the company’s participating
shares, which had been
previously sold to a Londonbased
merchant bank in 1997.
“Our plans were to gain complete
control of the brand even
if I am not excluding the possibility
of a strategic partner in
the future, someone who has the
same vision as we have”.
The C’N’C’ line has also been
successful, the licence distribution
of which, is controlled
by Ittierre. Costume National
reported an increase in sales
of 25% from directly operated
stores and the C’N’C line represents
50% of the company’s
business.
ver of €130 million for the period ended 2007 (+
16% compared to 2006) and an EBITDA equal
to around €28 million (+16%). Based on financial
results for the first nine months of 2007, Pomellato
reported a profit increase of 14.6% to €84.2 million
and an EBITDA of €17.9 million (+17.3%). “2007
was an outstanding year for us”, said Francesco
Minoli, CEO of Pomellato Group. “We are following
our business plan to the letter. The opening of new
stores has greatly strengthened our position in the
market.” This is one of the primary objectives of the
company. 2008 foresees retail development plans
and the opening of three new Pomellato stores: in
London, Rome and Los Angeles and another under
the name Dodo in Florence.
There are also plans to open a further store either in
Munich or Geneva. The company has invested €23
million in the Milan-based headquarters which also
features a laboratory where 60% of the company’s
turnover is produced.
(Extract from “Il Sole 24 Ore” of 26/10/07. Edited by PW)
The turnover jumped from €45
million in 2004 to €75 million
in 2006. The company is also
celebrating their 21st anniversary
with a book entitled “21-the
age of maturity”.
The company focuses mainly on
retail and the retail expansion
and the stores will be created by
one of the Capasa brothers.
Costume National already
owns stores in Milan, Rome,
Tokyo, Paris, New York and L.A.
Excluding Italy, sales performance
is also strong in the Far
East, as well as the US.
“Our jeans, both the first and
second line, have been very successful
in the US. Jeans are a
part of the American culture.
We would also like to present
our C’N’C’ collections at the
New York fashion week, and
Costume National will continue
to present its collection in Paris”.
(Extract from “Finanza&Mercati” of
15/10/07. Edited by PW)
19

23/10/2007
ITALY
Frette’s company revamp
It has taken Frette 3 years
to revamp 80% of the company.
Frette is an Italian retail
and wholesale company that
markets luxury fabrics and linens
to individuals and hospitality
businesses. Frette was previously
owned by Fin.Part Group,
which later declared bankruptcy.
The San Francisco based private
equity firm, JH Partners, acquired
Frette’s operations and international
subsidiaries in 2004 and
only a few months ago acquired
La Perla, an estimated deal worth
€20 million. “The best transaction
we could have made”, explains
Jeff Hansen, a principal of JH
Partners, responsible for various
operations within the company
including Made in Italy. Financial
results from this transaction were
already noticeable in the first half
of 2007. The group generated net
profits of €43.1 million (+8.8%
compared to the same period the
previous year), and an EBITDA of
€4 million (+40.6%). The private
equity firm acquired the company
in an all-cash offer. “We try
to use financial leverage as little
as possible, no more than 4 times
the EBITDA”, explains Hansen.
The transaction followed an earlier
lease and licensing agreement.
A year ago, JH Partners acquired
the Frette trademark. The whole
transaction cost around €60 million.
In the beginning, Hansen’s
objectives were to increase the
company’s ability to respect delivery
times. The company also had
a negative EBITDA of €10 million.
Now, the main objective is
to reach a gross operating margin
of €12 million for 2007. “Apart
from improving the company’s
efficiency, we have also opened
a number of stores in the U.S.
and extended the Frette brand
into other merchandise,” says
Hansen. The company reported
a sales increase of 56.3% in the
retail sector. Best sales performers
were Italy (43.9%) and the U.S.
(+ 28.3%). (Extract from “Il Sole 24
Ore” of 13/10/07. Edited by PW)
Future plans for Geox: apparel and footwear
MARIO MORETTI POLEGATO
Sports footwear will lead Geox to success, say
experts at Cazenove, the oldest and largest financial
services firm, who started the coverage of the stock
with a recommendation in line with the target price
of €16.2.
According to Geox’s brokers, it is one of the fastest
growing companies in the consumer goods sector
and after only 15 years Geox has fast become a
leading name within the footwear market.
Cazenove believes that Geox would have the same
success abroad.
The Venetian company is listed on the Stock market
and is giving important companies such as
Adidas, Nike and Puma a run for their money. Geox
also has plans to branch out into the ready-to-wear
sector.
In 5 years, this sector could represent 20% of the
company’s turnover thanks to its multi-branded
stores and the opening of more mono-brand stores
in Italy and Europe. (Extract from “Finanza&Mercati” of
17/10/07. Edited by PW)
20

23/10/2007
ITALY
Luxottica bucks the trend: We’re sticking with Wall Street
“If I have to
navigate, then
I prefer the
ocean”. It was
1990 when
Leonardo
Del Vecchio
uttered these
words. The
founder of
Luxottica was
referring to
his company’s
market
listing. An
IPO launched
LEONARDO DEL VECCHIO
not at Piazza
Affari, but on
Wall Street, the world’s biggest stock exchange. An
ocean, effectively, compared with the “small sea” of
Borsa Italiana. In which, as it happens, Luxottica
eventually arrived ten years later, in late 2000, to
attract, so it was said, the capital of the European
institutional investors. Meantime, Luxottica stock
continued its brisk trading in America in the form
of ADRs, depositary certificates representing
shares. But that move by Luxottica set the tone for
a slew of other Italian companies, who later listed
their shares in the U.S. too. However, some of those
companies have already decided to pack their bags
and leave.
Not Del Vecchio though, who in agreement with
his MD, Andrea Guerra, has revealed a trendbucking
stance. “I have no intention at all of even
thinking about delisting” he said at the end of the
Beni Stabili shareholders’ meeting, a company in
which he serves on the board. Adding that the Wall
Street listing is “an important business card for
Luxottica”.
A question of image no less. Luxottica (which,
Del Vecchio went on to say, bills 65% of its total
sales in US$ and expresses 65% of its costs in the
American currency) will be keeping company with
at least another four Italian companies, ENEL,
ENI, Natuzzi and Telecom Italia. All of which, like
the Agordo-based company, have decided to keep
the Italian flag flying high. (Extract from “Corriere della
Sera” of 18/10/07. Edited by PW)
Businesses rate “Second Life” a flop
The “Second Life” experience? The repeated
announcements made by the businesses who have
opened a virtual office in the imaginary world created
on the internet have now been followed by
their first financials. Preliminary result: a flop, at
least for the companies. Indeed, the firms who’ve
opened an office in the virtual world of Linden
Labs do not seem very happy with the public
response. The hope of seeing showrooms full of
avatars (the virtual alter egos of the website’s registered
users) eagerly on the hunt for novelties,
almost as if it were a second 3D internet, seems to
have gone up in smoke for most of “Second Life”’s
corporate takers.
Gone, vanished, along with their Linden dollars,
the virtual money used to buy property or services
in the world of “Second Life”, but which actually
need to be paid for in hard cash with the far more
concrete U.S. dollar.
The money spent to acquire islands or buildings
seems to have soured into a bad deal, according to
the present state of play, given that the “citizens”
of “Second Life” show little interest in attending
these types of experiences. In fact they are far
more content to have fun and socialise.
Nevertheless, many companies are not yet ready
to desert this imaginary scenario. Rather, they have
decided to switch strategy and plan to now use
“Second Life”, not as a place to meet an undifferentiated
public, but to boost productivity. (Extract
from “Il Mondo”, 26/10/07. Edited by PW)
21

ITALY
Corneliani: excellence in menswear
CORNELIANI’S FAMILY
Corneliani is an Italian brand that, around the world,
has come to epitomise distinctive, understated and
sophisticated elegance. Its style reflects an impeccable
yet fluid sartorial image that combines tradition,
quality and modernity. Corneliani is at the
cutting edge of research and the most state-of-theart
technology but has also maintained many of the
manual techniques that make each garment exquisite
and unique. Materials, lines,
shades and details: everything is
imbued with unquestionable quality.
Alfredo Corneliani – a pioneer
in men’s ready-to-wear – started
to produce high-quality hand-tailored
raincoats and jackets in the
1930s. The company grew rapidly
under his leadership and soon had
a workforce of 300.
However, it was with his sons,
Claudio and Carlalberto, that the
company grew substantially during
the 1950s, defining its identity and
achieving the high standards that
have made it a top Italian-made
product brand.
Claudio and Carlalberto, who
manages and coordinates activities,
are assisted by their sons,
23/10/2007
who hold specific positions: Corrado as Production
and Logistics Director; Maurizio, Global Sales and
Marketing Director; Sergio, Design and Creative
Director, and Cristiano, Export Sales Director. The
Group, solidly structured as a centralised management
team, is about to celebrate 50 years of success.
Although it operates on a worldwide level, the
company still has its registered office and operations
in Mantua, as well as another office in Verona, for
a total area of 120,000 square metres (including a
built area of 30,000 square metres) and more than
900 employees. The company is solid and dynamic.
The Board of Directors has approved the financial
statements for 2006, with consolidated sales of
approximately €132.2 million (€113.7 million in
2005), reflecting a 16.3% increase and a net income
of €4.8 million for Corneliani S.p.A. (+80%).
In 2007 consolidated sales are expected to approach
€150 million. The increase in sales and income
comes from established markets such as Europe
(60%, of which 58% from the domestic market) and
the United States (20%), as well as emerging countries
such as China and the former Soviet Union.
This positive trend was confirmed following the
successful presentation of the Spring/Summer 2008
collections, which trade professionals touted as some
of the finest in the luxury sector.
Residual IPO on Valentino Fashion Group
The acquisition of Valentino Fashion Group (VFG), which will terminate on 14 November, will be
made through Red & Black, the company controlled by private equity fund, Permira.
It will purchase 2.1 million shares at a price equal to Euro 35 per share.
22

REST OF THE WORLD
Columbia Sportswear Company reports record
third quarter 2007 results
Columbia Sportswear Company, a global leader in the
active outdoor apparel and footwear industries, today
announced net sales of $471.1 million for the quarter
ended September 30, 2007, an increase of 4 percent
compared to net sales of $454.1 million for the same
period of 2006. Net income for the third quarter
Timberland: going green
is the winning recipe
Jeff Schwartz is President and CEO of Timberland,
the billion dollar footwear, apparel and accessories
company. Timberland is leading the way on corporate
social responsibility, and the vision for that
charge comes from Jeff Schwartz. He has never
lost sight of the company’s mission even when
numbers were down and there was threat of a
buy out. “The US is losing its appeal but in Asia,
sales performance has increased by 9.5% in the
last two years and in Europe sales performances
has increased by 6.9%.” Italy has also done well.
The affiliated company reported a turnover of €80
million with a 9.7% increase in the year ended
2006. It is ranked as the second most important
market together with UK and Japan. In pole position
is the U.S. “We hope to open a set of new
stores, at least 20 by the end of 2008. We already
operate 110 stores”, said Schwartz. The company’s
active responsibility to the environment is what
has made Timberland in Europe so successful in
recent times. “Today’s fashion consumers do not
think about how much energy was used to make
the product or where it came from, however there
are some indications that this is where the market
will be heading”, concluded Schwartz. (Extract from
“Economy”, 19/10/07. Edited by PW)
23/10/2007
was $62.6 million, a 4 percent increase compared to
net income of $60.3 million for the same period of
2006. Earnings per share for the third quarter of 2007
were $1.72 (diluted) on 36.4 million weighted average
shares, compared to earnings per share of $1.67
(diluted) for the third quarter of 2006 on 36.1 million
weighted average shares. For the third quarter of 2007,
sportswear net sales increased 10 percent to $161.9
million, footwear net sales increased 3 percent to $71.4
million, accessories and equipment net sales increased
8 percent to $22.0 million and outerwear net sales
decreased 1 percent to $215.8 million compared to
the third quarter of 2006 (see “Categorical Net Sales”
table). Tim Boyle, Columbia’s president and chief executive
officer, commented, “We are pleased to report that
third quarter sales were driven by double digit growth
in Columbia brand outerwear in the United States
and Canada, reflecting the initiatives our management
team has taken to strengthen our core North American
Columbia brand outerwear business.”
Hugo Boss,
+9% in third
quarter 2007
In the first nine months of the current fiscal
year, the HUGO BOSS fashion group increased
its sales by 9% (currency-adjusted: 12%) to
EUR 1,328 million from the prior-year period
(Q1-Q3 2006: EUR 1,216 million). BOSS
Womenswear made an especially strong contribution
to the growth in sales with a 32%
increase (Q1-Q3 2007: EUR 166 million, Q1-
Q3 2006: EUR 127 million). In addition, the
Group’s own retail business continued to develop
very dynamically, with a 26% increase in
sales (Q1-Q3 2007: EUR 165 million, Q1-Q3
2006: EUR 131 million). The shoe and leather
accessories collections also did very well, posting
growth of 17% (Q1-Q3 2007: EUR 147
million, Q1-Q3 2006: EUR 126 million). In
the first nine months of 2007, earnings before
interest and taxes (EBIT) improved by 16% to
EUR 218 million year on year (Q1-Q3 2006:
EUR 188 million). In the same period, earnings
before taxes rose 14% from the prior-year
period to EUR 212 million (Q1-Q3 2006: EUR
186 million). Net income climbed 16% to EUR
153 million (Q1-Q3 2006: EUR 133 million).
23

REST OF THE WORLD
South Coast Plaza: a heaven for affluent Californians
On the road to Disneyland, off
the motorway, and surrounded
by fast food outlets and second
hand car dealers stands the
South Coast Plaza – a most
unusual place for a giant shopping
mall selling ultra-luxury
Italian brands, but a haven for
the affluent California shopper.
South Coast Plaza, in partnership
with the Italian Trade
Commission (ICE) kicks off
“Italy at South Coast Plaza”, a
perfect setting for one of the
most luxurious, magnificent
and glamorous promotional campaigns in recent
times.
This giant shopping centre generates the highest
yearly turnover in the whole of America (US$1.5 billion
in 2006).
For the whole of October, this mega mall together
with 30 Italian boutiques will feature Italy’s finest
fashion, culture, art and food. The festival also
includes 2 special exhibits, “Fashionset” and “Playing
with Textiles”. “Fashionset” is a journey into the world
of costume design in cinema spanning the last 60
years, designed by Annamode.
“Playing with Textiles” showcases Italy’s excellence
Macy’s to be exclusive department retailer
of Tommy Hilfiger Sportswear
As of fall 2008, the only department store where
customers can find Tommy Hilfiger sportswear will
be Macy’s. Macy’s, Inc. and Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A.,
Inc. signed a strategic alliance agreement, where
Macy’s will be the exclusive retailer of Tommy
Hilfiger men’s and women’s sportswear.
“We’ve certainly made it known over last several
years is that one of Macy’s core strategies is
to have exclusive distribution of certain vendors,
like O Oscar by Oscar de la Renta, Donald Trump,
T Tahari,” said Jim Sluzewski, a spokesperson for
Macy’s.
“We’ve been working with many vendors to see if
there’s a mutual interest in offering exclusive and
unusual merchandise that you won’t be able to
find anywhere else.
There won’t be Tommy Hilfiger collections
designed specifically for Macy’s, said Sluzewski,
and specifics of how the Hilfiger brand will be re-
23/10/2007
in textiles organised by a
group of students from the
Accademia di Brera. “The
affluent consumer is much
more sophisticated now
than in the past; he looks for
luxury brands and high quality-made
clothes” says Gildo
Zegna, CEO of Ermenegildo
Zegna. “These things are not
only found in cities like New
York or Los Angeles”. Next
month, for example, Zegna
will celebrate the opening of
a new store, created by Peter
Marino, in Washington, and plans for the future
include the opening of various stores in a number
of locations. The increase in consumer shopping
explains why Italian export in the U.S. is doing so
well despite the strong euro. In the first six months of
2007, the Italian fashion market reported an increase
of 7.4% to US$3.4 billion compared to the same
period the previous year.
The clothing industry was up by 9.5% (US$720 million)
and footwear up by 11% (US$581 million).
The jewellery sector dropped 12% due to the everincreasing
competition of emerging markets.(Extract
from “Il Sole 24 Ore” of 13/10/07. Edited by PW)
positioned within the stores are still being negotiated,
but, said Sluzewski, the Hilfiger sportswear
departments will be getting upgraded and in some
cases they’ll have better positioning and merchandising
in more stores. (Extract from “The Daily Fix” of
26/10/07. Edited by PW)
24

REST OF THE WORLD
INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL HARARI, CEO OF LECTRA GROUP
Lectra, innovation and competences
to tackle future challenges
DANIEL HARARI
Lectra today is a worldwide leader in innovative
solutions for companies apparel, leather goods
and shoes manufacturer. 2006 sales reached 216
million euro with an operating margin of 15%.
What are the factors of this success?
With our software systems we have a direct presence
in the whole world since 10 years, maily in the
fashion, the automative and the furniture markets.
We also invest significantly in new technologies,
much more than our three main competitors. Moreover
we have developed a strong relationship
with customers that are growing up with us, since
twenty years.
What are the strategy for the future? Will you
focus on a special sector?
We are mainly focused on the 3 sectors already
mentioned: fashion, automative and furniture. We
are also going to improve our technologies and to
further develop important markets such as Italy.
We want to provide more technologies to the same
customers and increase our product range. I’m deeply
convinced that technology represents, nowadays,
a key factor to make fashion more dynamic.
Technology helps fashion companies, distributors
and creators, no matter what their sector is, and
accelerates their workflow. Technology improves
planning, development, production and marketing
23/10/2007
of the products, by understanding the specific needs
of the companies.
Lectra is present in more than 100 countries
with its own subsidiaries and its 10.000 customers,
from big textile manufaturers to luxury griffes, are
located almost in any part of the world. What are
the most important markets for Lectra now and
for the future?
From a geographical standpoint, number 1 market
is Italy, followed by Germany and Eastern Europe,
then China, United States and France, which
is only number 5. In Italy we have a 63% market
share and a strong focus because in this country
there are the main fashion companies. Among our
clients I can mention big luxury groups and companies
such as Giorgio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna,
Dolce&Gabbana, Prada, Canali, Fendi ….
Lectra has signed an agreement with Camera
Nazionale della Moda Italiana to support the
young stylists? Can you explain us what is about?
The relationship between Lectra and Camera Nazionale
della Moda Italiana is a natural partnership,
I would say. We have been working with CNMI
for many years and now it’s a only a more formal
cooperation. Our partnership with CNMI will let
us help young italian artists and more and more
managers of the sector to improve their creation
process. That is our challenge.
And what about PLM project (Product Lifecycle
management) that represents the future for
the fashion companies?
We created PLM software (Product Lifecycle management)
thinking about technological development.
PLM software provide answers to all the
needs a fashion company might have. PLM is the
first software in the world accessible 24 hours a
day via internet. This new offer is a real improvement
in quality and its advantages are a lot.
PLM follows the whole production cycle, from design
to sale, reducing the costs for the company.
This implies an increase in sales, thanks to the good
management of market requests.
This project goes ahead with our strategy, which
mission is to offer to the clients an always increasing
value added, through forefront technologies
that accelerate the launch of products on the
market.
25

M&A - LICENCES
Nike wears the Umbro T-shirt
MARK PARKER - CEO OF NIKE
Lagerfeld inks deal with
Vaprio Stile
Nike goes shopping. The biggest
American sportswear
company in the world has
announced the purchase of
Umbro in a deal that valued
the sportswear firm at £285
million.
Umbro shareholders would
receive 193,06 pence per share,
a premium of approximately
61 per cent on the closing price
of 120 pence per Umbro share
on October 17th. An important
move for the sportswear giant.
The motive behind Nike’s
acquisition is the fact that
the takeover would strength-
The house of Karl Lagerfeld
has inked a licensing deal with
Italy’s Vaprio Stile to produce
the designer’s signature women’s
collection starting with
the fall 2008 season. The
agreement marks the latest
move by the house’s ultimate
owner, the Tommy Hilfiger
Corp., to boost the Lagerfeld
brand, which has historically
had more name recognition
than significant fashion sales.
“In Italy, there is a high quality
capacity for ready-to-wear
licenses because in that area it
is a real tradition,” commented
Lagerfeld, three weeks after
staging his well-received
spring-summer 2008 collection
in a fashion tent outside
KARL LAGERFELD
the Louvre. The designer will
continue to directly manage
the design and marketing of the collection, the first of
which manufactured by Vaprio will debut on a Paris
catwalk in February 2008 and bow at retail in Fall
2008. Hilfiger execs insist the partnership will combine
Lagerfeld’s design vision with Vaprio Stile’s expertise in
manufacturing, sales and distribution. (Extract from “The
Daily Fix” of 29/10/07. Edited by PW)
23/10/2007
en Nike’s global profile as the
leader in providing football
products. It is the first acquisition
of a large company since
2003, when they purchased
Converse.
Nike will have to wait till
January to complete the deal
as it requires acceptance from
90% of the shareholders; the
deal has been complicated by
retail investors, JJB Sports and
Sports Direct, who own a 25%
stake of the business and hold
blocking stakes. (Extract from
Finanza&Mercati of 24/10/07. Edited
by PW)
Safilo extends Liz
Claiborne license to 2012
Safilo Group
SpA said it has
extended its
license agreement
with the
luxury group
Liz Claiborne
Inc to 2012,
after the success
of their
recent collections.
Safilo
Group will be
responsible for
the production
and market-
VITTORIO TABACCHI
ing of both Liz
Claiborne and Claiborne eyewear collections
on the American market. Safilo Group will
also produce and market Liz Claiborne’s
other brands. The Chairman of Safilo Group,
Vittorio Tabacchi, said in a statement that he
was satisfied with the outcome of this partnership.
Safilo Group continues to maintain
a leadership position in the US.
The deal has also strengthened the apparel
company’s other well-known brands.
26

M&A - LICENCES
Fashion Box and Arcte Group to produce Replay
underwear and beachwear line
Rocawear joins forces
with cosmetic giant
Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth
Arden has
joined forces
with leading
lifestyle apparel
brand Rocawear
to create a
new cosmetic
product line.
Elizabeth
Arden entered
into a global
licensing agreement
with
Jay-Z’s Rocawear and its parent company, Iconix
Brand Group for the development, marketing and
distribution of Rocawear-branded men’s and women’s
fragrance and skincare products. The combination
of Elizabeth Arden’s expertise in fragrance and
the Rocawear ability to affect popular culture will
produce some incredible products. The founders of
this lifestyle brand, launched in 1995, are Shawn
“Jay-Z” Carter, Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs”
Burke. Today the company boasts annual retail sales
of over $700 million. Iconix purchased Rocawear in
March of 2007. Since then, the group has developed
and diversified its brand and has also expanded into
the US market.
23/10/2007
Fashion Box entered into a licensing
agreement with Arcte Group
for the production and distribution
of the Replay underwear,
nightwear and beachwear line.
The men and women’s underwear
Autumn/Winter collection,
developed and distributed by
Arcte Group, will debut at the
Salon International de la Lingerie
(SIL) in Paris in January of 2008.
The Replay beachwear collection
will be on sale in the shops in the
spring of 2009.
Interpool and
Maserati join
forces
Maserati entered into a licensing agreement
with Interpool (a company specialised in the
jacket industry)
for the production
and distribution of
a luxury men and
women’s jacket
wear line under
the Maserati brand
name.
The renowned
car manufacturer
has joined forces
with Interpool
(Museum has been
elected as symbol
of the company’s
identity) in order to launch a jacket wear line
which will debut in January of 2008.
27

Ermenegildo Zegna,
51 years old,
Managing Director
of Zegna Group
M&A - LICENCES
23/10/2007
28

Ermenegildo Zegna – MD of Zegna Group
Gildo Zegna
targets 2007 and ups
the luxury stakes
Based in Biella, Northern Italy, Zegna group is
a global leader when it comes to the men’s
luxury market. We met Ermenegildo (Gildo)
Zegna, MD, in the brand’s Milan HQ. In the room
where our interview took place, there still hangs a
huge blue oil painting that refers to the area of Trivero
where the historic company of Lanifi cio Zegna
has its roots. In a blue suit and tie, an IWC on his
wrist, green eyes and slicked-back hair, Gildo still
loves to talk about the past, of his grandfather and
founder of the group and the fact that the “strategies
are decided only once for each generation”.
At Zegna, the soul of the company oozes history.
But don’t let that fool you. The company has its
sights set fi rmly on the future. And it’s no coincidence
that Gildo often uses English terms, such as
“talents” to defi ne the resources that will be the
group’s future; phrases such as “managed by us” to
indicate the stores managed; and concepts such as
“very accountable and very executive-driven” to indicate
the guidelines of the latest internal revolution.
Indeed, Gildo fi nds it hard to translate stra-
23/10/2007
LEADERS
tegic concepts into a language different than that
used for managing the complex international machine
that drives the company.
Here they think in English and think like the English;
in fact, many managers have a background in
the luxury multinationals.
But then it could also be that for the past two years
he has moved alongside Domenico De Sole, the
Italian-American manager who transformed Gucci
into an international group by hammering home
“consistence” and “facts” (he joined the board of
the Biella company in 2005). It might also be that
the “true benchmark of Zegna today – admits Gildo
admiringly – compared to some years ago, is Luis
Vuitton”. And possibly also the fact that the last interview
before this was an exclusive for the Financial
Times on the opening of Zegna’s fi rst store in
Bombay.
The group seems to have boosted its historical Biella
DNA with that of a true luxury corporation, proud
and confi dent that it will remain the worldwide reference
point for men’s fashion.
29

Ermenegildo Zegna Group
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Sales 779.4 712.7 633.9 601.0 661.3
% Increase 9.4 12.4 5.5 -9.1 -4.0
Net Income 63.3 52.6 44.5 38.9 37.4
% Sales
Margin
8.1 7.4 7.0 6.5 5.7
The machine is going at full speed. In 2006 it powered
9.4% growth in sales to €779.4 million and
spurred earnings 20.3% to €63.3 million, closing
with and above all, a sales margin of 8.1%. Gildo is
ready to pump more gas into the engine: “This is a
magic time for luxury – he says – and we have had
the good intuition to up the stakes with 2007 investments
of a size unparalleled in the company’s past
100 years, between the new global stores and the
change of quartier generale”. But more importantly,
the group’s new organisational structure came fully
on stream in January. A Copernican revolution. Of
the kind that is launched once a generation.
So in what way has Zegna group changed?
The essence is that we have changed from a structure
of divisions to a structure of brands: Ermenegildo
Zegna (upper casual and bespoke tailoring), Z Zegna,
Zegna Sport, Leather and accessories and Licensing.
Each brand/category manager is responsible for its
destiny. They must interact with the six global areas
that make up our international network, the real engines
that drive the group, the operational reference.
In addition, they must also dialogue with the group’s
centre, the executive committee managed by yours
truly, to share their strategies. As well as supply chain
management (purchasing and production centre for
everyone), HQ supports each of the brands with
marketing, merchandising, IT, store design, control
and fi nance, and human resource functions.
And the result?
Highly satisfying. We spent a couple of years designing
the new system, with the board and the whole organisation
behind us. We effectively started last January
8, but have already achieved noticeable results in
terms of acceleration and focus.
23/10/2007
LEADERS
Source: Company fi nancial statements
Million euro
But womenswear and textiles are out of the picture.
Precisely. We believe that one of our strengths,
along with the family and the people who work in
the company, is our focus on the Zegna menswear
brand. This enables us to concentrate our fi nancial
and management resources in one area only, which
anyway is highly demanding. I believe that we can
say that the transformation of the company from
manufacturing-driven to retail and marketing-driven
has been as strong as that of the old transformation
from textile to apparel. Now the challenge is to expand
horizontally and retain our leadership. Nevertheless,
in this context, textiles not only streams a
magnifi cent cash fl ow, but plays a key role in that it
both guarantees the purchase function and conserves
the brand’s DNA, thanks to the quality, the tradition
and the innovative soul of our textiles. In terms of
womenswear, the Agnona brand was our acceptance
of a niche challenge. It is a tiny gem with which we
want to seduce the modern woman in search for recherché
luxury.
On the other hand, you have a licensing division…
We discovered licenses three years ago. You could say
that it was a natural step, but also coherent with our
brand strategy, seeing how closely we work with the
licensee: Ysl Beautè for fragrances, De Rigo for eyewear,
Ferragamo for leather goods and shoes (ZeFer, a 50/50
joint venture), and Perofi l for underwear. Each license is
more like a partnership than a third-party contract. On
the other hand, none of our brands is a second line. As
mentioned, they are independent, an umbrella strategy.
But at the same time, they enable us to maximise the
Zegna brand. Just as a luxury carmaker launches different
models aimed at different market segments, Zegna
30

has also created lines that are segmented by target
market. Z Zegna and Zegna Sport, which we defi ne
accessible luxury, are expected to power half the
revenue stream, although we also expect the boom
in the classical segment to continue, where, for example,
our made-to-measure service has a hard job
keeping up with demand but still ensures a fourweek
delivery to Europe and fi ve overseas markets.
Basically, we are a growing stable that is taking off
at a gallop.
23/10/2007
“Trofeo” pinstripe suit
in dark grey
from the sartorial collection
(Sartoria Collection)
LEADERS
And how do you valorise this under one sole umbrella?
With a large retail organisation. Our worldwide
stores, of which we own 200, have surpassed the
500 mark. The plan is to open 50 stores per year to
enable the group to deliver 10% annual growth from
now to 2010. However, the real shift in gear will
happen this year with the Global Store launch. This
concept is in addition to the fl agship store, which
demanded investments worthy of a major luxury
brand. We are talking superstores with surface areas
of some 1000sqm housing the entire Zegna universe.
Each brand will have its own space, a niche in
which to transfer its values, while the whole store
will transmit the idea of walking into the Zegna
home. A strategy that I have personally promoted
and for which we have hired architect Peter Marino,
who is paying scrupulous attention to every
detail and seems to be able to read and interpret our
DNA. The fi rst Global Store will be inaugurated in
Milan’s Via Montenapoleone in the autumn, after
which we will open a Global Store on 5th Avenue
in New York before year-end and then one in Tokyo
by mid-2008.
It seems like a huge commitment…
To which needs to be added that of the move, slated
for October, of the group’s HQ to the old Riva
Calzoni building in Via Savona, Milan, where most
of the new organisation will operate from. The HQ
will offer all the necessary services: underground car
park, showroom, even a mini-theatre. A leap in size
and quality that will mark the dawning of a new historical
cycle. On top of which we are accelerating
the communication investments across the entire
brand portfolio.
A commitment to exploit the economic cycle?
Let’s just say that we upped the stakes at the right
time. We plan these things in advance and if we
hadn’t had a warm-up period, proposing the new
organisation, we would not have been able to seize
this magic luxury moment. The sector is getting
close to pre-11 September levels, but in a market
that is not only better distributed but solider.
31

How important is it to successfully anticipate
such moves?
Fundamental. We have been anticipating the market
since my grandfather’s time because if you then
get it wrong, it costs less. That is, we invest before
the boom arrives.
And it’s easier to change tack. Like our recent experience
in Germany, where we planned the recovery
fi ve years before Merkel was voted into power and
started to open stores in the major cities in anticipation
of the turnaround. Now, the engine is purring
and growth has added on 30% in the last two
years. We did the same in Japan, where, however,
our budget of three years ago was based on a full
recovery in 2007. But we will have to wait a bit
longer, even though we still grew 13% in 2006 while
many of our competitors stalled.
And looking forward?
We already anticipated the trend in China and
are seeking to mirror that in India, where we just
opened our Bombay store. We need to understand
23/10/2007
LEADERS
Zegna Buenos Aires
store
that the developing countries are driving growth
and account for around 20% of sales. Going forward,
the real surprises could arrive from South America.
We were among the fi rst to open stores in Mexico,
Brazil and Argentina. But we also have a presence in
Lima, Bogotá, Santiago and Panama. We have about
20 stores at present and plan to open as many as 50
by 2010. We believe Latin America will prove to be
a small-scale big China.
And all achieved without seeking fi nancial resources
from the stock market. In addition, Zegna
closed 2006 with a net fi nancial position of euro
120 million. But both Valentino Fashion Group and
your competitor Hugo Boss have just been acquired
at stratospheric multiples. Does that not prompt
you to create market value for Zegna?
The answer is the same as always. No stock market.
As regards offers, we are willing to listen to anyone
who comes to talk to us. Even that is a way to learn
and enrich oneself, both as a manager and as an individual.
32

“When your own initials are
enough”: exclusive luxury by
Tomas Maier
Bottega Veneta is one of the most desired luxury brands
in the world and among the most coveted by international
stars and actresses.
For this reason, we decided to interview the creator of
this extremely successful collection: Tomas Maier.
Of German origin, today Tomas lives in New York,
Paris and Miami. Having designed the collections
of other luxury brands, among which Revillon, Guy
Laroche and, more recently, Hermes, in 2001 Tomas
Maier became creative director for Bottega Veneta, a
23/10/2007
G
DESI NERS
Tomas Maier
few months after its takeover by the Gucci Group. In
just a few years he brought the brand to the level of
international luxury, a brand which today exemplifi es
a real lifestyle, extending last year also to jewellery and
home design.
He has succeeded in achieving the diffi cult objective
of combining a wonderful traditional handicraft with
brilliant sales results. In fact, the company closed 2006
with a turnover of 267 million euro, a 67% increase
over the previous year, and 100 stores worldwide.
33

Was it diffi cult for you to accept the role of creative
director of a brand associated with a great tradition
like Bottega Veneta?
I would say no. I accepted the position with great enthusiasm
after visiting the company in Vicenza. It was
there, in fact, that I fully understood the great value of
the product and how much the brand expressed the
refi ned and detailed craftwork, solely and exclusively
Italian.
And what were your fi rst steps in the company?
My fi rst intention was to reinforce the brand DNA,
and identify it strongly with a lifestyle of luxury and
sophistication, embracing only the value of the product.
This concept is represented perfectly in the Bottega
Veneta motto, which was and still is, “when your
own initials are enough;” enough, that is, to express
the value of the evident craftsmanship which has no
need for a logo, for me today’s expression of a luxury
that is a little decadent. It is this which is prized by
the consumer; a refi ned and exclusive, never over-stated
fashion, just at the time when the market is dominated
by products with logos.
Is this why you created the Bottega Veneta School?
Certainly, the Bottega Veneta school aims to familiarise
young people with tradition. It runs a free course
lasting three years, open to those between 18 and 25
(with priority given to local students). We have already
received 200 applications and have selected and
Cabat Ebano
23/10/2007
G
DESI NERS
accepted 15. It is an investment in the future of the
company, which I hope serves to strengthen respect
for a tradition today in danger of extinction.
What was your approach to fashion? Have you
always thought of making it your career?
My father was an architect and he wanted me to go to
a Rudolf Steiner school, with a view to developing individual
creativity. As a child, I used to go with him to
museums and exhibitions and I followed him around
at work. It is from him that I learnt a feeling for beauty
and to pay great attention to detail in everything. Probably,
had it not been for my huge interest in fashion,
I would have become an architect too.
Are there recurring sources of inspiration in your
collections?
Yes, everything around me. I am incredibly curious.
My creative processes start from colour; only after that
I study shape and materials. If it comes to designing
a bag, I prepare masses of sketches, but for a dress I
prefer to work directly on the dummy or even on the
live model. I don’t want to make clothes with only
the woman with a perfect fi gure in mind, but I want
them to look good on women of all types, with different
physical characteristics, even a different character.
I don’t usually fi rst notice clothes when I look at a
person, but I do notice the detail in their outfi t. And
then what strikes me most about someone is the look
in their eyes, not what they are wearing.
34

What is it that defi nes value in a Bottega Veneta bag?
First of all, the superb quality of the leather, sometimes
so soft that it feels like silk, and the extraordinary
workmanship. It is enough to imagine that the strips
of leather (an average of 77 per bag, each 1.30 metres
long) are braided and then sewn all by hand. The
expert craftspeople who make
them do not use gloves or thim-
bles, so as not to limit in any way
their sense of touch, and it takes
them on average three days to
make a bag.
What advice would you give to a young person who
wants to be a designer?
To show a great deal of perseverance, but especially
to keep in mind their own vision of things and their
own style at all times, regardless of bombardments of
media infl uence.
What advice would you give to a young person who
wants to be a designer?
I think about design all the time. Certainly, the needs
and desires of those who wear my clothes and carry
my bags stimulate and motivate me creatively. When
I design, however, more than the needs of the market,
I think everything has to refl ect and render the best of
the world of fashion, and now, after 6 years, I must say
that it comes to me quite naturally.
Bottega Veneta is famous especially for its bags, is there
one which you are particularly fond of?
I like them all; I would be a liar if I said I didn’t, but the
one I use most is the Cabat, which I take with me when
I think about design
all the time
23/10/2007
G
DESI NERS
I travel. It is the one which best encompasses the spirit
of the brand.
Is your approach different when designing collections
for the Vicenza brand from those bearing your
own name?
My designs for Bottega Veneta
are realised in Italy and express
the essence of “Made in Italy.”
The Tomas Maier collections are
produced in Florida, where I live
for most of the year, and are for
different customers. However,
the two target markets are not always incompatible;
in fact there are people who can use and appreciate
both collections.
How do you see yourself and Bottega Veneta in
twenty years’ time?
I hope I’ll still have the same passion and inspiration
that I have now. I hope Bottega Veneta becomes a
lifestyle brand increasingly important at international
level, but not too big – I’m not interested in seeing
millions of articles all over, but those which keep their
exclusivity intact.
What are your next plans for Bottega Veneta?
My pet project today is perfume, which is now at
development stage. It’s a project that fascinates me
very much and is expected to be completed within
two years. It will be the fi rst perfume for this brand
and, it goes without saying, will have to be highly
recognisable and best representing its essence, “When
your own initials are enough.”
35

Barely containing our excitement, we meet Vivienne
Westwood, a real international fashion star, a multi-faceted
fi gure whose long career has seen her as the icon
of punk, a fi ne connoisseur of the strict codes of English
tailoring and the epitome of English culture and style. Her
show at the Victoria & Albert Museum has been amazingly
successful, leading to a touring exhibition of her
work that has taken in major international cities the likes
of Tokyo, Shanghai, Düsseldorf…and has now hit Milan.
Indeed, Palazzo Reale has opened its doors for the fi rst
time to an individual fashion designer, a true “one-woman”
retrospective of her creations since the time of her
debut. Westwood is also the only designer to have been
invested with the title of Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for
her valuable contribution to the fashion world. Her creativity
is irreverent, she is capable like few others of melding
subversion with haute tailoring, tradition with irony.
And she is defi nitely a trailblazer in the effective lifestyle
communication that she creates around her pieces.
23/10/2007
G
DESI NERS
Vivienne Westwood, when
irreverence becomes style
Vivienne Westwood
What has made this show so successful?
I’m the fi rst to be astonished at so much success! Even
though, per force, what you see is only a minute part of
my output in so many years. Of course, the exhibition
involved a huge job of repertory, not so much the room
dedicated to my fi rst collections, which were smaller,
as the other rooms for the later years. The clothes were
stored in a vast archive and it wasn’t easy to make the
selection; the most important criterion was to demonstrate
the continuity of the design path from my initial
collections through those of recent years. The fi nal
pieces are from the spring/summer 2004 line.
You were a punk icon, but your later collections highlighted
a strict English tailoring tradition that wasn’t
exactly in tune with subversive youth. Are, rigour and
rebellion the two sides of your style or its evolution?
Transgression today equals standardisation. It is nothing
more than another creative development: rigour
36

G
DESI NERS
On Liberty A/W 1994-95 “Blue mock - crock” wedges 1993
and rebellion fuse into the character of the corsair who
receives a message, battles at sea and is received by the
queen on merit.
The current scenario sees the most important designer
labels take the road to profi t by dangerously standardising
products. What do you think?
People haven’t understood that true transgression today
lies in repetition. Armani has the commercial soul of a
true transgressor. What was perceived as transgressive
once has now become standard.
Your company is a unique example of the capacity to
reconcile business with creativity, what is the secret?
My good fortune, after 34 years in the fashion business,
is that of being completely independent . My brand is
my own property, it is not part of one of those “large
groups” and so I don’t have a businessman telling me
what I should do for the good of the business, at the
Cafè Sociey S/S 1994
23/10/2007
cost of my creativity. My motivations also remain the
same as when I started, even though, the years travelled
and the attainment of fame have led me to create
increasingly richer contents for my collections because
that is what my public expects of me. I believe that
a successful product of the present day needs to be
made by aiming for high quality standards and taste,
with pieces that everyone can mix and match with others
to create their own style. My pieces might be more
anti-establishment now than in the past if we identify
establishment with dullness.
You produce some of your lines in Italy, how is your
relationship with our fashion industry?
I enjoy good relations with the Italian companies,
which I appreciate for their fl exibility and craftsmanship,
made possible thanks to their small and medium
size. Therefore, these companies are able to follow my
creativity based on a “local global” logic.
37

Menswear collection S/S 2008
Do you think it is still possible today for a young
designer to launch his/her own line? If yes, is there a
country that favours this more?
It’s tough, really tough, the large groups have raised
the entry barriers, lightening examples are Dior and
Galliano. Costs have increased tenfold, but sales have
not. Today’s infrastructures are very expensive, just
think, for example, of how much a one-page ad in
Vogue America costs.
You often appear in your own advertising campaigns
and often use models that look like you. How would
you defi ne yourself and how would you describe the
woman who buys your clothes?
I do it as a game, spurred on by my team and sometimes
I even like it. My clients are hard to label and are
not really pushed by standardised marketing messages,
but by their passion for fashion and clothing.
Which of your past collections best represents
you?
The collections I love most are the latest ones, those
on which we are still working and aren’t fi nished yet.
And is there something you haven’t designed yet
but would like to?
The uniforms for going to the moon.
You have also taught at the Academy of Applied
Arts in Vienna, what was the thing you repeated most
to your students?
When I teach, I insist on explaining to my students
how clothing was so admirably constructed in historical
times. For example, if you have expert knowledge
of how a 19th-century corset was made, it isn’t diffi
cult to make a totally up-to-date version. My corsets
23/10/2007
G
DESI NERS
Womenswear collection A/W 2007
are inspired by historical garments, but are based on a
highly modern concept: instead of the whalebone ribs
I have used stretch fabric, instead of the lacing, I’ve
used a zip.
What are your sons doing now? What advice have
you given them?
I have two sons. The fi rst-born, Benjamin, is now 44
years old and works as a photographer of eroticism,
often exhibiting and showing his work to much acclaim.
Joseph, on the other hand, four years younger,
has made me a grandmother and has opened the store
“Agent Provocateur”; he has always been interested in
fashion even when he was a punk. The only infl uence
I have had on my sons was the desire to transmit to
them sound moral values, and so it has been. For the
rest, I’ve always respected their point of view, even
when they were little more than kids.
Provocation, irony, tailoring, marketing: what prevails
now in your collections?
The product, the item of clothing. It’s always been
that who has the image wants the product and vice
versa.
And what prevailed 20 years ago?
Without big industry to support it, the world of fashion
was more theoretical than practical. Nowadays
it is more oriented to specifi c business logics, where,
however, creativity must always retain its space.
And while we’re on the subject, how do you see
things in ten years time? It seems you’re not too inclined
to get old…
Our work is that of a team, only if the team disappears
does one get old.
38

G
DESI NERS
Piero Lissoni, the designer
who never wants to grow up
Piero Lissoni, the Italian designer who in 2005 was
awarded a place in America’s Halls of Fame of Interior
Design, one of the highest industry recognitions worldwide,
recently celebrated his 50th. A milestone in a professional
career that has seen the designer test his skills in
the most disparate fi elds. Infusing not only home objects
and furniture with his crisp and essential design, but also
homes, hotels, showrooms, restaurants and yachts planet-wide.
In addition to an eclectic range of design objects,
Lissoni has designed a number of showrooms, from Boffi
’s to Cassina’s, the Milan store of Porro, American fashion
designer Elie Tahari’s store, the Mitsui Garden Hotel
at Ginza, the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, the Zanini
23/10/2007
Piero Lissoni
cake and pastry shop in Venice, the new Milan offi ces of
La Rinascente group, and the interiors of the Shangri-La
Hotel & Living Residence in Miami, due to open next
year. Self-profi led as incoherent, lover of imperfection
and infected with the Peter Pan syndrome, Piero Lissoni
currently lives and works in Milan from his studio staffed
with more than 70 collaborators that he defi nes as “the
realm of anarchy”. He is very rarely apart from his three
golden retrievers, who never let him out of their sight:
Sofi a (with eyes as beautiful as those of Sophia Loren,
he explains), Caterina (with the authoritarian nature of
Catherine the Great of Russia) and Sati (like “Satisfaction”,
the Rolling Stones’ hit).
39

Mamilla Hotel, Jerusalem Friz Hansen Collection
Do you ever think you could have been something
else other than a designer?
As a boy I thought I’d be a ski instructor and I did
come close.
I thought it would be a profession of never-ending
holiday, surrounded by lots of beautiful girls… That
aside, I love the mountains, for their infi nite contact
with nature, albeit with perceptible measures; I can
go mountain-climbing with the friends with whom I
share mountain experiences and remain a long time in
silence, a silence loaded with words, as happens only
in the mountains.
What led you to choose this profession?
I chose to become an architect because it is the profession
that enables you to prolong childhood games
more than any other.
Indeed, as a kid, one plays with small bulldozers, as an
adult I deal with the big construction site bulldozers,
fi rst you build Lego houses and then you build them
with bricks and cement. In essence, design is architecture
applied to objects of everyday use.
Mandarin Hotel, Dellis Cay
23/10/2007
G
DESI NERS
You’ve been defi ned as the “poet of minimalism”,
can you identify with it?
If minimal means simple and not stripped down, then
yes: I like a kind of approach to simplicity, understood
as a diverse way of imagining life. Humans are complex
animals, sometimes complicated, and simplifying
their life through my work is something that gives me
satisfaction.
Your son works with you. He even seems to have
promise: the cow he designed for the Milan Cow Parade
fetched a record-breaking €24,000 at the auction,
the highest price of them all… What advice do
you give him?
Francesco, who is now 25 years old, is temporarily on
my team but is responsible for 3D images, so he works
exclusively on the computer, after which he will go
abroad for a while. My advice to him, as it would be
to any young designer, in any fi eld, is to go to India
or China, as well as London, which are still places
that breathe creativity. These are enthusiastic-minded
countries that offer the right creative hummus for
40

creative professionals. My advice to those who want
to embark on this career, either as an architect or
designer, is to acquire a basic foundation in the arts:
what use is being able to talk the refi ned language of
nano-technology and molecular modifi cations if you
know zero about Ancient Greece? I would also advise
reading poetry and lots and lots of books: literature is
a way to interpret life. The studio boasts a library of
5000 volumes.
In what way is your creative process infl uenced by
the needs of the benefi ciaries of your projects?
Yes, everything around me. I am incredibly curious.
As designers we are often healthy “ego carriers”, therefore
we don’t much think of the fi nal user. Industrial
design and its use, however, are two inseparable elements.
I design with a team that translates the needs
of the client company and not thanks to my illuminating
vision. The creative process is a shared enterprise,
with feedback fl owing between me and the rest of the
team and the client.
When can you say that a product designed by you
is a “success”?
The banal reply would be “when it sells well and I
receive some hefty royalties”, but those products are
not always the ones that give me the most satisfaction.
Some projects I really love have worked out less well.
I don’t believe in the marketing geniuses that decree
how successful the product will be. Sure, I understand
the techniques that trigger certain logics and interpret
certain behaviour, but it annoys me when the studies
and analyses are used to ensure that one thing rather
than another is more acceptable.
Would you agree that design has expanded its horizons
to encompass almost any fi eld?
Not quite, for example, I believe that food design is a
sign of decay. I agree with advancing the evolution of
food in terms of the sensorial nature of fl avour, of the
various levels of perception, but food design concerns
Sidewall Porro Jetty Livingdivani
23/10/2007
G
DESI NERS
solely the aesthetics, at the risk of abusing its essence.
This is a case of meddling with design that I could well
do without.
What is your idea of contemporary beauty?
Contemporary beauty is the result of the stratifi cation
of past elements that have their own history and life.
Only ignorant people buy everything brand new and
obviously so. An example of contemporary design that
I really like is the new Fiat 500, which, stripped of its
less beautiful parts, evokes the idea of playfulness and
pleasure, highly modern but with strong references to
the past.
Is there something from which you would never be
separated?
Not really material objects, which come and go, but
affections, I could never give up the friendship I have
with the persons I love. I know it seems banal, but
that’s the way it is.
How do you see yourself ten years down the line?
The same as now. Sometimes people accuse me, usually
theocratic moralists, of having a Peter Pan syndrome.
My grandfather used to say that there is always time to
get old, even Peter Pan grows, he just doesn’t get old.
It’s like I said before, my job lets me play continually.
Is there something you haven’t yet done and that
you’d really like to design?
Can I confess. Well, actually, every so often I think I’d
like to design the liquorice stick that holds lemon ice
cream. I went nuts for it as a kid but I could never really
enjoy it to the full because I’d get so messy and I
found it really non-functional. Here we go again with
the Peter Pan syndrome…
Is there a future project that you hold dear to your
heart?
Yes, but nothing to do with work…I’d like to go to
bike-riding around Chile.
41

SHOP OPENINGS
Zegna relaunches superluxury with three
new global stores
“This store has to become a military
engine, if only because we’ve
invested far more than usual in it”.
Words, spoken by Gildo Zegna,
CEO of Zegna group as he sits
next to the green marble fireplace
on the third floor of the new global
store in Via Montenapoleone,
First Ferrari store opens
in Barcelona
Ferrari has arrived on Spanish soil. The company
has opened a store at Barcelona El Prat airport.
The 40 sq m store stocks Cavallino Rampante’s
complete travel-retail products. The store has
a broad appeal to everyone from Formula 1
and Grand Turismo enthusiasts to children and
collectors alike. It is the first Ferrari store in
Europe (outside Italy), and the company operates
16 stores worldwide plus six airport stores.
Milan, that reflect his solitary pragmatism.
Inaugurated yesterday, the
store (700sqm across four floors)
was designed by American architect
Peter Marino and is the first of three
global stores planned by Zegna. The
other two will open next year, the
first on New York’s Fifth Avenue,
23/10/2007
the second at Shinjuku in Tokyo.
“We have climbed to the level that
is now called “überluxury”, a level
that transcends simple luxury”, adds
Mr. Zegna. Just back from a trip
to the Far East, Zegna’s CEO still
seems nonplussed by his impressions
of the place: “In Asia, there’s
an absolute craving for anything
Italian, the cities compete against
each other, Hong Kong with
Shanghai, Shanghai with Singapore,
an increasingly important financial
hub, and then Macao, which has
become the Las Vegas of Asia. And
the demand for menswear, as well
as accessories now, beats that for
womenswear. Our future investments
will be concentrated there
more than anywhere else: the East,
including Eastern Europe, is the
growth driver”. (Extract from “Il Sole 24
Ore” of 26/10/07. Edited by PW)
Moschino to open
new boutique in
St. Petersburg
Italian label, Moschino, is about to open a new
boutique in the historical shopping centre of
Saint Petersburg.
Moschino will open a 270 metre squared boutique
in Bolshoj Prospekt, in partnership with
luxury clothing brand Bosco di Ciliegi, with
whom they opened two other boutiques in
Moscow, one in Petrovski Passage in 2003
and the other in the GUM mall in July 2004.
Moschino has created a retail enchantment -
the interior design of the boutique stores are a
take on the theme of a fairy tale.
A heart-shaped handle, one of the symbols of
Moschino, opens the door onto an area of pale
and luminous colour that transforms the classic
furnishings into the main characters of a
tale set in an enchanted forest.
The store will carry the full complement of
Moschino products, including the Moschino
signature line; the lower-priced collection,
Cheap and Chic by Moschino; the men’s line;
Moschino jeans and accessories.
42

Bottega Veneta opens
in Ukraine
Bottega Veneta has entered the Ukrainian market
with the opening of its first exclusive store in Kiev,
located in the prestigious Kiev Passage on 42-44
Shelkovichnaya Street. The store covers 160 square-metres
and is set over two floors, with 2 large
windows facing the street and the entrance of the
gallery. The store carries the full compliment of
Bottega Veneta products – bags, men’s and women’s
ready-to-wear collections, leather goods, footwear,
and home collection.
Ferragamo: from New York
to Shanghai over 100
store openings
There are over 100 Ferragamo stores in 65
airports in every corner of the world from
Chicago to Atlanta, New York, Honolulu, Santa
Fe de Bogotà, Mexico City, Tamuning, Caracas
and Los Angeles. From Rome-Fiumicino to
Tokyo, Taipei, Ho-Chi-Minh, Manila, Bangkok,
Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Shangai and
Sydney, to name but a few. The opening of
stores in airports throughout the world is
an important part of Ferragamo’s corporate
strategy and represents 10% of annual retail
sales. Last year, the Florentine company
reported an estimated €650 million in revenue
(wholesale). Around 15-20 stores open every
year. In 2007 Ferragamo opened 16 stores
- 2 stores in Moscow airport, 2 stores in the
Middle East (Dubai and Quatar) and 6 stores
in Asia (Singapore, Beijing, Taipei and New
New Ho-ChiMinh City International Airport,
in Vietnam). (Extract from “Il Sole 24 Ore” of 4/11/07.
Edited by PW)
SHOP OPENINGS
23/10/2007
Burberry,
opening in Tokyo
The new Burberry store has opened in the Shin
Tokyo Building in the Marunouchi district,
Tokyo’s premier luxury retail area located in
the city’s prestigious central business district.
It encompasses 1.020 square-metres and
extends over one floor. The store façade features
a graphic three dimensional representation
of the trademark check in glass and silk screen
print. An important feature of the store is the
central accessories hall and a shoe room. The
Burberry London lines will also be showcased
across menswear, womenswear and accessories
product categories.
Pasquale Bruni lands
in Dubai
Bruni, luxury
jewellery
retailer, celebrated
its
10th anniversary
this year.
One of “Made
In Italy” brand
leaders of
exclusive,
handcrafted
jewellery is
increasing its
global presence
in two very successful markets, the United
Arab Emirates and in particular, Dubai. It recently
launched its first boutique in the prestigious Wafi
Mall in Dubai, home to other well-known luxury
fashion brands. An opportunity not to be missed as
Dubai is the biggest textile fashion market among
the six Persian Gulf countries for European products.
Sales abroad represent 50% of the company’s
turnover and in the first half of 2007 Bruni reported
a 20% increase in revenue alone.
43

SHOP OPENINGS
Yamamoto arrives in Belgium
Shop openings in short
JIL SANDER LANDS
IN RED SQUARE
Jil Sander has opened its first
boutique in Moscow. The
boutique covers 180 square-feet
and is located in the luxurious
department store GUM on Red
Square. Jil Sander’s plans are
to grow its retail chain with
new shop-in-shops in the Vesna
Mall and open a new store
in St. Petersberg. (Extract from
“Affari&Finanza” of 5/11/07. Edited by
PW)
LOUIS VUITTON
OPENS A NEW STORE
IN MOKA IN LA
23/10/2007
In the heart of Antwerp,
the ModeNatie building
houses the likes
of the Flanders Fashion
Institute, the Antwerp
Fashion Academy and
MoMu, the Fashion
Museum.
Now, Yohji Yamamoto
will unveil his newest
boutique in this building,
respecting the story
carried within the walls,
and restoring this space
into its original form.
Inhabiting over 960
m2, Yohji Yamamoto’s
Antwerp Boutique is
the largest flagship store
worldwide to date.
Built in the neo-classical
tradition and con-
Louis Vuitton opened yet
another store in LA on 29
October when MOKA (the
Museum of Contemporary Art)
presented a Murakami (Japonese
artist) retrospective. It features
Murakami’s merchandise, new
limited edition items, which will
be on sale from 29 October to 11
February. The 95- square metre
space has been designed and
developed by Louis Vuitton and
will showcase legendary items
that Murakami created for Vuitton
in the past.
structed at the end of
the 19th century, the
ModeNatie, which skirts
the Nationalestraat, was
once home to a grand
hotel and also a gentleman’s
bespoke tailor.
The boutique is housed
on a single floor and
will carry the Women’s
and Men’s lines Yohji
Yamamoto, Y’s and Y’s
Mandarina.
Furthermore, the shop
will preview the line
Limi Feu, a collection of
women’s clothing by Limi
Yamamoto as well as the
entire new line of fine
jewelry StormyWeather
created as a joint project
with Mikimoto.
CALVIN KLEIN JEANS
OPENS IN MINSK
Calvin Klein, has announced
the opening of a new Calvin
Klein Jeans store in Belarus
capital, Minsk located in the
Korona Shopping Mall 24 in
Kalvariyskaya.
The 140 square metre store has
a neutral background and will
carry the full complement of
Calvin Klein jeans, including
casual apparel, sweaters,
lingerie and accessories.
44

MANAGERS
Gap: Calhoun President
of Banana Republic
Gap Inc. announced that Jack Calhoun has been
appointed president of Banana Republic, effective
immediately. Calhoun, 43, has been serving as interim
president since February 2007 when his predecessor,
Marka Hansen, was appointed president
of Gap North America. He will continue to report
to Gap Inc. Chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy.
“It is a privilege to lead Banana Republic and the
talented team that we have” said Mr. Calhoun.
“Banana Republic is a very strong brand with a great
heritage. I am excited to have the opportunity to
help the brand reach its full potential.” (Extract from
“FrashionMag.fr” of 16/10/07. Edited by PW)
Patrick Bizot leaves
Clarins
Patrick Bizot has resigned from his position as
chairman of eponymous French beauty brand
Clarins. Bizot was appointed in 2000. His reasons
for leaving the company have not been divulged.
Speculation had been rising that the recent
appointments of 2 new Vice Presidents may have
interfered with Bizot’s field of action within the
company. No replacement has yet been named.
(Extract from “FrashionMag.fr” of 16/10/07. Edited by PW)
Brooks Brothers: appoints
Diane Hamilton new
President and COO
Diane Hamilton is the new president/COO of
Brooks Brothers. Hamilton will report directly
to Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and CEO of
the company.
She previously co-founded Lighthouse Retail
where she was involved in corporate strategy,
marketing, operations and new business.
She has also worked for Price Waterhouse
Coopers, May Company Department Stores,
Marshall’s and Associated Dry Goods.
In her new position, Hamilton will manage
all operational sectors of the company, as well
as supply chains, manufacturing and human
resources. (Extract from “Fashionmagazine.it” of
25/10/07. Edited by PW)
23/10/2007
Sassi: new designer by the
end of the year
“A new designer for Valentino’s men’s division will be
announced before the end of the year”, the maison’s
CEO, Stefano Sassi said. “The next line to be presented
at Fashion Week in Milan next January will be
created by this new designer”. “We have already made
the choices which we considered the most important
- the women’s wear line and accessories, whereas the
men’s wear line is still marginal and requires someone
who can help us develop it further,” he added.
“The choice”, Sassi explained, “will be made using the
same criterion we used for the other ones and being
Italian will not be a secondary factor”. (Extract from
“Ansa” of 18/10/07. Edited by PW)
Cerruti names Knott
Creative Director
Cerruti, the Italian label famed for dressing more movies
than any other fashion brand, has hired Jean-Paul
Knott to be its new artistic director of both its men’s
and women’s collections. Knott succeeds Nicolas Taralis,
who has left the company after creating two men’s
collections. Knott, who was already been designing
Cerruti’s more populist 1881 line, is a quirky iconoclast
who has won admirers for his arty vision and austere
shows. (Extract from “The Daily Fix” of 25/10/07. Edited by PW)
Cacharel appoints new
joint Artistic Directors
behind Eley Kishimoto
Cacharel named the duo behind Eley Kishimoto,
Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto, as the new joint
artistic directors of the label. Their debut collection
for Cacharel will be Autumn/Winter 2008.
They will effectively succeed the design duo of
Ignacio Ribiero and Suzanne Clements who left
the label in mid-June. Previously, in September,
Cacharel had nominated Spanish designer Estrella
Archs, as creative director.
Cacharel recently appointed Philippe Cardon as
their new CEO. He formerly headed Vivarte, the
apparel and footwear company, and shoe firm,
Charles Jourdan (until 2005).
Cardon substituted Chrystel Abadie-Truchet, who
now heads CWF (Children Worldwide Fashion),
who in turn, substituted Yves Martin.
(Extract from “Fashionmagazine.it” of 23/10/07. Edited by PW)
45

Stéphanie Seymour is
the new face of Chantelle
Stephanie Seymour will become the new ambassador
for Chantelle. The high-end French lingerie brand will
feature images of this super model from the ‘80s, shot by
photographer, Peter Lindbergh, in its new ad campaign.
Seymour has been a Chantelle client for many years and
happily accepted to pose for the ad campaign. Created
by agency Storm, Paris, and crafted by Swiss artistic
director Alvaro Maggini, the campaign will feature black
and white images of Seymour with the tagline “Beyond
Beauty” (which will be translated in numerous languages)
and the brand name written in gold (the trademark
colour of the brand). Chantelle will debut its new ad
campaign with Seymour in November 2007.
Birkhold new Ceo of
Diesel USA
Diesel announced the appointment of Steve
Birkhold as CEO of Diesel USA. Birkhold is
replacing Panico Philippou, who was appointed
CEO in January of 2004. He was with the company
for a total of 12 years. Birkhold is an 11 year
veteran of VF Corp, with his most recent position
as general manager of its Nautica Jeans business.
He was also president of VF’s Earl Jean brand from
2004 until it was sold to Jordache in 2006.
Janice Sullivan is
President of Calvin Klein
Jeans
Warnaco announced the appointment of Janice
Sullivan as President of Calvin Klein Jeans division.
The Group reported a profit growth of 14% at the
close of the third quarter of 2007. Sullivan previously
served as President of Narciso Rodriguez, owned by
Liz Clairborne Inc. Previously, she spent more than
17 years working with DKNY. Sullivan is replacing
Patricia J. Royak, who is leaving the Company.
Sullivan will oversee design, development, merchandising,
marketing and sales for the Calvin Klein Jeans
brand in the Americas and will report directly to
Frank Tworecke, President of the Sportswear Group.
“We are extremely pleased to have her on board”, says
Tworecke. “Her experience in the denim arena and
her proven ability in running a premier lifestyle brand
will complement our worldwide Calvin Klein Jeans
team as we continue to build our global business”.
MANAGERS
23/10/2007
Executive changes
at Valentino
The management shake-up at Valentino Spa continues
as Valentino makes a number of management
appointments to support the company’s future
growth. Rossana Bianchi has been named director
of Valentino’s European retail operations; Mitsuyasu
Matsumi has become CEO of Valentino Japan and
Paolo Riva will oversee Product Marketing. Valentino
has also appointed Marco Sani as operations manager
for footwear and leather goods, a newly created position
and Oliver Yang has been named chief executive
of Valentino Asia Pacific. He will replace Giovanni Di
Salvo, who is leaving the company at the end of the
year.
Michela Piva appointed
Gianfranco Ferré Ceo
Michela Piva has been named as the new Chief
Executive of Gianfranco Ferré S.p.A succeeding
Massimo Macchi. Piva, 43, has worked for Ferre
since 2003 holding various executive positions in
Europe, Asia and the United States.
She was in charge of developing the US market
for IT Holding till 2004. In June 2004, Piva
became Marketing and Merchandising Director of
Gianfranco Ferre.
Laroche names Marcel
Marongiu as Consulting
Artistic Director
Guy Laroche is taking another crack at reviving its
fashion business. The house, which is owned by China’s
YGM Trading, has appointed Marcel Marongiu as consulting
artistic director. A Swede who closed his own
Paris house over a year ago after a conflict with his
Japanese shareholder, Marongiu, 45, is expected to
devote most of his attention to Laroche.
However, he will continue to maintain his other consulting
gigs, including the French porcelain business Artoria
and several textile companies. Margongiu’s appointment
comes over a year after Laroche parted ways with
Hervé L. Leroux — the former Hervé Léger — who
had given the house momentum during his two years
at the design helm. “Laroche is meant to be pragmatic
and creative but very wearable,” offered Marongiu, who
added he would emphasize the house’s couture heritage
for striking evening gowns. “Laroche is not about
ephemeral fashion,” said the designer. “We need to recreate
an identity.”
46

PRODUCTS
Blue Scorpion, 53 metres by Baglietto
Planned with four bridges, the 53 metres long displacement
Blue Scorpion by Baglietto of Gruppo Baglietto
has a steel made hull, an aluminium made superstructure
and clean, stringy lines. Designed by Francesco
Paszkowski, a contemporary nautical design’ star, is fitted
with two reliable Caterpillar 3516 B DITA SWAC
(2.637 hp for each one). They allow to reach a cruise
speed of 15,5 knots and a maximum one of 17 knots.
Range is very high: 4.500 n.m. For the interiors the
owner kept the previous launched Blue Scorpion (42
metres) design and left free his genuine passion for
the oriental handcrafts: on the boat there are furniture,
paintings, valuables harmoniously combined in this
modern and quite Spartan context. To relax the owner
and his guests the large flying bridge houses a true oasis
where we find an oval table, a Jacuzzi tub surrounded
by a semi-circular sofa and by six comfortable sun
beds. On the foredeck there is a bris soleil to mechani-
23/10/2007
cally swing. Also the other yacht’s spaces, characterized
by the contrast between moquette’s light colour and
deep dark furniture, has been planned to give comfort
to guests. The upper deck is designed with gym, salon
and high-tech deep blue-china wheelhouse, fitted with
the most innovative navigation and communication
systems; near the wheelhouse the pantry directly leads
to the captain’s cabin. The main deck includes a dining
room, with an oval table for 12 people, parted from the
salon by an very particular antique: it’s a bulkhead decorated
with a wonderful mystic-inspired rose window.
The salon, characterized by a warm and strict oriental
essentiality, combined precious simplicity of furniture,
Japanese paintings and bonsai-tree. On board we find
wengè on the floor, covered by coconut mats, and dark
oak with wengè details for furniture.
From the salon, through a sliding glass door, we reach
the aft cockpit, fitted with sofas, armchairs and a coffee
table.
Cantieri di Pisa presented its new Akhir models
To commemorate the 2007 opening of the
Monaco Yacht Show, Cantieri di Pisa presented its
new Akhir models. After more than thirty years
since its first launch, these models continue to be
the pride of the shipyard. The launch of the five
new yacht models on the market is an indication
of how Camuzzi Group, who acquired Cantieri
di Pisa in 2005, intends to promote the historical
tradition and the distinguishing mark of the
Tuscan Shipyard: quality, comfort, elegance and
sophisticated design. The acquisition, therefore, has not only financial implications but also a strong industrial
slant, with important consequences from an economic, as well as organisational, point of view. The shipyard’s
production strength has increased by the recent acquisition of 2 Tunisian shipyards, specialising in the production
of composite material parts, which are distinguishing features of these yachts. The new Akhir models were
designed by architect, Carlo Galeazzi, who was inspired by architect Pierluigi Spadolini, a pioneer of a series of
successful designs at the beginning of the 1970’s. The range will comprise 5 models - 86’ 108’ 118’ 135’ 153’,
the most important of which, is the Akhir 135 due to be launched next season.
47

ADS & EVENTS
PUMA celebrates the creativity of new talent
JOCHEN ZEITZ
Omega sailing
ambassadors compete
in Trieste
BARKER, COUTTS AND KUSZNIEREWICZ
The three Omega brand sailing ambassadors,
Russell Coutts (triple winner of the America’s
Cup), Dean Barker and Mateusz Kusznierewicz
will compete in the RC44 Cup and the Barcolana
Cup 39 held in Trieste. The ten RC44, 44-foot
one-design monohulls, designed by Coutts and
developed by Andrej Justin will compete in the
penultimate race of the RC 44 international
Championship Tour. After 4 days the race was
won by Aqua Team, Omega Team came fourth,
followed by Es Bankers Team, helmed by Dean
Barker (his first time on a RC44).
On Sunday 14 October Coutts’ Omega Team,
Barker’s Es Bankers Team and Kusznierewicz’s
Organika Team were on the starting line at the
Barcolana Regatta 39 together with 1831 other
boats of every shape and size.
23/10/2007
PUMA and Central Saint Martins, the prestigious
college of art and design, have been closely linked
since London Fashion Week when the iconic sports
brand founded the PUMA Bursary Fund (to help
finance the education of future fashion talent).
PUMA launched a special re-design competition,
which saw Menswear MA fashion students re-design
some of PUMA’s most iconic footwear styles. All 3
winning graduates will have a limited edition run
of their footwear styles produced and sold in key
PUMA concept stores nationwide.
This is a great publicity opportunity for the winners.
A significant contribution from the sales proceeds
will be donated to the PUMA bursary fund.
Matthew Goode: inserire new face
of Hackett London
The British actor
Matthew Goode
is the new face of
Hackett’s London,
the luxury British
menswear brand,
an embodiment
of the elegance
of English style.
“Matthew is the
complete embodiment
of today’s
gentleman and
is a perfect fit
with the Hackett
lifestyle” said
the founder and
President Jeremy
Hackett. Goode’s
first assignment
was to shoot the
A/W 2007/08
campaign. The
setting was a
Georgian estate in MATTHEW GOODE
Hampshire where
he modelled the country-inspired collection
together with the new ‘Mayfair’ collection, a
range influenced by the London élite of the
50s and 60s captured originally by photographers
such as Donovan, Bailey and Snowdon.
48

Giorgio Armani at the
Swarovski Fashion Rocks!
GIORGIO ARMANI
E SAMUEL L. JACKSON
Tommy Hilfiger showed off his second
collection of Limited Edition bags, the
proceeds of
which will
go to the
Breast Health
Institute
(BHI), the
renowned
international
organisation
for breast
cancer
research.
This year,
Carla Bruni,
singer and
model, is the
ambassador
CARLA BRUNI
Giorgio Armani, Alicia Keys
and Samuel L. Jackson were
present at the Swarovski
Fashion Rocks!, a Prince’s
Trust charity event which
took place on 18 October
at the Royal Albert Hall in
London. For the occasion,
Armani presented a few pieces
from his Giorgio Armani
Privé A/W 2007/2008 collection.
Armani designed an
exclusive wardrobe for actor
Samuel L. Jackson, who
presented the event with
actress Uma Thurman. The
wardrobe comprised 13 outfits
both casual and evening
wear taken from the Giorgio
Armani Menswear A/W
2007/2008 collection.
Hilfiger teams up
with Carla Bruni
for this
initiative of
solidarity, in which six European countries are
already involved. This limited collection of
elegant, black soft leather totes with a vintage
feel will be on sale from 1 November 2007.
ADS & EVENTS
23/10/2007
Hammer Museum event
honoring Miuccia Prada
Fashion designer,
Miuccia Prada, was
honoured by the
Hammer Museum for
her career and involvement
in the world of
art and design. Miuccia
Prada is proud to support
the museum’s
innovative exhibitions
and programmes aimed
at overcoming cultural
barriers and introducing
the work of under-
MIUCCIA PRADA
represented artists from
the world of art, fashion, cinema and science both to
the public and UCLA students. Miuccia Prada was
also honoured for her cutting-edge approach and
involvement with the Fondazione Prada and for her
collaboration with the Hammer Museum.
Gaultier honored
as Rule Breaker
Fashion, like art, has always been a place for people with
their own vision to make a statement. At the end of the
day, designers need to sell clothes, of course, so they’re
hoping that others appreciate that vision. But that
doesn’t mean they have to play it safe. It’s in fashion that
many look to find something cutting edge and something
that looks to the future. Not all designers do this,
but those that do have a special place in fashion, and
are the ones that get remembered: Coco Chanel, Yves
Saint Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier, who was honored
on October 26, at Fashion Group International’s annual
Night of Stars gala themed “The Rule Breakers.” (Extract
from “The Daily Fix” of 26/10/07. Edited by PW)
RUEHL launches the
e-Commerce Website
Abercrombie & Fitch announced today that customers
of its West Village-inspired concept, RUEHL, can now
enjoy the convenience of purchasing handbags directly
through their website, http://www.RUEHL.com. The
site also exclusively features RUEHL cologne and perfume,
and allows customers to view a photo gallery of
featured products, search for store locations, and register
to receive email announcements about new products
and online content. The Company expects to offer the
entire assortment of men’s and women’s casual apparel
for Spring 2008.
49