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Retail Plays Catch-upMarketer Catherine Sadler discusses the malaise at the mall. PAGE 8

Pictures of HealthPantone makes first color system addition in three years. PAGE 2

First StepG-Star Raw’s store opening in India begins an aggressive expansion in the country. PAGE 3Fashion. Beauty. Business.

DAILY EDITION 17 AUGUST 2015 1

● CEO Marvin Ellison outlines what’s in store for further progress.

BY DAVID MOIN

J.C. Penney & Co. Inc. feels good about its performance. That being said, there’s plenty of work left to do to return to profitability. After reporting on Friday a narrower loss and a solid top-line performance for the third quarter, officials outlined exactly where the company needs repair work, and where it’s doing just fine. Customers are returning to Penney’s and there are now approximately 87 mil-lion active customers, the same level as 2011 before the catastrophic Ron Johnson regime from 2011 to 2013 led to mass shopper defection to competitors. Also, judging from the third-quarter figures, the business is improving — even in women’s. Major changes on the selling floors are ongoing, from center core to footwear and home, and Sephora contin-ues as a top performer and is being rolled out to additional Penney’s doors. “When you look at men’s and women’s apparel, they’ve been two of our stron-gest businesses for the first half of the year,” said chief executive officer Marvin Ellison. “In retail, that’s probably not as commonplace as you would think. So

we’re very pleased.” Ellison said there will be greater emphasis on special sizes. But kids and home need serious repairs. Penney’s is “way to lean” in some key categories like sheets, towels and bedding. “We’re working on that, and to correct the promotional cadence in home,” Ellison said. There’s also dissatisfaction with the rewards program but it’s undergoing a redesign that should be ready next year; Penney’s lags the competition on the omnichannel front also, though several initiatives are in the works and market-ing needs to be less broad and more “one-on-one.” Officials also said there’s a need to optimize private brand pricing to grow margins faster, and to bolster the supply chain to lower costs and increase efficiency. “Although there’s much work to do and we have many areas of the business that require enhanced systems and process improvements, it’s clear that when we execute well, we can deliver profitable sales and take market share,” said Ellison. On Friday, Penney’s reported that it narrowed its net loss for the second-quar-ter ended Aug. 1 to $138 million from $172 million in the year-ago period. Earnings per share came in a negative 45 cents a

● Mass faintings in the country’s factories remain largely unexplained.

BY DENE-HERN CHEN AND CHENG SOKHORNG

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Last month, Thon Sophana was working on the factory line in Quint Major International factory (QMI) when she was suddenly gripped by an overwhelming sense of dread.

“I felt my hands and my legs become cold, and then I had difficulty breathing,” said the 35-year-old worker. “And then I collapsed.”

Sophana was one of 38 workers who lost consciousness at QMI on July 2, the third day in a week that the manufacturer had seen these mass faintings. But the QMI incident was not an isolated case; in that same week, a total of nearly 400 workers collapsed in four factories across Cambodia.

Mass faintings are a curious

phenomenon that regularly plagues Cambodia’s $6 billion garment industry. Last year, the Ministry of Labor recorded that more than 1,800 workers collapsed in 24 factories. Labor activists believe the problem to be far greater, saying that while large numbers typically garner media — and government — attention, the frequency of afflicted workers collapsing in smaller groups is higher, but more difficult to quantify given the secrecy in many factories across the country.

At its height in 2011, the ministry recorded almost 2,000 worker faintings. While this number makes up a small percentage of the 350,000 workers employed by the industry at that time, the incidents garnered international attention, perhaps due to the perplexing circumstances.

Experts from the International Labor Organization concluded that the faintings were caused by a combination of reasons: namely poor nutrition, low ventilation and air circulation in factories, and mass psychogenic illness — more commonly referred to as mass hysteria — experienced by workers. In an effort to combat this, the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia program, which monitors the country’s exporting factories for labor compliance, launched the “One Change Campaign” in 2012, encouraging factories to make changes, such as providing subsidized meals for workers, or organizing paid five-minute

RETAIL

J.C. Penney Sees Improvement

THE MARKETS

Bewildering Phenomenon Hits Cambodia’s Garment Sector

CONTINUED ON PG.7

CONTINUED ON PG.6

Designers dove deep for resort, exploring every shade of the sea from the palest aqua to the darkest navy. Here, Baja East teams an oversize striped cotton shirt with a ribbed cashmere bikini. For more looks, see pages 4 and 5.

FASHION

Feeling Blue

2 17 AUGUST 2015

● Leatrice Eiseman discussed color trends and why certain shades were added to the firm’s range.

BY VICKI M. YOUNG

Pantone has added 210 shades to its color palettes.

The additions bring the total number to 2,310 in its color system. Pantone is an international trend-spotting intelligence firm focused on color selection for design-ers and colorists working in fashion, home and interiors.

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said, “The extension of our range, what we tried to do, is to make certain we incorporate for the people who use our system the direc-tion [regarding the] needs in color based on what consumers tell us.”

The last time there was an addition was nearly three years ago, with about the same number of additions. “The differ-ence this time from last time is the idea of healthy colors. It speaks to food and how you cook, what you are using, as well as more of the exotica, such as colors that people are understanding better now, like the orange family,” Eisemen said.

While the company has been studying

the orange family for some time, it was one of those hues that went in and out of fashion. The recent resurgence and longevity of the color was one surprise in the latest study, according to Eise-man. “There’s a certain exoticness [with orange] and many other cultures are now embracing the shades of orange. More are appearing on the horizon and people are intrigued. We have dragon fire, exotic orange, aura orange and, what you could cook with, mango mohito,” she said.

The growth of the orange shades reflects an “influence of what is happen-ing all over the world — we are so much more attuned to other cultures that embrace color,” she noted.

Eiseman also said there’s been interest in the idea of being healthy, hence the addition of shades within the pink family. “Looking healthy is very important in today’s society. More colors now convey that, and in fashion, people are surround-ing themselves in the color. We now have names like love potion and pink peacock. At the opposite end of the pink [spec-trum] are the brights and playful [shades]. We added those colors that we think best demonstrate those feelings,” she said.

And perhaps as a reflection of how busy life can get, there’s also been an increase in the number of blue shades.

“We have made a number of additions to the blue family, such as the ethereal and vacation destination blues. If you look at the names, they suggest a calm feeling. Ibiza blue, island paradise, zen blue and blue horizon — these are colors that speak to that need for relaxing and serenity.…Our job is to drill down and take it one step further to fill the needs of the emo-tions they express,” Eiseman said.

THE MARKETS

Pantone Adds 210 New Shades to Color System

The 50 Most Influential People in the Multicultural Market ● WWD Beauty Inc’s list of the top 50 heavy-hitting influencers in the industry.

● They Are Wearing: Paris Fashion Week

● Men’s Spring 2016 Accessories

● They Are Wearing: Paris Men’s Fashion Week Spring 2015

● They Are Wearing: Adam Lippes for Target Celebration

Global Stock TrackerAs of close August 14, 2015

ADVANCERS

DECLINERS

Giordano International Ltd. +6.20%

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. +6.12%

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. +5.58%

Nordstrom Inc. +4.28%

Oxford Industries Inc. +3.54%

Global Brands Group -3.51%

Esprit Holdings Ltd. -3.38%

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group -3.16%

Coty Inc. -2.82%

Li & Fung Ltd. -2.24%

TOP 5TRENDINGON WWD.COM

● Andrea Lieberman’s contemporary line takes on investment.

BY JESSICA IREDALE

Andrea Lieberman has sold a majority stake of her contemporary label A.L.C. to InterLuxe, an investment arm of Lee Equity Partners. WWD reported last year that the two companies were in talks, as Lieberman had been seeking investors and InterLuxe, which was established last year by chairman Gary Wassner of Hilldun, has been looking to build its portfolio of designer brands. The com-pany took a controlling interest in Jason Wu last September.

“I’ve put my heart and soul into this business, and I needed to get an educa-tion in the business and economics of it all,” said Lieberman, who had a career as a high-profile celebrity stylist (responsible for Jennifer Lopez’s infamous Versace dress at the 2000 Grammys) before launching A.L.C. in 2009. “I need to know that I covered the potential partners from

A to Z. The partnership with InterLuxe felt right from a gut standpoint, and they offered what I needed — a strategic finan-cial partnership.”

InterLuxe and Lieberman declined to disclose the specifics of the investment,

but ceo Melissa Beste said she and her partners were attracted to A.L.C. because of its consistent growth without any official marketing. The line is carried at Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Intermix, Harvey Nich-ols, Harrods and Matchesfashion.com. “Today, the brand is 100 percent whole-sale,” said Weste. “Part of our roadmap is establishing a marketing platform that will be very digitally based. Opening retail stores and an e-commerce launch are all on the short-term horizon.” She esti-mated retail and e-commerce to happen in 2017. There will also be management and infrastructure developments.

This is InterLuxe’s first contemporary brand, a category in which they clearly see potential. Beste said a plan is in place for Wu to launch a sister collection in the contemporary market next year. Part of the strategy for his brand included discontinuing shoes to focus on hand-bags and ready-to-wear. A.L.C. is mostly apparel-driven with a handbag collection, and there are no plans to pull back on categories.

Lieberman plans to remain in Los Angeles, where the company is based. “The most important change for me is that I have a real partner at the table who will allow me to focus on the creative, the marketing, the branding — everything in my area of expertise — and they’ll be able to take the business and infrastructure responsibilities off my plate, which will be helpful.”

BUSINESS

InterLuxe Takes Majority Stake in A.L.C.

Here and above: Some of the new colors from Pantone.

“Looking healthy is very important in today’s society. More colors now convey that, and in fashion, people are surrounding themselves in the color [pink]. We now have names like love potion and pink peacock. At the opposite end of the pink [spectrum] are the brights and playful [shades]. We added those colors that we think best demonstrate those feelings.” —Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute

Andrea Lieberman

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17 AUGUST 2015 3

● The denim label begins expansion in

India with store opening.

BY MAYU SAINI

MUMBAI, India — Dutch denim brand G-Star Raw has opened its first store in India, at the Palladium Mall in Mumbai.

The 1,200-square-foot store is the first of a planned expansion of 30 to 35 points of sale in India by 2020. The brand has launched in India in partnership with local company Genesis Luxury which has brought in other global brands including Paul Smith, Emporio Armani, Giorgio Armani, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Furla, Bottega Veneta and Crabtree & Evelyn, among others.

“Special attention has been given to the selection of products, which represent the brand’s DNA while also appealing to the Indian consumer through craftsmanship, quality, and overall design look,” Patrick Kraaijeveld, the chief creative and com-mercial officer of G-Star Raw told WWD.

“Pricing is also essential for new brands looking to make their mark. As our jeans range starts at Rs 6000 ($92.30), with T-shirts starting at Rs 2500 ($30.46), this aspect works well with our customers,” he said.

The range launched in India includes jeans, T-shirts, knitwear, button-up shirts, outerwear, dresses, accessories, footwear and eyewear.

As global brands continue to enter India, the $550 billion retail market is expected to continue growing at more than 20

percent a year and to double over the next five years. Consumer spending has been growing as well and customer confidence has been high over the last year. Analysts expect this trend to continue, with GDP growth of more than 7 percent expected in the next year as well as the opening of a number of new malls.

“India is an emerging powerhouse, and we want to be part of this growth through a sustainable partnership,” Kraaijeveld said.

“Our jeans and collections cater to this demographic. The young and daring who have a desire to stand out in their appre-ciation for innovation, sustainability and modern authentic craftsmanship,” Kraaije-veld added.

Analysts believe that denim is one of the most promising markets in India and according to industry figures it is expected to continue growing at 15 percent a year to become a $4.18 billion market by 2018.

G-Star also continues to drive innovation in the RAW for the Oceans collection — a range of jeans, jackets, Ts and sweats that are all made using recycled ocean plastic.

“This initiative, in collaboration with Pharrell Williams (who codesigns the collection), material innovator Bionic Yarn and the Parley for the Oceans project is great for these newer markets of ours, who we know are environmentally conscious and wanting to make a difference,” Kraai-jeveld added.

RETAIL

G-Star Raw Unveils Location in Mumbai

● The shop in Gurgaon at Ambience

Mall opened Friday under an

exclusive agreement between

Authentic Brands Group and

Reliance Brands Ltd.

BY VICKI M. YOUNG

The Juicy Couture brand now has its first freestanding store in India.

The shop in Gurgaon at Ambience Mall, a high-traffic shopping destination for the Indian Juicy Couture customer, was opened on Friday under an exclusive long-term franchise agreement between Authentic Brands Group and Reliance Brands Ltd. The store offers the complete Juicy Couture experience, while the merchandise assortment includes apparel, handbags and accessories and footwear. Fragrance will be added to the assortment mix in a few months. Polished brass and beveled mirrored fixtures stay true to the Juicy Couture aesthetic.

Jamie Salter, chairman and chief executive officer of ABG, which owns the brand, said, “Reliance brings an expertise in fashion retailing to this key luxury market.” He noted, “India is an important territory for brand growth.”

Darshan Mehta, president and ceo of Reliance, said, “I’m quite optimistic. It should be good.”

Mehta is busy working on the next phase of store openings for the Juicy brand. A second Juicy store will open at Elante Mall

in Chandigarh next month, followed by a third in January slated for DLF Promenade in New Delhi. A fourth store is planned for Mumbai’s Palladium Mall in summer 2016.

Mehta explained that there are only about 20 relevant malls across India for luxury brands, noting that it’s not just about getting space, but also the right location within the mall. For Mehta, that means obtaining strategic locations near the entrances from the parking facilities for consumers who, due to the hot climate, prefer to arrive in air-conditioned cars. At Mumbai’s Palladium Mall, the planned Juicy store is located near the entrance to where the drop-off point is for valet parking. Mehta is also working on securing locations at the sites where new malls are under construction. Three new malls are slated for completion in 2016.

The franchise agreement between Reliance and ABG is for 20 years. The terms call for the opening of 20 Juicy monobrand stores over five years, he said.

Reliance, a key distributor in India for the premium-to-luxury fashion categories, is part of Reliance Industries Group. Reliance Industries started Reliance Brands in October 2007 for the purpose of launching and building international fashion brands focused in the luxury and premium markets. Other brand partners in Reliance’s portfolio include Steve Madden, Kenneth Cole and BCBG Max Azria. Brand partnerships via joint ventures include Brooks Brothers, Iconix Brand Group, Diesel and Ermenegildo Zegna.

RETAIL

Juicy Couture Store Opens in India

Juicy Couture in India.

“India is an important territory for brand growth.” — Jamie Salter, chairman and chief executive officer, Authentic Brands Group

“Our jeans and collections cater to this demographic. The young and daring who have a desire to stand out in their appreciation for innovation, sustainability and modern authentic craftsmanship.” — Patrick Kraaijeveld, G-Star RawG-Star Raw in Mumbai.

4 17 AUGUST 2015

● Resort collections are by nature attuned to the sand and sea. This

season designers plunged into an ocean of blue, sometimes offering

a subtle suggestion of nautical via stripes or a rope-inspired detail.

The result was a moody mix of pieces that work in a city setting, too.

BY MAYTE ALLENDE

FASHION

Resort 2016 Trend:

Shades Of Blue

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3.1 Phillip Lim’s wool dress and sweater. Bracelets by Alexis Bittar and Lady Grey.

No. 21’s cotton, polyester and elastane coat and

cotton shirt over Norma Kamali’s polyester

swimsuit. Necklace by Kara Ross.

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Resort 2016 Trend: Shades Of Blue CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

Apiece Apart’s cotton top with

Creatures of Comfort’s cotton pants. Bracelets

by Giles and Brother; earrings

by Kara Ross; rings by IRO and

Campbell.

Preen by Thornton

Bregazzi’s polyester coat over

Balenciaga’s silk jersey swimsuit.

Zero + Maria Cornejo’s leather jacket over Apiece Apart’s silk and linen shirt. Bracelets by Giles and Brother; earrings by Alexis Bittar.

6 17 AUGUST 2015

● The luxury retailer’s Truly NM

campaign aims to more prominently

feature special products.

BY DAVID MOIN

Neiman Marcus has a good thing going and wants to flaunt it.

The Dallas-based luxury retailer has begun calling out its exclusive offerings through a new campaign called Truly NM.

After decades of procuring products from top luxury brands around the world, created just for Neiman’s, “We felt there was an opportunity to shine a brighter light on those exclusives and to take a more comprehensive approach in terms of showcasing them...so those exclusives stood out amongst our assortments,” Jim Gold, president and chief merchandising officer of the Neiman Marcus Group, told WWD.

Gold said that Neiman’s worked with over 50 brands to present several hundred items under the Truly NM campaign, on top of the thousands of exclusives offered at the luxury chain already.

Truly NM, Gold said, represents “Items or small groupings of products that were so compelling from a brand and design standpoint, we wanted to feature them in a more robust way than we have featured

exclusives in the past. We said, ‘Let’s take a subset and feature these under this Truly NM campaign.’ We intend for it to be ongoing.”

Truly NM flags items such as an Alexan-der McQueen crocodile-embossed padlock tote, priced $1,895; a Brunello Cucinelli calfskin backpack with Monili straps, priced $3,840; a Chloe patchwork poncho, $1,995; a Salvatore Ferragamo suede driv-ing shoe, $650; a Givenchy suede shark-lock knee boot, $2,125; a Canada Goose Prideaux parka with a fur hood, $975; and a Rag & Bone patchwork skinny ankle jean, at $495.

“We came up with themes we wanted to address, like embellished denim, so we went to seven of our denim brands and requested embellished looks,” that no other stores would feature.

The campaign items are indicated with Truly NM hang tags with Neiman’s signa-ture butterfly logo and in-store signage. The majority of the Truly NM items are in all stores. There is also exposure on Neiman’s Web site and inside The Book, Neiman’s magalog.

“The merchandise is starting to roll in now,” Gold said.

Gold posed the question: “The challenge has been, if you’ve got exclusive items sprinkled thoughout the assortment, how

do you call them out effectively?”Sales associates do inform custom-

ers about exclusives, which are often identified as such through a label on the garment. And smart shoppers do know what’s exclusive and what’s not. But Nei-man’s, up to now, “hasn’t taken a really comprehensive approach that runs across virtually all categories,” Gold said.

Neiman’s started organizing the Truly NM campaign last December, before the pre-fall market, Gold said.

Truly NM does not involve Bergdorf Goodman, which is also part of the Dal-las-based Neiman Marcus Group.

For years, retailers have made it a priority to tout their exclusives, whether it’s their private brands or products brought in from shopping the market that they sell exclusively. Last year, for example, Bloomingdale’s launched its 100% Bloomingdale’s campaign, present-ing 1,000 exclusive styles and items from 100 designers and brands from around the world.

RETAIL

Neiman’s Shines Brighter Light on Exclusives

share, which was better than the antici-pated negative 48 cents per share. Last year the discount retailer experienced a loss of 56 cents per share for the same period. Same-store sales rose 4.1 percent, with total sales reaching $2.88 billion compared with $2.8 billion in the year-ago period. Penney’s raised its guidance to full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreci-ation and amortization of $620 million, higher than the previous guidance of $600 million. Penney’s goal is to reach $1.2 billion in EBITDA in 2017. “We’ve done a much better job of planning our business this year and we are very confident that we would have a strong fall season,” said Ellison on Friday during the earnings conference call, the first that he handled since joining Penney’s last year, and after a transition period ascended to ceo, succeeding Myron “Mike” E. Ullman who became executive chairman. Ellison said he’s confident Penney’s will hit its full-year guidance of a 4.5 percent comparable-sales growth. And Penney’s chief financial officer, Ed Record, said there’s been “a strong start” to the third quarter. Last quarter, Penney’s did best with its Sephora in-store shops, which enjoyed double-digit same-store sales growth. Ellison wants to assure a long-term part-nership with Sephora, which is one of Penney’s main attractions and key points of differentiation. He attended Sephora’s

annual meeting this month and met with Sephora’s ceo, Calvin McDonald, and other management. “We have a great partnership with Sephora, and we will continue to allow and embrace the fact that they will be a part of our long-term growth strategy,” Ellison said. “We’re also very excited that we’ll see a significant increase in a number of new locations next year and beyond.” Penney’s men’s, home and fine jewelry businesses also did well last quarter. But the home and kids departments still show wounds inflicted by the Johnson regime. Higher-priced merchandise, slicker presentations, and the cancellation of cou-pons led to a one-third decline in volume. Last year, Penney’s generated $13 billion in sales and Ellison outlined several factors that should further lift revenues. Among them, recently enabling customers to order online and pick up their purchases in the stores, which leads to customers shopping more. He said Penney’s is getting better at fulfilling online orders utilizing store inventories. With more than 1,000 brick-and-mortar locations, “leveraging enterprise inventory provides us with a great opportunity for stores to act as fulfillment centers.” Penney’s this year is piloting same-day delivery of online orders to stores and to customers’ homes for 2016 rollouts. Omni efforts have been boosted by investments in Oracle systems during the last few years, to improve the merchan-dising, planning, sizing and localization of assortments, and by two recent hires. Mike Amend, former vice president of online, mobile and omnichannel for the Home Depot, has become Penney’s executive vice president of omnichannel, and Mike Robbins, former senior vice president of global supply chain for Target stores, has become Penney’s senior vice president of

supply chain. Sales growth is also expected through investments on the selling floor. Men’s and women’s shoe departments have been separated and converted to open sell; hair salons are being rebranded in collabora-tion with InStyle magazine; and handbag areas are being reinvigorated with better products, including new bags from Liz Claiborne sold exclusively at Penney’s. Penney’s has also reset space for fashion jewelry, accessories and intimates. Ellison is aiming to strengthen the center core floors, with 12 pilots in place and roughly 500 seen in 2016. With expenses, SG&A decreased $63 million due to reductions in store con-trollable expenses and advertising, and increased revenue from the store credit card. “Minimum wage rate increases are a leading topic in our industry, and we continue to monitor the situation on a market-by-market basis to ensure that we remain competitive in our ability to attract top talent,” Record said. Penney’s expects to save approximately $120 million this year. “We are committed to achieving an expense structure that makes sense for our business,” Record said. Inventory is up 5.5 percent over last year, partly due to a back-to-school tax-free event that shifted into the third quar-ter, which also impacted second-quarter sales, and also due to building inventory levels this year in response to running lean last year. “Having said that, we feel very good about our inventory content and the levels heading into the second half,” Record said. “To summarize, the three strategic priorities of private brands, omnichannel and increased revenue per customer will become our strategic framework,” Ellison said. “This framework will allow us to simplify our focus and allocate capital and

resources to areas of the business that will simply make us a better company.” “We believe that we will start to see true benefits of our omnichannel strategy in the second half of 2016. We are seeing improvements with enterprise inventory today. I mean, we are able to fulfill more dot-com orders that historically would’ve been simply out of stock because we can bounce the fulfillment from our distri-bution centers that services dot-com to roughly 250 stores, and we can fulfill the order from those locations. That’s a huge benefit,” Ellison said. “The other benefit is we’re capturing that data. And we’re updating the replen-ishment in the in-stock performance in the DCs to reflect the fact that they were out of stock when an order came through. We’re also going to be very aggressive in expand-ing our assortment online. I would argue that we have one of the most conservative assortments online of any large retailer.” Asked about the health of the store fleet, Ellison said, “Candidly, we would love to have more capital spend. Having said that, if you look historically over the last five years, a significant amount of capital was put into the stores. And as I said earlier, when the board and Mike Ullman first approached me to consider coming to J.C. Penney, I candidly had not been in a J.C. Penney in quite a while. And so I started to go around the country, and just pop into stores to get a sense of the culture and the sense of how the business was running. And my first takeaway was the stores looked really good. And I was surprised because the Penney’s I remember was a little tired and a little worn. But I would have to admit that although some of the capital investments were not well thought-out, and they have not been accretive to the business, they’ve done a really nice job of cleaning the stores up, brightening the stores and making them more modern.”

J.C. Penney Sees Improvement CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“Items…that were so compelling from a brand and design standpoint, we wanted to feature them in a more robust way than we have featured exclusives in the past. We said, ‘Let’s take a subset and feature these under this Truly NM campaign.’” — Jim Gold, Neiman Marcus

Christian Louboutin’s Panettone Spike Stud

Continental wallet.

17 AUGUST 2015 7

breaks. Major clothing brands, like H&M, Gap, and Levis, threw their support behind the campaign.

For the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia’s part, deputy secretary-general Kaing Monika said that since the problem emerged in the 2011, they have been working with the Ministry of Labor’s National Social Security Fund.

“We have been going on a mass education campaign to educate workers on how to take care of their hygiene, and we also educate factories on how to improve the work environment, how to handle the chemical substances,” Monika said. “It’s about education to workers; it’s about stringently enforcing labor compliance.”

Union leaders and labor activists have long argued that raising the minimum wage would better solve this issue. In 2011, the minimum wage sat at $61 a month. If wages were higher, they argued, workers would be able to afford better quality food, and not feel pressured to work excessive overtime hours to increase their take-home salary, activists say.

With the wage recently raised to $128 at the end of 2014, Joel Preston, a consultant with Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) — a Cambodia-based organization that advocates for workers rights — said that the situation has only slightly improved.

He added that while the mass faintings attract media attention, CLEC is

worried about individual workers losing consciousness in factories. During the first six months of this year, CLEC calculated that more than 900 workers — either individually or in a group — have fainted.

“That sort of goes to show that mass hysteria can’t really be blamed because you have people fainting just in one singular instance, and not everybody in the factory falling over,” Preston said.

But Sotheara Chhim, executive director of Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO), which provides mental health care to locals, said that mass hysteria is a piece in the puzzle that should not be ignored. Eschewing the word “hysteria,” Chhim instead referred to it as a “conversion.”

“It refers to the escalation of anxiety that transforms into psychological or neurological symptoms and that could affect what we call voluntary, mobile and sensitive systems. So people can be affected by numbness and loss of sensations or it can be paralysis,” he said. “Usually this condition follows after events, after conflicts, or after a serious difficulty or hardship or problems in interpersonal relationships.”

For Sophana, the 35-year-old worker who fainted in QMI factory last month, she had been feeling an ever-increasing amount of stress at work recently. Three months ago, the factory started raising the target amount of clothing that workers had to produce, she said.

“I’ve been feeling a bit of pressure because they forced me to meet a new target. In one day, we need to do 400 pieces of clothing, which means that in one hour, we need to finish 40 articles,” she said, explaining that the target used to be 200 pieces a day.

High stress, low wages, and poor factory conditions are issues raised by unions in many garment-producing countries, yet the mass faintings seem specific to Cambodia. Chhim believes that this is

due to how Cambodians interpret their surroundings, believing that spirits reside upon building structures or in natural elements. For workers who have traveled long distances to Phnom Penh, there is the belief that new environments are inhabited by different spirits, which means that protection is not guaranteed without offerings of some kind.

“People feel more secure when they are close to home….And then they come to Phnom Penh, where they live in different places, and there are different spirits,” Chhim said. “And people believe that they might be doing something…that upsets the spirit, and that could cause faintings or possessions.”

The most recent example of this occurred at around 3 p.m. on July 24 in Yu Fa factory, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Eighteen workers collapsed in unison at their workstations, but there was one woman who set it off, said Kim Khouch, a worker representative in the factory.

“One worker said that the spirit possessed her. She woke up and she said it needed food; it was hungry,” Khouch said. “And then she lost consciousness. Other workers saw that and they fainted as well.”

The workers were sent to a local clinic, and then home. But three days later, it happened again — 17 workers fainted this time. With workers terrified of spirits, factory management immediately arranged for a ceremony to provide offerings. Phoeng Kakada, a 27-year-old worker who was among those who passed out, blamed the faintings on the management.

“There is a new manager in the factory. The old managers always prayed to the spirits of the factory but this new manager never respected the spirits of the factory,” Kakada said. “He only offered fruit, but did not pray, and maybe that’s why it caused the anger in the spirits.”

This is not the first appearance of a spirit possession in the factory. Local media reported in 2012 that dozens of workers of Anful factory fainted after witnessing one of their coworkers falling into a trance, and then screaming for food and wine to appease the spirit within her. The faintings continued for days after, until the factory owner finally paid for a Buddhist ceremony.

While TPO’s Chhim agreed that some Cambodians are more inclined to subscribe to a cultural explanation instead of a scientific one, the solution to stopping these mass faintings would lie in actual changes within factories to de-escalate stressful situations, to provide workers with clean water, rest areas and to have more ventilation within the premises.

Cheav Bunrith, policy director of the ministry’s National Social Security Fund, reverted back to the argument that workers should take better care of themselves. He explained that because Cambodians often send home the bulk of their salary to their families in the provinces, they are skimping on the quality of their daily meals — eating the cheapest option available instead of the healthiest.

“What is the most important is that workers need to be concerned about their own health and take better care of it,” Bunrith said. “We need to base our investigations on the science of it, but we also need to take into account of our culture and what the workers feel.”

For Yu Fa factory worker Kakada, she recovered only after management held a ceremony offering two chickens and barbecued pork to the factory’s spirits. The next day, the factory owner invited five monks to bless workers.

“I got blessed with holy water by the monks on Wednesday, and I am fine now,” Kakada said. “I feel happier now and at peace, and I am glad to return to work.”

Bewildering Phenomenon Hits Cambodia’s Garment Sector CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

● PETA released a video purporting to

show the mistreatment of sheep at

an Ovis 21 farm.

BY NINA JONES

LONDON — Stella McCartney said Friday that she has stopped sourcing sustainable wool from the Ovis 21 network in Patagonia, Argentina, after viewing a video released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which alleges the mistreatment of lambs there.

PETA’s video purports to show the sheep on an Ovis 21 farm being injured while being sheared, then being skinned and killed. McCartney said after viewing the video — made last year by PETA — her label conducted its own investigation into the ranches there, and found that one out of the 26 ranches mistreated its sheep. “It is one too many,” said McCartney in a statement on her Facebook page. “As a designer who built a brand on not using leather, fur or animal skins in its designs, I can’t tolerate it.”

McCartney said she would monitor suppliers “even more closely,” and is looking into developing a vegan alternative to wool, in the same way that her label has developed alternatives to

leather and fur.Outdoor clothing label Patagonia,

which also works closely with the Ovis 21 network, posted a statement on its Web site Wednesday, calling PETA’s video “disturbing.” “We are not immune to shocking images,” the statement read. “There is no excuse for violent shearing methods and inhumane slaughter. We are investigating the practices shown,” the company said, adding that it will “work with Ovis 21 to make needed corrections and improvements, and report back to our customers and the public on the steps we will take.” Patgonia added: “We apologize for the harm done in our name.”

But Patagonia did argue that two of the practices in the video are standard across the wool industry – castrating select flock members to eliminate overcrowding and docking tails, to reduce instances of infection in sheep and improve hygiene.

Patagonia stated that it has worked in “close partnership” with Ovis 21 since 2011, to develop “a radical new way to grow wool — one that regenerates rather than depletes grassland [and] keeps alive a way of life in the Patagonia region.” “PETA does not believe in the use of animals for any human purpose; this is a belief we respect but do not share,” Patagonia’s

statement read. “Nevertheless, PETA plays an important role in raising awareness of harmful practices involving animals, and we listen when legitimate concerns are uncovered, even if we become a target of their activism,” it added.

Ovis 21 released a statement Friday, saying that it had “identified and intervened [at] the property involved, which is now no longer a certified property.” “The images depicting inhumane treatment of lambs and sheep are unacceptable,” said Ricardo Fenton, co-founder of Ovis 21, in a statement. “We are very sorry and we are working to reverse this unpleasant reality.”

Fenton added that he regretted that Ovis 21 were not informed in December 2014, when the footage was shot, so they could “act immediately.” He added that Ovis 21 is working toward implementing third party animal welfare standards for its certified properties. Fenton noted that Ovis 21 manages a network of farmers who aim to create a “regeneration culture” in the Patagonian grasslands. “We work to improve biodiversity [and] revert widespread land degradation, migration from rural ares to cities and farmers’ bankruptcy.”

In its own statement on the video’s

release, PETA called for all companies and consumers to stop using real wool. “Today, finding alternatives to hide, fur and fleece is easy, and no animal has to suffer when businesses make kind choices,” PETA’s U.K. director Mimi Bekhechi said.

FASHION

Stella McCartney, Patagonia Address Animal Cruelty Allegations

“As a designer who built a brand on not using leather, fur or animal skins in its designs, I can’t tolerate it.” — Stella McCartney, on ceasing the use of sustainable wool from Patagonia, Argentina

8 17 AUGUST 2015

● Sadler+Brand will be an “igniter.”

BY EVAN CLARK

Catherine Sadler — something of a refu-gee from the corporate world — is taking her 30 years of marketing experience on the road.

Sadler worked at Coach in the Nineties before becoming chief marketing officer for Ann Taylor and later, global chief mar-keting officer at Banana Republic, where she helped bring the chain together with “Mad Men.”

She left Banana last fall and is stepping out with Sadler+Brand, which she said is not so much a branding agency or consul-tancy, but an “igniter” and “change agent.”

WWD sat down with the New York-based marketing guru to talk branding, tech, change, the malaise at the mall and the challenges facing big corporations in fashion today.

WWD: Is it time for marketers to start focusing on Gen Z over the Millennials?

C.S.: I don’t think it’s an either/or situ-ation. We’re talking about the foundation of a new retail world and that new retail world order is about being reactive in real-time and authentic. And that is if you’re talking about the Millennials and, even

more so, just turn it up exponentially, Gen Z. How they operate, the way they think, the way they intuitively navigate through their world. And the brands that they respond to are brands that are integrating

them directly [and that play a part in] their lives. Reaction time has to be quick. Being relevant, speaking to them and co-opting things together will be more and more important.

WWD: Is that the secret of marketing

today? Allowing the customer to play a part in the process?

C.S.: Yes, I believe we have to more and more put the customer at the center of all of our thoughts. The customer has been

moving way further ahead than the brands frequently have.

WWD: The pure plays that have reverse-engineered their way back into retail have been getting a lot of buzz, but are those companies as envisioned

today the future of retail?C.S.: We’re in a moment of evolution,

where we’re all learning and learning quickly. The bottom line is creating prod-uct and experience that is meaningful and relevant to the customer. So, yes, certainly, I think ultimately it will be a seamless integration between the online and offline experience, but to me that will just be the foundation. That’s the new retail world order to me. The bigger question becomes what are you selling and how is it mean-ingful to the customer and what are those touch points that really engender loyalties?

We’re living at a time when there’s been a sea of sameness. The malaise in the mall to me, yes part of it is the fickle consumer, but part of it is that we’ve shot ourselves over the last couple years with product that has been frequently out of touch with what the customer wants, relatively the same whichever brand you go to, and an experience that feels more commodity than special.

WWD: Why do big retailers fail to deliver product that people want in an environment they like? Is it that people don’t recognize this as a problem or don’t put resources into the right places?

C.S.: I think the customer evolved more quickly than the brands have and that we’re playing catch-up. The consumer is so savvy and so able to have access, from high to low, that the brands have to catch up in order to create an experience that feels unique.

WWD: Should fashion take its lead from tech and be quicker to change?

C.S.: Absolutely, but for me, I see an evolution. There will come a day shortly when there won’t be this distinction between retail and tech and that idea of sectors or omnichannel will just become a part of the way in which we all operate.

BUSINESS

Q&A: Catherine Sadler on Branding, Change and More

● The L.A.-based retailer has ambitious plans for expansion.

BY CHARLOTTE MIDDLEHURST

SHANGHAI — After two decades of bring-ing some of America’s best-loved street-wear brands to Asia, fashion consultant and Evisu International founder Peter Caplowe is taking on a new challenge: introducing U.S. multibrand store Ameri-can Rag to the Chinese market.

The L.A. store, known for its quality denims and heritage brands, opened its first China outlet late last month. Located in the Crystal Plaza mall on Shanghai’s Nanjing West Road, the 6,500 square-foot showroom built over three floors will stock

its own vertical line, ARC, as well as rising local talents.

The opening signals two things. First, a notable pivot east in terms of expansion and corporate strategy at a time when retailers doubt the robustness of the Chinese economy. It also heralds a new chapter in the evolution of China’s fashion sector: the rise of the multibrand store.

As China’s middle class continues to expand, demand for product quality and a greater selection of international brands is growing. Meanwhile, GDP growth is judder-ing, sinking to a six-year low of seven per-cent growth in the second quarter of 2015 — leading to multiple devaluation of the yuan. While this has created rough going for the luxury sector, whose profits have tumbled in the last three years, affordable brands

have faired well.Together with American Rag’s founder

Mark Werts, Caplowe believes there has been a fundamental shift in the needs of Chinese consumers, which has not been addressed. As well as affordability and quality, China’s Eighties- and Nineties-gen-eration shoppers are looking for style and comfort — not just status symbol brand logos.

“We definitely see ourselves as trail-blazers and early entrants in this space in China. We have a long-term plan to be the go-to store for the next generation who are interested in fashion and have the dispos-able income to buy international brands,” says Caplowe, also co-founder of The Hub, a premium fashion trade show in Hong Kong.

The number of Mainland retailers offer-ing international multibrand experiences is still limited. In Shanghai, Lane Crawford, the high-end department store chain from Hong Kong, dominates, followed by a handful of domestic players, such as Aegis and I.T.

ARC plans to position itself differently with a new business model tailored to the Mainland market. It aims to have wide, cross-regional appeal rather than a selec-tive regular clientele. It also wants to play down celebrity endorsements in order to cultivate a more everyman image.

Perhaps most importantly, the China arm will operate as a franchise rather than an owner-operator model, as it does in Japan. The opening of the Shanghai flagship is the first step in this plan. By the end of 2019, ARC aims to have 30 to 40 new retail spaces in Tier One and Tier Two cities in Mainland China alone.

It will start by opening a second smaller store in Shanghai plus seven regional franchises. Within three years, it hopes to have an additional three flagships, starting in Beijing, followed by Chengdu and Hong Kong or Guangzhou, depending on the future price of Hong Kong rents.

“There is a lot of franchiser capital out there — they are looking for the next thing, something new. At the moment, the franchisers seem to be stuck between the domestic brands, which are in decline, and international brands that have an own-er-operator model,” explains Caplowe.

The China stores will stock local brands. Nels Fry, head of business development, says Chinese designer Chuang Qu is a name to look out for. A former designer for Mark Fairwhale, Qu has just launched his own eponymous label. He also noted Hiuman, a Shanghai-based designer and denim spe-cialist. And Capitale Nord, the label of Brit-ish-Swiss designer Kevin Tallon, formerly of Balmain and Kappa, who moved to Beijing over a decade ago is another on his radar.

The store is also setting up manufac-turing bases for some of its non-Chinese brands, as well. In the next few years, it intends to open five to six factories in Guangdong and Wuxi. This bucks the trend for foreign labels that are currently minimizing their China operations or relocating them to Vietnam or Bangladesh in the face of rising wages and slowing economic growth.

But for multibrand stores, the import process is particularly painful, given each label stocked must be checked separately by customs. Manufacturing on Chinese soil solves this.

So how big a consideration is China’s retreating economy? Caplowe is unfazed: “The general slowdown has been a kind of a blessing for us. If the market is booming, then there are new store openings every week. So there are advantages,” says Caplowe.

RETAIL

American Rag Ready for China

Catherine Sadler at Neuehouse.

Inside the American Rag store located in

Shanghai, China.

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Oliver Cheshire: Live! From the Hugo Boss YachtThe British model reveals plans to design his own men’s collection through a collaboration.

17 AUGUST 2015 9

Call it an occupational hazard, but Rosemarie DeWitt found herself spon-taneously making out with her “Digging for Fire” costar. And it wasn’t her real-life husband Ron Livingston, who also appears in the film.

“It happened to be Orlando Bloom, which was really hard because he’s so unattractive,” the actress cracked, talking to reporters outside the film’s premiere on Thursday night at the ArcLight Hollywood. DeWitt said their impromptu kiss — encouraged by director Joe Swanberg’s improvisational approach to filmmaking — was shot over the course of four hours on the first day of filming. “I had to call Ron on the phone and say, ‘I know you read the treatment and it said I didn’t make out with Orlando Bloom, but all of a sudden I did, so…’ It felt like a confession of sorts.”

Ever the professional, Livingston chalked it up to being part of the job. “Anybody who kisses my wife in a movie is family, so it’s all good,” he said.

For his part, Bloom said it was that sort of creative freedom that attracted him to the film. “Because everything is improvised, it’s very loose,” he said of the project, which had only a three-page out-line in lieu of a script. “I’ve never worked like that, so it was like, ‘Dive in!’ We had extensive conversations about how I could come in and mess with Rosemarie DeWitt’s character in an interesting way.” Bloom felt that the approach had an added bonus. “It’s a great way to work. You don’t have to learn lines!”

Even so, Jake Johnson — who plays

DeWitt’s on-screen husband — received a co-writing credit since the film’s con-cept was based on one of his real-life experiences from eight years earlier. “The story is about a guy looking for a dead body in his backyard…that actually happened to me,” he said. “I was putting a garden in my backyard and I found an old bone, and I found a rusted gun, and I found the rusted license plates. I called the police and I said, ‘There might be a dead body in our yard,’ and they said, ‘It’s not our job to dig out your garbage, so when you find a body call us.’ And I called a bunch of my friends, and we went digging, looking for a body.”

The party carried on down the street at Wood & Vine where bite-sized chicken-and-waffles awaited guests like Rachel Roy and Lamorne Morris, kicking back on the venue’s outdoor patio.

Earlier in the night, Bloom spilled some details from inside Jennifer Aniston’s recent wedding. “They’re a wonderful couple. I was really honored to be there and it was a great night,” he said. While he noted that Jimmy Kimmel — who officiated the ceremony — was “great,” it was fellow guest and unofficial dance partner Howard Stern that made the biggest impression on Bloom. “I have a man-crush on him. Have you seen him? He’s the most handsome thing you’ve ever seen. I mean, he thinks I’m hand-some? That’s ridiculous. He’s seeing a reflection of himself that’s what it is.”

No wonder everyone wants to kiss this guy. — LINDZI SCHARF

‘Digging for Fire’ Premieres in Los AngelesOrlando Bloom, who spilled details from Jennifer Aniston’s secret wedding, was among the cast members who turned up for the party.

Orlando Bloom, Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt.

Arden Myrin and Steve Berg at the premiere of “Digging for Fire.”

“It’s been so much fun — very wet obviously — I’m drenched to the bone,” said Oliver Cheshire, after riding the waves — in pouring rain — aboard a 60-foot-yacht sponsored by Hugo Boss.

On Thursday, Cheshire joined top British yachts-man Alex Thomson and his racing crew — all decked in Hugo Boss ATR sailing gear — for the Artemis Challenge, a 50-mile charity race that took place during the annual Cowes Week Regatta, off the Isle of Wight.

New to the sport, the 27-year old British model did his sailing homework, and focused on his grinding duties. “It lifts up the sails. You drop the sails and then you spin them, and then you grind as much as possi-ble and then you get out the new sails,” he explained.

The “Hugo Boss” is a carbon-fiber IMOCA 60 boat that can reach speeds of up to 35 knots, or 40 mph. With Thomson at the helm, it competed against 15 other teams from France, Ireland and the U.K.

Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall were on board one of the competing boats.

The new face of Marks and Spencer’s Autograph collection, which launches in September, Cheshire has a number of projects in the pipeline, including writing.

“I’m still working on fashion writing, bits and bobs,

and very heavily involved in, like, British fashion,” said Cheshire, who’s been blogging for years and who has reported on London Collections: Men for GQ. He’s also an ambassador for LC:M.

He said his goal is to get more into actual design. “I just love men’s clothes. People are always on Twitter asking me ‘What are you wearing?’ or ‘How do you know the trends and predict them?’ I’m thinking it’s just what I like, it’s a natural progression for me.”

Cheshire, who’s walked the runway for brands ranging from Dolce & Gabbana to Marks & Spencer, said he’s thinking about men’s wear specifically: “Smart casual, kind of date-evening stuff. Suede and leather. Brands have approached me, but for my first collaboration, I want it to be amazing.”

The Boss team finished the race in fourth place in the IMOCA class in 5 hours, 17 minutes and 24 sec-onds. The overall winners were Musandam, although Thomson was the first British skipper to cross the finish line. Hugo Boss donated 3,000 pounds, or $4,685, to Cheshire’s charity of choice, London’s Great Ormond Street children’s hospital.

Hugo Boss has been a sponsor of Alex Thomson Racing since 2004, supporting events including the Transat Jacques Vabre — a race from France to Bra-zil – in October and the Barcelona World Race. —LORELEI MARFIL

Oliver Cheshire aboard the Hugo Boss yacht.

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Rachel Roy in Zimmermann.

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10 17 AUGUST 2015

ALL SILK EVERYTHING Hong Kong-based designer Michele Lee, who has worked in garment manufactur-ing for more than a decade at Profits Fund Global Holding Ltd. in her native China, is bringing her SILK collection — a new

women’s line composed of mostly silk and silk-blend pieces — to the U.S. Though designed and produced in China, the brand also has a showroom in New York’s Garment District and has begun its retail rollout to specialty boutiques across the

U.S., including at Harari in California, Ev-elyn & Arthur in Florida and Tracy Brent Collections in Connecticut.

SILK’s debut fall collection, which also includes a few holiday pieces, emphasizes bold colors and feminine prints in clean silhouettes: think chunky, funnel-neck knitwear, floral-print miniskirts, over-size wrap coats and cardigan sweaters with fringe detailing, which range from $250 to $575. “To make the brand more diverse, we incorporated some modern, nonsilk fabrics such as stretch wool and alpaca-blend knitwear,” Lee said. – KRISTI GARCED

IN THE BAG Cath Kidston, the British accessories, clothing and homeware brand known for its vintage-inspired prints, has shot a

film to tout the upcoming back-to-school season — and its new collection of school bags.

The short film spotlights British bloggers Katie Ellison of Mummy Daddy Me; Kat Molesworth of Housewife Confidential, and Kathryn Sharman of Kat Got The Cream, who are all shot with their chil-dren as if preparing for the first day at school, while toting Cath Kidston’s fall bag collection, dubbed Bags to School. For b-t-s, the label has worked up designs with playful prints of robots, ballerinas and sausage dogs. Prices for the bags start at 24 pounds, or $37, for a race-car drawstring backpack, and rise to 30 pounds, or $46, for a rose-print satchel backpack.

Sam Washington directed the film, with production by El Carousel. Sue Chidler, marketing director of Cath Kidston, said the firm had decided to create the collec-tion and film “to capture the first day of school as one of the big emotional periods that parents go through,” she said. “We wanted to connect with our customers in a unique way and be a part of this…journey with them.” The films will make its debut on Cath Kidston’s Web site and Facebook page Saturday. – LORELEI MARFIL

Fashion Scoops

SMITH JOINING YAHOO Stephanie Smith is heading to Yahoo.

The former Page Six reporter has de-parted The New York Post after five and a half years, and she will now serve as senior editor of Yahoo Food, WWD has learned.

Yahoo confirmed the news on Sunday.Smith will report to Yahoo Food editor

in chief Kerry Diamond when she starts her new job on Sep. 14. Diamond was tapped to helm Yahoo’s food vertical in

September 2014. Her addition followed a string of big name hires, such as Joe Zee for Yahoo Style and Michele Promaulayko for Yahoo Health. Last week, Yahoo tapped former Time Inc. editor in chief Martha Nelson as global editor in chief overseeing all of Yahoo’s digital magazines, including Food.

Smith, who authored a food blog called 300Sandwiches.com and a memoir “300 Sandwiches: A Multilayered Love Story...with Recipes,” will write about food-relat-ed current events, trends and personalities for Yahoo Food.

At Page Six, Smith covered breaking business, fashion and entertainment news. Smith could not be reached for comment, however she did write a note on her de-parture on her personal Facebook page on Sunday.

Smith offered: “I had such a hard time saying good bye because I’ll miss my colleagues so much that I spent two days editing my good-bye e-mail. And another half an hour editing this Facebook note. I could go on, but I’ve got to say so long for now...Onward.”

Prior to The Post, Smith served as a me-dia reporter at WWD from 2006 to 2009. She also held various reporting roles at Media Week, People and Money Magazine. – ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD

GOING BIG Pilar Guzmán wants Condé Nast Traveler to be a coffee-table mainstay.

The September issue will mark the debut of what Guzmán is calling a more luxurious product. The magazine’s trim size has increased by two inches, the inte-rior pages feature more white space and the paper stock is slightly thicker.

“We are prying print and digital apart,” said Guzmán, who joined the title in 2013. “The experience of reading a magazine is a luxurious experience. You curl up in your reading nook with a magazine and we know that our issues are dog-eared and kept for years. We felt like the increase in size is a reflection of all of these things.”

The September issue will also include a new style-focused front-of-book section, Where + Wear, which showcases stories ranging from what Chloé’s creative direc-tor Clare Waight Keller packs when she travels to Josep Font of Delpozo’s favorite spots in Barcelona.

“We always talk about this idea of who do you want to be on vacation,” Guzmán told WWD. “I think that our industry has been a little bit behind in knitting togeth-er lifestyle categories. It’s less about the act of travel and more about tapping into passion points that fall under the umbrella of travel.”

According to Condé Nast Traveler pub-lisher Bill Wackermann, the new magazine complements the Web site, but they have different readers.

“In making this change, we are making a clear delineation in the marketplace that the magazine is for the person who’s taking seven or more foreign trips a year. That’s very different from someone who is just coming to our Web site and planning a family vacation,” said Wackermann.

Guzmán has tweaked the magazine a few times since she started. She released a more stylized logo earlier this year and before that she placed supermodel Christy Turlington Burns on the cover and lent the inside content a more fashionable touch.

The changes seem to be working. Ac-cording to the magazine, its September 2014 issue showed a 15.2 percent increase

in pages while this September issue will reflect a 20 percent increase in pages, which will include luxury ads from brands including Bottega Veneta, Hermés, Fendi and Blancpain.

On the digital side, Condé Nast Traveler relaunched its Web site last year and has worked with brands such as Land Rover and Samsung on native video content. Wackermann said digital revenue is up more than 100 percent since last year and in July the site received 4.8 million unique visits, which can be compared to the 800,000 unique visits the site logged when Guzmán first started. The team will also release mobile-first city guides on Aug. 21.

According to Wackermann, this fall, Condé Nast Traveler will also be featured prominently on the Apple News app. “There’s a sales opportunity for us to sell onto Apple, so it’s kind of a big deal for us.” – ARIA HUGHES

Memo Pad

A still from the Cath Kidston short film.

A look from SILK’s fall

collection.

Stephanie Smith