Jos. A. BankTo Expand To 800 Stores

August 30, 2012

RETAIL ROLLOUT

{Continued on page MW2}PHOTO BY RYAN KIBLER

Casual Fridays are a thing of the past. Whether they opt

for a traditional navy suit in a more formfitting shape or a contemporary variation, men

in the financial community today understand the power of dressing — a phenomenon that is driving sales of men’s wear for retailers around the

country. For more on Wall Street fashion, see page MW3.

by JEAN E. PALMIERI

JOS. A BANK CLOTHIERS INC. has put its foot back on the accelerator.

After a minor stumble in the first quarter, the Hampstead, Md.-based retailer said sec-ond-quarter profits topped expectations and that it was aggressively planning to increase its store count. The company currently oper-ates 572 stores, but said it now envisions an 800-unit chain. The previous plan had been to grow to between 650 and 675 stores. The goal now is to eventually operate 700 full-line stores and 100 factory outlets.

The company attributed its heightened expansion plan to the “positive operat-ing results of the new full-line and factory stores [it] has opened in the past several years” and its “strong balance sheet.”

The retailer will open 45 to 50 stores in both fiscal years 2012 and 2013, a number that includes about 10 outlets each year.

“We are very excited to announce this increase in our store growth potential and the continuance of this very important part of our overall growth program,” said R. Neal Black, chairman and chief executive officer. “This increase further solidifies the strength of our brand, which continues to gain prom-inence in the U.S. market through our ex-isting store presence, our advertising and marketing campaigns and our e-commerce platforms, among other factors.”

He said the company’s previous goal was to have 600 full-line and 50 to 75 fac-tory outlets. “We’ve mapped every zip code in the USA and we are confident in these new numbers. Now we just have to get the right real estate deals, and doing that will dictate the time frame. We have opened 16 stores already this year and we think we will get a total of 45 to 50 open both this year and next year, which includes 10 fac-tory stores in each year.”

In the second quarter ended July 28, profits rose 12.7 percent to $23.2 million, or 83 cents a diluted share, from $20.6 mil-lion, or 74 cents, a year earlier. Earnings per share came in 10 cents ahead of the 73 cents analysts, on average, had projected.

Sales for the three months ended July 28 increased 12.9 percent to $260.3 million from $230.7 million as same-store sales rose 6.1 percent and direct marketing revenues advanced 39.3 percent.

This contrasts to the first quarter when the company had a rare sales and revenue miss, posting a 16.7 percent decline in first-quarter profits on a 4.2 percent sales gain.

In the second quarter, gross margin re-ceded to 58.7 percent of sales from 62.4 percent in the comparable 2011 quarter,

Specialty chain also posts 12.7 percent profit jump in second quarter.

Dressy Street

POLS OF THE WEEK

Political PosturingWhile Mitt Romney seems to have lost some of his on-the-trail flair, President Obama’s style befits the Commander in Chief. Page MW4

PLUS: A look at J. Press York Street, the new collection designed by Ariel and Shimon Ovadia for the venerable Ivy League specialty store. Page MW2

Men’s WeekMW2 WWD Thursday, augusT 30, 2012

Ovadia & Sons Mines J. Press Heritage for York Street Line

by JEAN E. PALMIERI It Now hAs a name and an aggressive marketing plan.

J. Press York street is the moniker for the new collection designed by Ariel and shimon ovadia of ovadia & sons for the venerable Ivy League specialty store. the collection, which will be previewed next week for a spring launch, consists of a few-hundred pieces ranging from swim trunks and tank tops to ac-cessories and suits.

“My brother and I designed it,” said shimon ovadia. “And it came together quickly. It’s a total lifestyle brand. we didn’t do footwear, but we did everything else.”

As reported, the ovadia twins were tapped by J. Press to serve as creative direc-tors of a new line of men’s wear, a line that is also being wholesaled to other select stores, including Fred segal, according to ovadia.

It will be carried in the four J. Press stores — Manhattan, New haven, Conn.,

Cambridge, Mass. and washington, D.C. — and ovadia said a freestanding store for the line will open in the spring in New York City. “when the owners of the company saw the line, they decided to add it to their existing stores,” ovadia said. “they won’t carry the entire collection, but will mix pieces [into their existing assortment.] And then they’re going to open a stand-alone shop in the spring,” he said, although the location has not been determined.

Yuki okita, president and chief executive officer of J. Press, said distribution will be expanded outside the U.s. starting next year.

“we are planning to distribute J. Press York street in Japan and Asia from next fall, with the U.K. to follow shortly thereaf-ter,” he said.

he said the company “put much thought and consideration into partnering with Ariel and shimon as creative directors for the new J. Press York street range. Ultimately, we wanted to work with them because they

weren’t interested in trying to change the core of what J. Press is and what it stands for. Ariel and shimon understood that the brand is not a borrowed heritage, that J. Press has a real provenance, and they respected that. Another positive aspect is the fact that they are young, but still they understand and respect the DNA of this storied American clothier. For them, J.

Press’ heritage will always be at the core of everything we do in the future, and they were fascinated by the idea of infusing new into old.”

ovadia likened working with J. Press to finding a “sunken ship with treasure” that he and his brother can now revive. Ariel ovadia said, “we had a vision of bringing the brand up to date with great fresh clothing while still keeping with the company’s rich history and traditions, and we believe that the spring 2013 collection of York street has accom-plished just that.”

Among the pieces are sack suits in an updated silhouette for $495 to $750; a mod-ern raincoat in a double-faced water-resis-tant British Millerain fabric; woven shirts in 80s two-ply cottons for $98 to $130; ties, socks and scarves in Ivy League colors, and grosgrain belts.

the name of the collection is derived from the location of the first store opened by Jacobi Press on Yale’s campus in 1902, on 262 York street.

“this year marks J. Press’ 110th year in business, and we are very excited to intro-duce a modern evolution of our heritage with the J. Press York street collection.” okita said. onward Kashiyama bought the business in 1986.

In addition to the J. Press collection, the ovadia brothers have created a new line for Barneys New York under the label ovadia & sons New York. shimon ovadia said the line is designed to appeal to a “more advanced cus-tomer” and features “more elevated fabrics, bodies and design details.” A wool bomber jacket with a fur collar, sport coats, wool flan-nel shooting vests, dress shirts, sport shirts and ties are among the pieces created for the retailer. “It’s its own little world,” shimon ovadia said. the collection is being offered for the fall season.

the ovadias grew up working in the fam-ily’s children’s wear business, Magic Kids Inc., a $10 million distribution company that specializes in closeouts, and launched their vintage-inspired men’s collection in 2010. the brand offers a modern interpreta-tion of American and English classics, and it was recently named one of GQ’s Best New Menswear Designers in America.

by sAMANthA CoNtI LoNDoN — two years ago, the best-selling suit at selfridges was gray — across all de-signers and labels.

Boy, have times changed.this week, the store is unveiling a new

men’s designer area, Destination: Men’s wear, in the first floor atrium of the oxford street store. the 3,240-square-foot space will feature labels new to the store includ-ing Lanvin and Marni, as well as Balenciaga, saint Laurent Paris, Comme des Garçons, Junya watanabe, Jil sander and Rick owens.

the focus will be on fashion pieces, and straight-off-the-runway styles, according to David walker-smith, director of men’s wear. “Men are buying statement pieces, and color and print are being recognized. today, men are dressing to say: ‘this is who I am.’ they are embracing fashion with confidence,” said walker-smith in his sun-drenched office at the store.

he said Prada men’s has been outper-forming, with men preferring to pick up runway and catwalk pieces rather than clas-sics and staples. with tom Ford, the items featured in the designer’s lookbooks and ad-vertising are the biggest sellers. “that busi-ness has been way above what we originally planned,” he said, referring to Ford.

overall, the men’s designer business at the store is witnessing double-digit growth, said walker-smith, with some of the big-gest increases coming from labels such as Vivienne westwood, Maison Martin Margiela and Givenchy. walker-smith declined to give any sales figures or projections.

the opening is part of a multi-million dol-lar redevelopment strategy for men’s wear

and accessories. the architect Alex Cochrane has designed the space around three sculp-tural plinths. the floor is made from stones cut in a hexagonal pattern, while freestand-ing rails made from brass with a bronze finish are meant to invite the customer in to wander and explore. the overall feeling is meant to be organic and fluid.

there will also be a feature wall of highly polished steel at the back that will be used for brand-specific pop-up concepts. the wall will launch with an installation by Lanvin. “From the start, we challenged the conventional approaches towards retail design, luxury and display,” said Cochrane.“In essence, our approach was sculpture park meets retail.”

walker-smith added: “the space is sim-ple so that the product can sing.”

the store has also turned much of its at-tention to the fitting rooms, which are done in cobalt blue, with gray tweed. the area will offer beer, coffee and tea and have a sofa for shopping buddies.

the new department is only part of the story. In November, walker-smith will over-see the opening of the nearby men’s shoe hall, a 10,000-square-foot space — double the size of the previous one — with brands ranging from Converse to tod’s and Prada.

Designed by the Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen, the space will have three brand boutiques and two bespoke salons as well as a pop-up area for special projects.

there will be 250 brands on offer, and ex-clusives by Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, Kenzo and Lanvin. walker-smith said it would be a “total destination” that will be organized by category, such as driving shoes, made-to-mea-sure, classics, collaborations and catwalk.

Selfridges Expands Men’s Offering Jos. A. Bank to Add 50 Stores a Yearwhile the decline in operating margin was smaller, a descent of 70 basis points to 14.3 percent of sales from 15 percent a year ago.

Black said he attributed the uptick in the second quarter to “a refreshing of our marketing formats, particularly new cre-ative formats on tV and in direct mail.” he detailed that suits continue to lead the way, driven by tailored and slim-fit mod-els. “tailored fit is particularly strong be-cause it’s a model that a man with an av-erage body shape can wear for a trimmer and more modern look,” Black said.

he said promotional activity remains “very important and customers still want deals. they are watching their spending and looking for value. I expect it to remain that way through the rest of the year.”

Investors, who are always eager for pleasant surprises and continued expansion, pushed shares of the firm up 14 percent to $47.44 in trading on wall street on wednesday.

In a research report issued wednesday, Margaret whitfield of sterne Agee raised her full-year earnings estimates for the company to $3.67 a share from $3.55, and elevated the stock’s target price to $60 from $57.

she said the comp-store sales increase in the second quarter was “led by trans-actions as Jos. A. Bank focused upon big-ticket items with strong unit growth in suits and dress shirts with moderate growth in sportswear and other tailored [apparel.]” the 370-basis-point decline in gross margin was “offset in part by im-provement in sales and marketing and general and administrative” costs.

Looking ahead, Black said the company

is seeing positive momentum so far in the third quarter.

“Keeping in mind that sales are just one component of net income, and that sales for any one month are not neces-sarily indicative of sales for the entire quarter, we are nevertheless pleased to announce that the third quarter has start-ed out positively,” he said. “Both our com-parable-store sales and direct marketing sales are up in fiscal August compared to the same period last year.”

the earnings “beat” in the second quar-ter wasn’t quite sufficient to elevate the company’s year-to-date profits. For the six months, net income was down 1 percent, to $38 million, or $1.36 a diluted share, from $38.3 million, or $1.37, in the first half of 2011. Aided by a 2.9 percent increase in same-store sales and a 19.8 percent growth rate for direct marketing, revenues expanded 8.9 percent to $461.7 million from $423.9 million.

— With Contributions from ArnoLD J. KArr

{Continued from page MW1}

Ovadia & Sons New York is a Barneys exclusive.

Looks from J. Press York Street.

Jos. A Bank’s store count is expected to rise to 800.

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Men’s Week MW3WWD thursday, august 30, 2012

Back to Business Even during the unrelenting heat of a New York City summer, today’s Wall Street workers understand the need for dressing to impress. While dark blue and gray suits still rule in the caverns of downtown Manhattan, some guys are expressing their individual style with bow ties, boutonnieres and updated sport coats. — ALEX BADIA

PHotos BY RYan kiBleR

w30b002(3)b;11.indd 3 8/29/12 7:22 PM08292012192249

Barack OBama: a- // mitt rOmney: c+

Men’s WeekMW4 WWD thursday, august 30, 2012

Pols of THE WEEK

He’s obviously feeling the heat; try some blotting paper. at least his hair still looks debonair.

every president goes gray, and Obama is no exception. But his salt-and-pepper locks make him look more seasoned. a cleaner fold would help

look less sloppy.

the tie has been loosened enough to make him look approachable and relaxed yet still in control. and the blue and white repp stripe is elegant and all-american.

the slim white shirt is empowering and sleek.

Sport shirts are more appropriate with casual pants. With a suit pant, stick to a dress shirt.

With many brands now offering formfitting shirts, no need to continue going for the boxy, oversize cut.

Bravo — this is exactly the way to roll a cuff.

Formfitting pants, maybe in a cotton blend, would be better suited for the occasion.

the cuffed pant works perfectly with the dress shoe and helps balance the formal-yet-casual approach.

the comfy orthopedic driving shoes are totally inappropriate with a dress pant and make him look dumpy and old.

Long gone are the days when Mitt Romney dressed with a European flair like when he was vying for the nomination. Now that he’s gotten the Republican nod, he’s lost his knack for power dressing. On the other hand, Barack Obama continues to look like the man in charge. Even without his blazer, he looks polished and sharp.

Saint James Opens Store in N.Y.’s West VillageSaint JameS has dropped an-chor in the West Village.

the French nautical brand has relocated its new York City store from 79th Street and madison avenue to 319 Bleecker Street, as it seeks to be closer to its customer base.

“a lot of our customers come from downtown,” said Guillaume Jamet, general manager for the U.S. division. “they’re artists and young people, so it made sense to move closer to where they live and shop.” the madison avenue unit opened seven years ago and was the company’s first store out-side of France, but the brand has evolved over the past few years and it was time for a new look.

“this is a great occasion to tell our story and offer the Saint James experience,” he said.

the 600-square-foot store, which opened Wednesday, car-ries both men’s and women’s apparel and accessories, and it includes several limited-edition products, such as special colors and cuts of Saint James classics.

it is designed to “feel like you’re on the French Riviera and it’s been there for centuries — but modern as well,” Jamet said. Channeling its nautical roots, the store features shelves made from

reclaimed driftwood, display boxes made from jute, and histor-ical photos of the brand that was founded over 120 years ago. “We really want people to feel the his-tory of the company,” he said.

Saint James is known for pro-ducing the striped Breton shirt that has been part of the French naval uniform since 1848. the 21 stripes on the combed cotton jer-sey correspond to a naval victory of napoleon’s French fleet against the British, according to company lore. its fisherman sweater has been worn by anglers since the 19th century and the brand still outfits the French army and navy with their official uniform sweat-ers. its factory is still located in the village of Saint-James, popu-lation 3,000, about 13 miles from mont Saint-michel.

Jamet said there are no plans to add more stores in the States at this point. “We’re going to have just this one for now,” he said. “We’re crossing our fingers, but we think it’ll be a great store. and we want to tell our story in other places, so eventually we will have a few more, but not right away.”

in addition to the new store, Saint James has created its first capsule collection for Barneys

new York. the collection con-sists of eight pieces based on Saint James’ history as a manu-facturer of hefty knitwear. it in-cludes classic american styles such as varsity jackets, shawl collar cardigans, bomber jackets, knit pants, crewneck sweatshirts and Henley shirts with a French flair. all of the pieces were man-ufactured in France and retail from $115 for the Henley to $625 for the cardigan. the capsule will be carried in Barneys’ stores in new York, Beverly Hills, San Francisco and online.

the company also commis-sioned a calendar that was given out at an event Wednesday night celebrating the store and the launch of the capsule collection. the calendar was shot by Bill Gentle of Backyard Bill and fea-tures new York personalities, in-cluding John and mark Barboni, owners of Hudson Clearwater res-taurant; photographer mirabelle marden; architect Kelechi Odu; author Glenn O’Brien, and his son and actor alex Burns.

the Saint James collection is carried in over 220 retailers in the U.S. Worldwide, it operates over 50 stores, including 10 in Japan. the line is also available in europe, Korea and China.

— J.E.P.

Scott James Sets Growth Strategy by Jean e. PaLmieRi

SCOtt JameS is expanding its footprint.

the men’s sportswear brand, which is owned by Hampshire Group Ltd., will open a new store in Boston and begin distributing its collection in Canada. the company has also created a boys’ wear line for Bloomingdale’s.

Heath Golden, president and chief executive officer of Hampshire, which purchased the label two years ago, said the moves are all part of the plan to broaden the brand’s distribu-tion and take it international.

the first step is the signing of a three-year licensing agreement with Oneagency, part of the trimera Group, to distribute Scott James in Canada, beginning with the spring collection. “their knowledge, ex-tensive network of clients and well-established track record of distribut-ing great brands in this market will be extremely valuable to us,” Golden said. Rosa Costa, president of Oneagency, said Scott James “with its european flair for combining fab-ric and fit with affordable style…fills a void in our marketplace.”

Golden said there’s a “net spill-over effect” into Canada when U.S. brands begin to gain traction. “and we felt the aesthetic, and price-value relationship we offer would be appli-cable to Canada. We believe there’s a big opportunity for us there.”

He said the company hopes to get the brand positioned in the best specialty stores in that country. in the U.S., it is sold in high-end retail-

ers including Bloomingdale’s, Oak Hall, taylor Richards & Conger, Kilgore trout and others. mr. Sid in newton, mass., and Shaia’s in Birmingham, ala., recently installed in-store shops for the label.

the brand also showed at the last Pitti Uomo men’s show in Florence and will be opening a showroom in milan this fall, Golden said, add-ing that, in addition to europe and Canada, the company is targeting australia and mexico for the future.

Closer to home, Golden said the company will open a new Scott James store at 173 newbury Street in Boston in early September. the 1,187-square-foot store replaces a larger unit on the same block that had been opened by the brand’s designer, Scott James Kuhlman, before company was acquired by Hampshire. “there was no real in-vestment in it,” Golden said. “and it had a month-to-month lease. But by accident, we did really well there, so we decided to open a permanent store.”

He said if the store continues to perform well, the company would consider adding other doors in the future “in a handful of great cities.”

On the wholesale end, Scott James has created a boys’ collection exclusively for Bloomingdale’s. it is being sold alongside John Varvatos and Hugo Boss in a newly installed area within the 59th Street flag-ship, as well as in Short Hills, n.J., aventura, Fla., and Sherman Oaks, Calif. the line includes knits, bot-toms, sweaters and outerwear.

“We found out Scott James can look great scaled down,” Golden said.

earlier this month, Hampshire reported a net loss for the second quarter of $3.8 million, or 51 cents a diluted share, versus net income of $3.1 million, or 55 cents, for the year-ago period. Sales more than quintupled to $18.1 million from $3.5 million.

Golden said Scott James is “still the smallest thing we do as a corporation, but has a higher gross margin [than our other busi-nesses] and is a critical part of our corporate strategy.”

romney:face: He’s obviously feeling the heat; try some blotting paper. at least his hair still looks debonair.shirt collar: Sport shirts are more appropriate with casual pants. With a suit pant, stick to a dress shirt.shirt: With many brands now offering formfitting shirts, no need to continue going for the boxy, oversize cut.right sleeve: a cleaner fold would help look less sloppy. pants: Formfitting pants, maybe in a cotton blend, would be better suited for the occasion.shoes: the comfy orthopedic driving shoes are totally inappropriate with a dress pant and make him look dumpy and old.

Obama:hair: every president goes gray, and Obama is no exception. But his salt-and-pepper locks make him look more seasoned.shirt: the slim white shirt is empowering and sleek. tie: the tie has been loosened enough to make him look approachable and relaxed yet still in control. and the blue and white repp stripe is elegant and all-american.cuff: Bravo — this is exactly the way to roll a cuff.pleat in the pant: the single pleat allows for a bit of shape and adds a playful sophistication.cuff on pant: the cuffed pant works perfectly with the dress shoe and helps balance the formal yet casual approach.

Editor’s Note: In honor of the presidential campaign season, Men’s Week is focusing on the presidential and vice presidential race in its new Pols of the Week feature.

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EdITOR’s NOTE: In honor of the presidential campaign season, Men’s Week is focusing on the presidential and vice presidential race in its new Pols of the Week feature.

the store is located on christopher Street.

the Saint James calendar models are wearing the Barneys’ capsule collection.

a look from Scott James’ spring line.

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