Watch out, Jessica, Paris and Lindsay: There’s a new object of the paparazzi’s dubious affection. And she’s proving to be a quick study of the red carpet’s perilous twists and turns, according to WWD.

Katie Holmes, currently on tour with new fiance Tom Cruise, is flirting with different looks and different designers, but so far is keeping it simple. No Glastonbury chic for her – at least not yet. “Katie’s charm comes from her always-bright personality,” says Giorgio Armani, who has dressed the actress often. “She combines a wonderful innocence with a subtle but strong sophistication in the way she dresses.”

Holmes’ stylist, Jeanne Yang, has carefully put the starlet in jeans and designer frocks from Chanel, Dior, Prada and Chloe – not to mention Armani – for everything from casual street appearances to black-tie galas. Mission accomplished.

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Italian designer Alberta Ferretti has opened another Russian flagship store. Her second store in that country, it is located in Kaliningrad, an up-and-coming Russian shopping destination. The new store also carries the Philosophy by Ferretti range.

The Ferretti boutique is franchised to 000 Status, the company’s Russian partner, which also opened a Moscow store with Aeffe, the company that controls the brands Alberta Ferretti, Moschino and Pollini.

A spokeswoman for the company told WWD that the opening “confirms the potential of the Russian market, which is developing exponentially”. During the fall/winter 2006 collection, Russian buyers represented 4.5 percent of Ferretti sales, up from 3.3 percent last year. Russian exports accounted for 7.2 percent of the total, up 1.7 percent from the year before.

The spokeswoman also pointed out the multinational character of the city, with inhabitants as diverse as Russians, Byelorussians, Ukranians, Armenians, Germans and Poles. Although Russian, it is separated from the country by Lithuania and Latvia and is a tax-free zone. Furthermore, it is Russia’s only port on the Baltic Sea.

The company has five Alberta Ferretti stores, five Philosophy stores and 12 boutiques that carry both collections.

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Luxury fashion house Hermès has reported a 7.4 percent rise in 2005 operating profit of 383.5 million (£264.8 million). Net profit increased 15 percent to 247 million, up from 214 million euro in 2004. Annual turnover rose 7.2 percent to 1.43 billion, due mainly to Japanese sales growth and strong growth in other Asian Pacific countries.

The operating profit fell below analysts’ expectations; they had predicted an increase to about 395 million euro. HSBC analyst Antoine Belge told the FT that Hermès was not performing as well as its competitors and that a 10 million euro provisions cost was the cause for profits falling below expectations. He added that he believed the company was overvalued, largely due to takeover speculation, but thought that the share price would remain unchanged thanks to confidence in the luxury sector and strong sales in Asia.

Hermès now has 13 sales outlets in China, where it said it sales were particularly strong. The company opened its second store there in the fourth quarter. Directly operated stores saw sales rise 10 percent. This strong performance through directly owned stores, where margins are higher, led the company to increase investment in new stores this year. Last year the majority of investments were directed towards increasing production capacity for leather goods and for expansion and renovation of the company’s distribution network. Hermès plans to open about 20 stores in 2006, including Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok, Hangzhou, Paris and Amsterdam. Investments are derived from cash flow, which increased 7 percent to 310.8 million euro.

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The sales have started which means it’s time to sharpen your elbows and join the annual battle at the tills. Or is it? Do you really need to fight the crowds, the snow, and that menacing fashion victim who claims she saw those half-price sandals first? You can now enjoy the magic of the sales from the comfort of your own home, by hunting for bargains on the websites of the major high-street stores.

Sales die-hards don’t have to sleep in a freezing tent for days to be first through the door. They can sleep in their own bed, make a cup of tea, and log on the minute their favourite store’s online doors open. Although Selfridges and House of Fraser offer little for shoppers via their websites except gift vouchers, most of the major department stores and chains replicate their high-street sales online.

Often they offer exactly the same discounts on the same products. One advantage of shopping online is that you get to the bargains first. Boots and Debenhams both kicked off their online sales on December 22, but didn’t cut prices until Boxing Day. Most items are reduced both online and offline, but in Debenhams there will be some “early bird” offers available only in branches. These will include a £250 Jasper Conran cashmere blend overcoat for £125 and a £90 DKNY bracelet watch for just £45, against the usual sale price of £63, plus a range of other cut-price offerings.

John Lewis started both its online and offline sales on December 27, but you stand more chance of snapping up a bargain at one of its stores, where there are price cuts on a massive 500,000 product lines. In contrast, only 15,000 items are reduced online. Deals include 30% off selected handbags from DKNY, Fiorelli, Longchamp and Radley, 40% off watches by Quicksilver, Diesel, Storm and Seiko, and 50% discount on end-of-line Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Phillips TVs.

Clothing chain Next opened its stores to sales-hungry shoppers at 5am on December 27 and the price-cutting went online at 6am, giving surfers an extra hour in bed. Next will offer the same deals on its website, cutting prices by up to 50%. Offers include a women’s black and white striped jacket reduced from £69.99 to £34.99, with matching trousers reduced from £34.99 to £16.99.

If you do opt to stay at home there is always the danger that your chosen store’s website could crash under the weight of shoppers. All the major retailers say their sites are up to the potential crush of visitors, but some, including Debenhams’ site, have occasionally groaned under the weight of Christmas shoppers, and the real test is yet to come.

Another drawback with online shopping is that you may have to pay delivery charges. Next, for example, charges £3.50, regardless of order size. You can order your goods online and pick them up for free at one of its 240 stores, although this may defeat the object of shopping online Whether you buy online or in the store, retailers generally operate the same returns policies.

Online shoppers also benefit from a statutory seven-day “cooling-off” period, giving you the unconditional right to return any item you aren’t happy with. But if you keep your receipts, most stores will allow you to return unwanted goods in up to 14 or 28 days, provided they are in a resaleable condition. There are bargains to be had online, but hardened sales fans know there is no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and rummaging through the racks for a real snip.

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Caroline Charles, the eponymous designer from her namesake label from the 60s, is set to return to the catwalk for AW/06 after a ten-year absence. Charles is planning a catwalk show in February at the Royal Academy of Art. The label also returns to Selfridges in spring 06 with a concession stocking a selection from her three labels.

These include luxury suits from the London line and the younger, more casual Carline label. Selfridges will also carry her more expensive Studio range inspired by antique textiles. The spring 06 collections feature 1950s-style white cropped trousers, coloured jeans and polka dot silk sundresses. The designer has three stores in London, shops in Cheltenham and Tunbridge Wells, and concessions in the Manchester and London Harvey Nichols stores. Charles is probably best known for her elegant evening and occasionwear.

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US clothing retailer Liz Claiborne, maker of brands such as Juicy Couture, is to increase its China sourcing to up to 80 pct by 2010, following the lifting of quotas on Chinese apparel imports in 2008, the South China Morning Post reported. The company’s senior vice president Robert Zane was cited as saying that China now accounts for 25 pct of Liz Claiborne’s global sourcing of apparel and accessories, which is worth more than two bln usd annually.

Speaking at an apparel forum in Hong Kong, Zane was cited as saying that he expects to see massive consolidation in the global clothing trade and that his firm expects to reduce sourcing from 340 factories in 40 countries to 125 factories in 15 countries.

Liz Claiborne will increasingly source from large factories, each employing tens of thousands of workers while offering supply chain services besides manufacturing garments, according to the report. One such supplier is Hong Kong-listed Luen Thai Holding, which has extensive manufacturing and supply chain facilities in Guangdong province, the paper said. Following the end of the global textile quota system on Jan 1 last year, China’s share of the US textile and apparel market jumped to 27.7 pct from 20.3 pct in 2004.

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Icelandic retailer Baugur has squashed rumours that it might retract its bid for the House of Fraser department store chain. Nevertheless, the chain’s shares still slipped 3.4 percent as a result of the conjecture. “This is just a scurrilous rumour,” said a spokesman for Baugur. “It is completely false. Due diligence is progressing on schedule.”

In other news, the acquisitive Icelandic concern stepped up its presence in the UK fashion market with the merger of its Mosaic Fashions with Rubicon Retail. In a deal valued at £250 million, the two groups partly owned by Baugur wil merge to create one of the UK’s biggest fashion chains, with 1,700 stores in 27 countries. Mosaic owns brands like Oasis and Karen Millen, while Rubicon controls high street chains like Principles and Warehouse. Derek Lovelock, chief executive of Mosaic said his strategy was “to build a profitable, multi-branded fashion group.” The new, combined group will intensify international expansion with further moves into Europe, Asia and the US, Lovelock said.

Mosaic is the fourth biggest retailer in the UK, with sales of £891 million in the year ended January 2006. It ranks just behind New Look. Arcadia and Marks and Spencer are the number one and two fashion groups in the UK. Last year, Arcadia – which owns TopShop and Dorothy Perkins among others – generated sales of £1.77 billion. The majority stake in Rubicon is owned by chief executive Donald McCarthy, finance director Stefan Cassar and chief operating officer of the shoe business John Egan. They are said to be receiving a 20 percent stake in Mosaic and cash. Meanwhile, Rubicon was acquired by the Shoe Studio Group in 2005. Shoe Studio is partly owned by Baugur and Kaupthing.

Hennes & Mauritz have enlisted the services of MarkMonitor, the leader in online corporate identity protection to help identify and eliminate online counterfeit and gray market sales of its fashion lines on illegal Internet auction listings.

A key component of MarkMonitor’s integrated identity protection suite of solutions, Auction Monitoring addresses concerns over loss of revenue and brand erosion due to unauthorized product sales and illegal merchandising via Internet auction sites. H&M’s adoption of MarkMonitor’s solution significantly strengthens its capability to combat online counterfeit and gray market diversion in the highly competitive, global fashion industry.

H&M is currently operating in 22 countries, and, with more than a thousand stores, H&M’s brand name is synonymous with popular and affordable fashion. As a leader in the fashion industry to manage the growing threat of counterfeit and gray market goods, H&M sought a solution that would enable the company to gain global visibility into illegal online activities and facilitate rapid reporting of fraudsters’ identities worldwide.

“We suspected that our products were being sold illegally online and have not had the tools to track down and identify the perpetrators until we used Auction Monitoring,” said Bjorn Norberg, General Counsel at H&M. “With MarkMonitor’s solution, we can automate and more efficiently uncover the profile of those responsible and take immediate action to shut down their illegal auction listings. MarkMonitor will help us to better utilize internal resources by effectively scaling a previously time-consuming process, enhance the overall security of the company with in-depth monitoring of online fraud activities, and minimize revenue losses from counterfeit and gray market goods, so we can continue to provide quality fashion at the affordable prices that we are known for.”

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Italian fine jewellery house Buccellati is opening a store in London before the holiday season starts. The family-owned business is also opening a store in Aspen , Colorado and is reopening its renovated stores in Beverly Hills and New York . The new stores have been designed in the house’s signature Italian Renaissance style, but with modern finishings. The boutiques are also intended as locations for social events.

Despite increased retail accessibility, the company insists that is remains exclusive by limiting distribution. “Buccellati isn’t for everybody,” the firm’s president, Andrea Buccellati, told WWD in an interview. “Our clients are looking for luxury and exclusivity. They want to be part of an inner circle. We’re looking to make the Buccellati experience more tailor-made.” Many luxury goods companies are looking to broaden their customer base while maintaining their exclusivity. While expanding its retail presence, Buccellati is placing the emphasis on a more personal rapport with its customers. “We want to be able to have a direct connection (with the consumer),” Buccellati said. “We can sketch pieces together for a customer, or a customer can bring in a stone and we can set it in the Buccellati way.”

Buccellati was established in 1919 and later became known for its engraved brushed gold and platinum jewellery adorned with precious stones, which were designed by Andrea Buccellati and his father. The house only makes 3,000 to 4,000 pieces per year. Prices range from $1,000 to millions of dollars for custom-made pieces. The company launched a watch collection six years ago, with prices averaging at $15,000. Also included in the offering is sterling silver hollowware, which accounts for 30 percent of the business.

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Canadian denim label Buffalo David Bitton is opening a stand-alone store in London . After a successful trial with a temporary London store this summer, the company has chosen to commit to the UK market. The first store is slated to open on Kensington High Street in London , with further stores to follow in Brighton , Croydon, Kingston-upon-Thames and Kent in May. There are also plans for stores in Manchester , Birmingham and Liverpool . Eventually, Buffalo David Bitton intends to open 35 stores in the UK and Ireland over the next two years and is investing more than £15 million in the expansion.

“There is a vast gap in the market here for quirky product, and the female ranges are extremely strong,” Jennifer Lacoste, president of Lacoste Enterprises Group – Buffalo David Bitton’s retail partner – told WWD. “The customer base is very broad and it seems to have stretched from 18-year-olds to 60-year-olds. People love the fact that the clothing is different.” The 4,400 square foot Kensington High Street store will offer David Bitton’s women’s and men’s jeans and fashion collection, which includes embellished jeans and hot pants, and denim clam diggers. Prices range from approximately £30 for a cotton top to £180 for a pair of embellished jeans. Lacoste said that they had chosen High Street Kensington above Oxford Street or Regent Street because it was more personal. “We wanted the store to have a superb ambience.”

Lacoste owns and operates all of the brand’s UK and Irish stores. The company is also planning to expand into Europe . “In the next four or five years, we hope to open in the principal cities in Europe ,” Lacoste said. In addition, Lacoste intends to promote Buffalo David Bitton with editorial and television promotions and collaborations with celebrities.

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