Buccellati Unveils Salon in West Palm Beach

By Gretchen Friedrich
Jewelry News Network Social Media Manager

Favoloso is the Italian word for fabulous. It is certainly an appropriate adjective for describing all things Buccellati. From the world’s most expensive tech accessories, to the extensive history of craftsmanship, Buccellati brings a signature level of quality and creativity in all its pieces.

That attention to detail is conveyed in the new location in the Neiman Marcus store in West Palm Beach, Fla., unveiled Wednesday. The salon’s design and appointments are a reflection of the new global identity by Buccellati worldwide, unveiled in March in its new New York boutique. The salon features its signature Alcantara beige throughout the space, complimented by rich wood display cases and neutral furnishings. 

In 2014, the design house launched a rebranding effort while simultaneously bringing on its first female designer, Lucrezia Buccellati. She continues the family tradition of two generations working as the design center of the luxury jewelry house. She and her father, Andrea, are combining traditional Buccellati craftsmanship with modern design. 

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The Career of Steven Lagos Comes Full Circle

Steven Lagos

Steven Lagos founded his eponymous jewelry brand 1977 in Philadelphia. The company gradually grew to become one of the best-known jewelry brands in the US, with an extremely loyal following. LAGOS specializing in sterling silver jewelry. Its products are sold in more than 300 stores, including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and independent jewelry retailers. 

In February Lagos announced that he will step down from his CEO position to focus on his roles as chairman and creative director of the company. He described the change as both a natural progression for him and the company and as a dream come true as he can now put all of his focus on designing jewelry, which is why he entered the business in the first place. 

What follows is an interview I had with Lagos as he prepares for the next stage of his career. 

Anthony DeMarco: Why make this move now?
Steven Lagos: These management changes are the result of reaching our objectives within our long term strategic plan. While the wholesale customer base has consolidated, the retail marketplace is more fragmented than ever. When I first started you just focused on the stores, it was so easy. Today the customer is shopping everywhere. To stay competitive, the business must be scalable, and that requires significant resources. We define resources as "Money, Time and People." All three are critical and must work in unison.  Today, we are on track with our plan and know exactly what we want to do. This is the perfect time for me to step aside.

AD: How long have you been planning this?
SL: It’s been part of the master plan for a while.  In big companies they say it’s best to have a new CEO every seven years. I think 37 years is a pretty long run. 

Caviar, made of textured sterling silver, is the company’s iconic jewelry design 

AD: Is this a first step toward retirement?
SL: Retire from what? I love my work and my job. It provides me a fantastic lifestyle and is really interesting. I’m a creative type. I managed the business for all this time to get exactly where I am. Design Director is my dream title.  

AD: What are your responsibilities going to be?
SL: I started the business from the creative side. To relinquish my day to day business responsibilities is a dream come true for me. While I’m proud of the creative work I‘ve been doing, I think I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. There is much more to explore. Creativity and design will be my main responsibility.

AD: You are showing a lot of faith in Chris Cullen, how has he earned it?
SL: Chris joined the company seven years ago as president and was charged with transforming LAGOS into a professionally operated, world‐class brand. For 31 years, I was creating products and selling in the best channels. We developed a cult following but were never able break through and scale our success. Chris is a team builder and professional manager. He created and has executed a vision of the company that leveraged our heritage and product portfolio, while developing new systems that focused on adapting to the changing marketplace. He has definitely earned it.

AD: Are you looking at creating new designs? New materials? New price points? Last year you seemed to introduce more expensive items? 
SL: I’m 100% interested in new designs and materials. Jewelry is so dynamic and versatile. Gold was logical as it build on our existing portfolio in both materials and price points.  With any product you have to innovate to stay relevant.   We won’t be adding new categories.  We are focused on being a women’s lifestyle jewelry brand.  We want to offer our customers jewelry for every time and occasion. 

AD: Is the company itself going to update its brand image?
SL: We are not updating the brand image, but rather re-affirming what the brand stands for and what makes it successful, which is our signature Caviar design, the bold femininity we want to convey, as well as our values; strength and integrity. The campaign we launched last fall “MY LAGOS MY WAY” (pictured below) is a result of this strategy.

AD: What is one or two of your best memories and/or accomplishments at Lagos?
SL: In 37 years there have been so many it would be hard to single out one or two. I think my best memories all involve people.  Jewelry is so intimate and personal. It’s an honor to be able to create and have people purchase and cherish your work for its beauty. The magic is the personal stories attached to each piece.  

AD: How do you see your future and the future of your company?
SL: We are building a brand. We have always prided ourselves in running a balanced, well run organization.  We believe that there is a lot of opportunity in the market and want to stay focused on building our brand.

AD: When you first started what were your goals and how have they changed over the years?
SL: When I started it was so much easier to focus. The distribution was simple–some retail stores and some mail order clients. Today the customer is shopping everywhere. It’s so different and fragmented. You need to focus on a lot of different distributions, often for the same business. 

AD: Did you ever think you would have a created a brand such as Lagos? 
SL: Growing up, I always wanted to be an artist and sign and sell my work. Creating LAGOS was my way of realizing this dream. I am super proud of what we have accomplished and humbled with what is left to do. 

Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes website.

Neiman Marcus Q3 Sales Up 10%, Net Earnings Up 150%

Neiman Marcus reported a year-over-year increase in revenues of 9.9 percent to $983.8 million for its fiscal third quarter. Comparable revenues increased 9.7 percent. Operating earnings for the period ended April 30 increased 45 percent year-over-year to $123.2 million.

The Dallas-based luxury retailer said Friday that net earnings totaled $46.2 million for the 13-week period compared to $18.5 million in the prior year, a staggering 149.7 percent increase. EBITDA increased 23 percent to $169.9 million for the period.

For the 39 weeks ended April 30, the company reported total revenues of $3.08 billion compared to $2.87 billion in the prior year. Comparable revenues increased 7.3 percent. The Company recorded operating earnings for the 39 weeks ended April 30, 2011 of $312.3 million compared to $227.3 million for the comparable period a year ago, an increase of 37 percent.

The company’s year-over-year net earnings rose 200.9 percent to $93 million for the 39-week fiscal period, ended April 30. EBITDA increased 18 percent for the period to $457.2 million.

Luxury Brands Report Strong Sales in March

Luxury retail sales continue to be the bright spot in an otherwise fragile U.S. retail sector that is balancing on a number of internal and external factors.

In March, luxury department stores reported sales increases for stores open more than a year. Among them are Saks Fifth Avenue (up 11.1 percent) Neiman Marcus (up 8.8 percent) and Nordstrom (up 5.1 percent). Victoria’s Secret, the high-end lingerie store owned by Limited Brands reported a 19 percent increase in same store sales.

Meanwhile, Limited-owned GAP, a mid-market brand, reported a same store sales drop of 9 percent. Other mid-market and low-end stores were disappointing, as well, including Target (down 5.5 percent), Dilliards (down 1 percent) and Kohl’s (down 6.5 percent).

The International Council of Shopping Centers said comparable sales at chain stores increased 2 percent in March, year-over-year. The retail organization said a late Easter impacted year-over-year sales data.

“Sales for the month of March were on the high side of our expectations despite the negative impact of the Easter-date shift and less than favorable weather conditions in parts of the country,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for ICSC. “This gain, in the face of somewhat adverse factors, was encouraging and reflected a solid underlying trend in consumer demand.”

Bergdorf Goodman Earns Top Ranking Among Luxury Consumers

For the second consecutive year, Neiman Marcus' Bergdorf Goodman subsidiary earns the top ranking among eight luxury retailers in the 2011 Luxury Consumer Experience Index survey of wealthy shoppers conducted by the Luxury Institute. Respondents rated retailers on store personnel, the shopping environment and whether the overall experience resulted in complete satisfaction.

Brooks Brothers earns the second highest overall LCEI score but ranks first for completely meeting wealthy customers' needs. Nordstrom receives the third highest LCEI score, and remains the most popular luxury shopping destination, visited by 38 percent of wealthy shoppers in the past 12 months. It is also earns the highest loyalty, with 98 percent of shoppers planning to come back.

“The top-tier brands of luxury with resources are now focused on becoming customer-centric global enterprises,” says Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, a New York-based market research firm specializing on high net-worth consumers, which does the LCEI survey. “The only way to achieve this is to create establish a self-reinforcing culture of service to your associates and your customers. The work is extremely hard but the financial returns can be dramatic.”

Survey participants had minimum household income of $150,000, with average income of $271,000 and average net worth of $2.4 million.

Neiman Marcus Q1 Sales Up 6.7%, Core Customers Return but are Cautious

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus, Inc. said Wednesday that revenues increased 6.7 percent to $927.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011. Comparable revenues increased 6.4 percent and operating earnings were $99.8 million compared to $74.8 for the same period of the prior year. Sales were driven by an increase in customer demand and higher levels of full-price sales, something the company has been the focusing on during the past year.

Specialty retail stores sales increased 5.5 percent to $761.1 million with comparable sales up 5.1 percent for the quarter. Operating earnings increased 22 percent to $108 million. The company’s direct business sales (Internet and catalog) increased 12.8 percent to $166.1 million—led by a 16.9 percent increase in Internet sales to $139 million, offsetting a 4.6 percent decline in catalog revenue.

Prior to the recession, Neiman Marcus defined its core customer as spending $12,000 per year at its store. Karen Katz, Neiman Marcus new CEO, said that customer has returned but is spending more thoughtfully and is looking for value.

“I would generally say the core customer is actually shopping,” Katz said. “(But) she is being much more deliberate in how she’s shopping so her spending is not back up to the levels of pre-recession and we don’t have an expectation that it will get back to that level. As a result the way we are thinking about our strategy is that we need to attract other affluent customers into the Neiman Marcus group.”

Katz noted the most affluent customers are again purchasing the highest priced items but other consumers are slow to return to buying more affordable luxury items. This caused the company to make some changes to pricing strategy.

“Generally speaking, things at the high end are doing very well,” Katz said. “We went through what we call the rebalancing of profit in terms of price point. We needed to fill in better in the middle and the opening price points of what we offer and those where we’ve done that we actually had nice success with it. Our handbags division for an example, everything had grown to the high end in handbags and we came back and balanced out the prices there with existing vendors and it’s worked extremely well. And we think that that is helping fuel the success of our handbag business right now.”

Neiman Marcus Internet Sales Up 12.8 percent, New CEO looks to Reach Customers through Mobile Devices

Karen Katz photo by Jeanne Prejean

Neiman Marcus’ direct business sales (Internet and catalog) increased 12.8 percent year-over-year to $166.1 million in the first quarter of the 2011 fiscal year—led by a 16.9 percent increase in Internet sales to $139 million, offsetting a 4.6 percent decline in catalog revenue. Karen Katz, the new CEO, said the company will continue to invest in Internet and social media initiatives.

“At the heart of our strategy is an idea that a customer should be able to shop a Neiman Marcus group brand anytime, anywhere and anyplace she chooses,” Katz said during an earnings conference call Wednesday.

The luxury retailer’s e-commerce business includes Web sites for its Neiman Marcus brand, its Last Call clearance brand and Horchow, its catalog and Internet business that offers home furnishings, linens, decorative accessories and tabletop items.

Now Katz, who replaced Burt Tansky as CEO in October, said she is trying to reach customers through their mobile devices.

The company recently introduced a Neiman Marcus gift app for iPhone and iPad, a The Shoe Salon Bergdorf Goodman iPhone app (pictured left) with an emphasis on affordable gifts, a gift of the day and gift suggestions at different price points, Katz said. There’s an interactive iPad app for all Neiman Marcus catalogs in which users can shop right from the catalog.

“There’s clearly a need as the customer is getting more connected between their mobile devices, their iPads and those kinds of things we really have to ramp up how we’re connecting with the customer in that way,” she said. “Obviously we have a large e-commerce business and we are going to continue to fuel that but even in our stores we’re studying how to be better connected with our customers."

Sales at Neiman Marcus and BG Stores Up 6.4% in November

In another sign of a good holiday season for the U.S. luxury market, Neiman Marcus Inc. reported that comparable revenues in its Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores increased 6.4 percent in November. Jewelry and designer handbags were among the strongest categories.

Total sales for all Neiman Marcus Inc. operations in November increased 5.8 percent to $322 million. The company said revenue growth trends were the strongest in the company’s stores in the Southeast, New York City and Texas. Comparable sales for the month increased 5.5 percent to $321 million.

Comparable revenues at Neiman Marcus Direct, which include online and print catalog operations under the Neiman Marcus, Horchow and Bergdorf Goodman brands, in the four-week November period increased 2 percent. The top selling merchandise categories in the Direct Marketing segment included women’s fine apparel and shoes, accessories and men’s.

Strong Showing for Retail Stores in September

A number of department stores posted strong gains for the month of September, outperforming other retails segments.

For example, Neiman Marcus reported that its same store sales rose 4.7 percent during the month against the same period last year. Jewelry, women’s shoes, handbags and men’s clothing saw big sales gains. Stores in California, Texas, the south-east and New York were the top performing for the period.

Saks reported a 6.5 per cent increase in same store sales, highlighting strength in a similarly broad range of categories. Nordstrom said its same store sales rose 7.5 percent and that transactions at its main stores had increased for the 13th month in a row.

Mid-market retailers also did well for the month. Macy’s same store sale rose 4.8 percent, JC Penney was up 5.1 percent and Kohl’s increased 3 percent in September.

Teen and youth retailers also delivered a generally strong month, with same store sales at Abercrombie & Fitch up 13 percent.