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The Feed is a place for us to share our brand successes and accomplishments, our thinking on the latest consumer trends and our take on the most interesting ideas we come across, such as how mobile commerce is changing the world. We hope you find it interesting and, of course, come back and visit regularly.

Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. CEO William L. McComb on Juicy Couture

The High Low

Lucky Brand is Launching a Full Handbag Line for Fall

The High Low

kate spade new york Self-Launches Ladylike “Live Colorfully” Fragrance

The High Low

Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. CEO Bill McComb on EBay’s Commerce Revolution

The High Low

For Our Kids' Safety

Make One Simple Change

Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence Symbol is Launched

USA Today

Kate Spade Saturday Line Debuts In Tokyo

Forbes Online

Kate Spade Saturday is Pre-Launching on Fab.com

The High Low

The View From the Top: McComb's Bold Move

Women's Wear Daily

Tim Gunn Goes On The Hunt For (And Finds!) Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc.

The High Low

Sasha Obama Was the Vision of Inaugural Poise in Kate Spade New York

The High Low

Brands Tout Growth at ICR Conference

Women's Wear Daily

Juicy Couture's Modern-Day Pin-up Girl

Women's Wear Daily

Big in Digital for 2013

Women's Wear Daily

A Very Fifth & Pacific Holiday: Celebrate With Jack, Kate, Lucky, and Juicy

The High Low

Party Recap: Lucky Brand Opens at the Time Warner Center

The High Low

Paul Blum Joins Juicy Couture as CEO

WWD

Kate Spade Launching Saturday Brand

Women's Wear Daily

LUCKY BRAND HOLIDAY 2012

A Lucky Life Blog

Lucky Brand to Collaborate on RTW, Jewelry

Women's Wear Daily

Classic Washes, Color Drive Spring Denim Orders

Women's Wear Daily

Kate Spade Teams With CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund

Women's Wear Daily

Kate Spade Partners With Paperless Post

WWD.com

What a sight: Google Glasses adorn models at NY fashion event

CNET

Step by Step with: LeAnn Nealz

Step Up Blog

Fragrance chat with LeAnn Nealz, Juicy Couture's President & Chief Creative Officer

SheKnows.com

How Fashion Giant Liz Claiborne Picked A New Name

Business Insider

Why Shopping Will Never Be The Same

USA Today

Juicy Couture's New London Look

Women's Wear Daily

Kate Spade Set for Madison Ave.

Women's Wear Daily

Lucky Brand in Deal With Parigi Group for Lucky Kid

WWD.com

Q & A - Katia Kuethe, New Director of Creative at Kate Spade

New York Times Blog

From Robinsons girl to retail queen

Singapore Sunday Times

Dan Ariely Explains the Problem With Fake Fashion: Part One

The High Low

Gilt Groupe’s Recipe for Success in Mobile

The New York Times: Bits Blog

Lucky Brand Enters the Plus-Size Fray

Women's Wear Daily

Clicks And Mortar: Why In-Store Experience Matters

Forbes.com

Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. Launches CSOP with CEO Barry Schneider

The High Low

Fifth & Pacific Has Novel Way To Sell Stock: On Facebook

Dow Jones Newswires

How We Told the Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. Story

The High Low

CEO Bill McComb Gives the Back Story on Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc.

The High Low

A Closer Look at the Brands of Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc.

The High Low

Kate Spade Wants To Help You Plan Your Next Vacation

Business Insider

Lucky Brand Staffing Up

Women's Wear Daily

How Kate Spade Uses Social Media To Sell Handbags

Business Insider

Bill McComb: On Leadership and Building Brands

Business Today

Lauren Conrad, Spike Lee, and The Best 2012 Earth Day Beauty

The High Low

Nailing Down the Future of Pinterest

Footwear News

Juicy to Open in Moscow

WWD.com

5 Questions for Kate Spade's Deborah Lloyd

WWD.com

A Soiree With Juicy Couture

Kenton Magazine

Gisele Bundchen and the Best Social Media

The High Low

Juicy’s London Bridge

Women's Wear Daily

The Secrets to Looking Great in Jeans

Health Magazine

Kate Spade and Poppy King Pair Up and Paint

BellaSugar (Australia)

Jack Spade Debuts in London

Women's Wear Daily

Q&A: Kyle Andrew of Kate Spade New York on Strong, Seamless Social Media

The High Low

Jessica Alba steps out in colorblocking trend for Brad Goreski's book launch

Examiner.com

From Show and Look to Show and Teach

The New York Times

Lady Gaga, Jermaine Dupre, and More Get Social Media Day Jobs

The High Low

How To Be Creative

The Wall Street Journal

5 Social Media Campaigns Rocking International Women’s Day

Mashable

After Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier Designs For Diet Coke

The High Low

Taking a Page From the Web, Magazine Pitches a Social Game

New York Times

kate spade traveling bus tour rolls into Los Angeles this weekend

Los Angeles Times

Log On, Coordinate, Pose

New York Times

What’s Wrong With A Chris Brown-Rihanna Reunion? Experts Weigh In

VH1's The Fab Life

Ace of Spade

Australian House And Garden

Vanity Fair, Juicy Couture Fete 'Vanities'

Women's Wear Daily

Juicy Couture Will Deliver Valentine's Treats to Benefit Loveisrespect.org

The High Low

Lucky Brand Gambles to Win

Footwear News

David Bassuk Named Juicy Co-President

Women's Wear Daily

Tween D8-ing: It's All About Texts

The Wall Street Journal Online

Kate Spade Likes Digital All Wrapped Up

Women's Wear Daily

Charmed at Juicy: Juicy Couture showcases D.I.Y. jewelry

Examiner.com

Brad Goreski and kate spade new york Play Musical Chairs in Spring Campaign

The High Low

Love Is Not Abuse Coalition's iPhone App is a Key Education Tool

The High Low

Style Coalition Announces Nominees for Fashion 2.0 Awards

A New Perspective

Vogue.uk.co

The Shopping Science Behind Lucky's Revamp

The Wall Street Journal

Juicy Couture's L.A. Girls: A Look at the Spring Campaign

Women's Wear Daily

Lucky Brand's Michael Griffin on the Technology of Great Denim

The High Low

Liz Claiborne Says Path Is Much Clearer To Revitalization

The Wall Street Journal Online

AAFA American Image Awards Set Honoree Slate

Women's Wear Daily

A Closer Look at the Brands of Fifth & Pacific, the New Liz Claiborne Inc.

The High Low

CEO Bill McComb Gives the Back Story on Fifth & Pacific

The High Low

Kate Spade Pre-Fall 2012

Women's Wear Daily

Liz Claiborne Inc. Announces New Name: Fifth & Pacific Companies

The High Low

Liz Claiborne Reborn as Fifth & Pacific

Women's Wear Daily

Liz Claiborne Inc.'s New Name

CNBC's Squawk Box

Musical Chairs And Brad Goreski, Duh

StyleCaster

Brad Goreski’s New Gig

Women's Wear Daily

Last Minute Holiday Marketing Tips From 6 Top Retailers

Forbes.com

5 of Fashion's Best Facebook Holidays Launches

The High Low

How Social Media Helped Kate Spade Become a Global Brand

Mashable

Social Media: Nobody Does It Better

WWD Collection

The Juicy Couture Girl Grows Up

Women's Wear Daily

The Juicy Couture Girl Grows Up

Women's Wear Daily

Amidst A Festive Pumpkin Patch, Lucky Brand Relaunches Lucky Kid

The High Low

Liz Claiborne CEO Bill McComb Discusses His Company’s Transformation

The High Low

Lucky Brand Style Director Karin Cole on the Secret to Choosing Denim

The High Low

Why Aren’t We All Using Mobile Wallets? Liz Claiborne Inc. CEO William L. McComb Explains

3 Questions for Lucky Brand's Karin Cole

Footwear News

Juicy Partners with Jamie Beck & Kevin Burg of From Me To You to Create The Coolest Campaign

Study: Dating abuse is difficult for most students to identify and stop

Washington Post

An Inside Look at Juicy Couture’s FNO Parties Around the World

The High Low

Kate Spade to Launch in London

The Telegraph (UK)

Liz Claiborne CEO Bill McComb on kate spade Success & Juicing Up Juicy

Digital Branding Maven Karen Robinovitz Shares Her Secrets

The High Low

App Educates Parents About Teen Digital Dating Abuse

baltimoresun.com

iPhone App Simulates Teen Dating Abuse

Mashable.com

The future of check-ins? It’s complicated

Gigaom.com

Want to Boost the U.S. Economy? Get Serious About Tourism

Huffington Post

A Q&A with Patrick Wade, Creative Director of Lucky Brand

The High Low

Liz Claiborne Inc - Reengineering Wholesale To Retail

RetailSolutionsOnline

Top 5 Ways to Grow Your Facebook Fans (and Keep Them)

The High Low

When Should a Brand Sell? Liz Claiborne’s CEO Offers Insight

The High Low

The M-Commerce Tipping Point Is Now

All Things Digital

Big Trends in Mobile Commerce

MASHABLE

Kate Spade New York’s CEO Talks China Expansion

The High Low

A Message From the CEO, Liz Claiborne Inc.

Top 10 Mobile Commerce Lessons from CEOs

The High Low

Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. CEO William L. McComb on Juicy Couture

The High Low - May 02,2013

Susannah Edelbaum
The High Low:  Bill, thanks for sitting down with us. William L. McComb:  My pleasure. THL:  Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about Juicy Couture, from its future as a brand to its Fifth Avenue store.  Can you shed some light on where Juicy is and where it’s going?

The High Low:  Bill, thanks for sitting down with us.

William L. McComb:  My pleasure.

THL:  Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about Juicy Couture, from its future as a brand to its Fifth Avenue store.  Can you shed some light on where Juicy is and where it’s going?

WLM:  Of course. Anytime a major brand like Juicy is in transition, there’s always going to be chatter. And Juicy is still in transition.  That’s why we’re so pleased Paul Blum, a respected industry leader, has joined us as Juicy’s CEO.

THL:  What are Paul’s plans?

WLM:  As we’ve said, last year was a miss in North America for Juicy.  Paul is busy addressing the underlying issue. Today I described his five-point plan for growth and profitability.  The centerpiece of the plan is to roll out the merchandising strategies that we have talked about since last fall.  These strategies are focused on giving the customer more everyday items from Juicy and building on the success of the fashion selections.  We’re launching Juicy Sport next Spring and have announced a plan to launch a meaningful intimates and lounge business with a global partner.  We’re also strengthening the organization’s workflows to support the international business, and essentially relaunching our outlet effort — with exciting new store layouts and better fixtures, and an assortment that is new, more timely, fresher, and more on trend.  With all of these plans, we are optimistic meaningful progress is being made.

THL:  When do you think you will know if it’s working?

WLM:  We’ve said we expect to see progress every quarter. We certainly saw improved full price sell through trends in apparel in this quarter, and the business performed in line with expectations.

THL:  There’s been a lot of buzz about Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. putting Juicy up for sale. Is it true?

WLM:  We never comment on rumors.  Of course, as a business, we have a responsibility to our shareholders to look at all options, and we do so.  Those rumors stem from the opportunity our company has to focus even more on unleashing and ensuring the magnificent opportunity we have with kate spade new york.  But rumors or not, our main focus is getting Juicy back on track fast, and that’s why we are so pleased to have Paul on board. Juicy is a special brand — highly differentiated, extremely well known and liked, and far reaching around the globe.  The Juicy customer is truly global, unlike so many large and domestically-successful American-based brands.

THL:  Let’s switch gears. Recently, CBSNews.com and the New York Post both published pieces about Juicy Couture’s Fifth Avenue store, criticizing how it treats its employees and the number of full-time vs. part-time employees.  Any comment?

WLM:  Absolutely.  Our critics got it completely wrong when it comes to jobs at Juicy Couture, and if they knew more about jobs and hours at Juicy Couture, they would invest their time and resources on a more worthy target.

THL:  Can you elaborate?

WLM:  Sure.  Today, we have more full-time and fewer part-time associates than we did in December 2012. In fact, with more than 35 full-timers at the Fifth Avenue store, we have nearly twice the number of full-time employees that our critics claim. At the same time, for part-time employees, we are paying higher average hourly pay rates.  Across the brand, total full-time and part-time employee numbers are about the same as in years past during the same time of year.  In other words, there’s no effort to change how many hours folks work.

THL:  There’s also been talk about Juicy cutting workers’ hours to avoid additional health insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act?  Anything to it?

WLM:  No, not all.  Anything that’s been said about our policies and the ACA is just a rumor and untrue.  I was and remain a supporter of the ACA.  The ACA is a very important and positive piece of legislation, even though it is dauntingly complex.  Like just about every other company in America, we are still figuring it out.  We’ve got to make sure we fully comply, of course, but we also want to make sure no one has to give anything up, if at all possible.  Today, we have different yet meaningful benefits options for full-time and part-time associates, and we intend to make sure these or comparable benefits remain available.  Once we know how we’re going to comply, we look forward to letting our teams know.

THL:  So what’s next for Juicy?

WLM:  Great fashion and styles for our fun-loving, fashion-obsessed and spirited consumer.  Big opportunities for the brand and our people.
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