Noemie Lenoir

[scriptgirl]

la senza
Woohoo! A hundred pages of Noemie goodness!!

 

[simplylovely]

^ Love those!

 

[scriptgirl]

Noemie attending Katoucha's funeral

Abaca

 

[ms_prissy]

she looks awesome in the la senza shots. i love the bright colours on her!

and yay for 100 pages!!!

 

[crow_watcher]

Noemie looks so tranquil at Katoucha's funeral. No matter what the circumstances are, you can't cloak Noemie's beauty.

 

[scriptgirl]

AFP

 

[simplylovely]

^ So sad. RIP Katoucha!

 

[crow_watcher]

^It goes without saying.

The second pic of Noemie has a biblical mood to it.

 

[scriptgirl]

webshots

 

[ms_prissy]

god those photos at the katoucha's funeral are so sad.

 

[crow_watcher]

^Indeed.

Noemie's smile at the radio station makes a bad day forgettable.

 

[scriptgirl]

Next

 

[simplylovely]

^ Love her hair that way!

 

[crow_watcher]

^ I do too. Also, I love her blue patterned dress and thongs. Noemie is extremely gorgeous!

 

[scriptgirl]

The Independent

THE AMY WINEHOUSE EXPERIENCE
Byline: Alice-Azania Jarvis
Edition: 1ST
Section: News
Type: News

Her remarkable voice and riotous lifestyle are already
legendary. But could the Camden chanteuse's greatest
legacy be a crazy out- sized barnet? As hair fashions
reach dizzying new heights, Alice- Azania Jarvis gets
to grips with the beehive...

My brush with fame
Over-the-knee socks, the shoe-boot, those high-waisted
jeans: when you recount trends that women have
embraced this year, the word flattering is not the
first to leap to mind. But the beehive? Surely fashion
wouldn't be so fickle.

Well, actually it would. And the inspiration? None
other than the chart-sensation-cum-trainwreck Amy
Winehouse, she of the sailor tattoos, bloodied ballet
pumps and the perennial jeans-and-vest combination.
Suspicious as it may sound, Winehouse's towering
hairdo is set to become next year's answer to the Pob
- or at least if the singer's latest admirers are to
be believed. Which, when they include Karl Lagerfeld,
they probably are.

Such is Winehouse's allure that the designer paid
direct homage to her at the Chanel show he staged in
London this month, sending models down the runway
wearing impressively vertiginous up-dos and heavily
kohl-rimmed eyes. When asked about his muse, the
designer announced that Winehouse is "the new Brigitte
Bardot": gap-toothed, boundary breaking and - most
importantly - beehived.

In New York, the prestigious Bumble and Bumble
hairdressing school is now introducing modules geared
specifically to recreating the "do". And with
Hairspray hitting the West End jackpot, and model
Noemie Lenoir sporting a hefty blonde bouffant in the
M&S Christmas campaign, the one-time favourite of Mari
Wilson is becoming impossible to ignore. But should we
all be reaching for our backcomb? I'm not convinced.
The hairstyle may be fashionable, but for every
Breakfast at Tiffany's beehive moment, there's a Bet
Lynch or Marge Simpson moment right behind. Am I bold
enough to brave it? Will I be able, even, to lift my
head to the challenge. I decide to call the hair
salon.

It's 11am by the time I meet Cinta Martello, one of
Racoon International's curiously titled extensionists.
With nine years' experience styling shoots, she's a
veteran in the world of celebrity hair. Racoon
specialises in applying so-called "microwefts" - a
sort of mid-term hair extension: more enduring than
anything found outside a salon but, with a lifespan of
two-four weeks, less permanent than conventional
"bonded" extensions. At 200 per head they're certainly
not cheap, but they are reusable so, once the first
set is applied, subsequent sessions cost less. They're
also unique in their ethicacy: sourced solely within
Europe, using donations from Spanish monasteries, the
extensions are 100 per cent real hair.

Martello holds up an inch-thick lock and shows me a
patch of adhesive. In order to create my beehive,
Martello is going to apply several of these strips to
my roots, which will then be pressed together with an
alarmingly large pair of forceps. Any doubts I might
have about the wisdom of applying glue to my hair are
only slightly dispelled by the fact that Winehouse is
one of Racoon's clients. Winehouse's hairstyle,
Martello confides, is made up almost entirely of
extensions, though she's been known to add extra
wadding - a polystyrene-like padding - for dramatic
effect. I've decide to give this last step a miss; an
extension-enhanced beehive sounds conspicuous enough
as it is.

Just how big a beehive should be appears to be a
matter of some debate. Can a beehive be too big? "The
bigger, the glammer," says Martello emphatically.
What, just like Amy Winehouse, I ask nervously? "I'm
thinking more Chanel than Amy," she says, fussing over
my fringe. "Sometimes that girl looks like she's been
dragged through a hedge backwards, bless her. But when
Karl Lagerfeld did it, he really made it classy. The
beehive should be much more about old Hollywood
glamour. It should be fun, but sexy and elegant, too."


I've always had a round face and, in moments of
weakness, have been known to resent my round nose.
With a beehive in tow will I not simply be a
cartoonish conglomeration of circles: spherical hair,
saucer-eyes, round nose and face, beads and
bubble-skirt optional?

Martello thinks not: "The only people who can't carry
off beehives are the ones with really long faces.
Amy's not classically beautiful, but the beehive
emphasises her features." If anything, I'm told, the
hive will be streamlining. It should, after all, leave
me at least four inches taller.

The session itself is fairly quick. The extensions are
by far the most technical part - whatever's going on
back there, I'm sure I couldn't do it myself - but,
when they're finished, I'm amazed by the colour match.
It's almost perfect; the locks flowing from my head
are so well-blended that they bear no resemblance to
the solid colour-blocks laid out earlier. It's now
that the styling comes in, and Martello keeps me
briefed at each stage.

She starts with a thorough hair teasing (although the
process is so vigorous, I wonder if bullying might be
more accurate) and then gathers together the tangles
to form a sort of hairy clump around my crown. Out the
corner of my eye, I can just make out the
photographer's sceptical expression. I start to wonder
if Martello has forgotten her promise of Karl rather
than Amy. But at the last minute she gathers up some
loose strands, sweeping them dramatically up and
smoothing them elegantly over my emerging hive. Does
it feel heavy, she asks? In fact, the whole
arrangement feels surprisingly light and strangely
detached. It's rather like having a small golden-
brown cloud hovering just above my head.

Beehives, in one form or another, have been around
since the 18th century. The powdered wigs of Louis XVI
were not, after all, too different from the golden
locks of Brigitte Bardot. But it wasn't until the
summer of 1960, when the Chicago hairdresser Margaret
Vinci Heldt received a particularly vain though
somewhat vertically- challenged customer that the
bouffant graduated to official hive status. With its
four-inch altitude, the style was first and foremost a
means of enhancing the wearer's stature.

As the decade wore on, and hemlines rose, the beehive
slowly ascended - and female beauty regimes grew
increasingly complicated. Without today's hair
extensions, adhesives and curlers, the quest for big
hair 40 years ago was considerably more arduous. Women
would set their hair in rollers, and then sit for up
to an hour under the hairdryer. Then followed hours of
backcombing, styling and pinning. At night, women were
advised to wrap their hive in tissue-paper and sleep
on satin pillow cases to keep it intact. Hairspray
sales boomed; by 1964 it had overtaken lipstick as the
nation's most popular cosmetic. Meanwhile, school
corridors filled with whispered tales of scalps being
bitten by lurking spiders.

But hidden spiders are the least of my concerns. As
Martello puts the finishing touches on my barnet, it's
the day-to-day practicalities of life that I'm finding
more daunting. It occurs to me that one should dress
appropriately for such a glamorous hairstyle. Standing
here in my everyday jeans and T-shirt, I suddenly feel
hopelessly upstaged. By my hair. And I've still got to
face the office.

Arriving at my desk, I run through Martello's parting
advice: "Do carry some hair spray with you, don't use
gel; do wear an Alice band if you want to; don't be
afraid to accessorise." Her final words are the most
fundamental: "A beehive's not practical, so remember
to avoid anywhere un-glam. The gym isn't glamorous, so
don't go there. Don't do any jogging, swimming or
aerobics."

Throughout the day my hair elicits a range of
responses. Some colleagues eye me suspiciously -
(probably) noting my failure to accessorise. Others
coo approvingly. And I get more than a few sniggers.

By lunch time, I'm feeling confident. I start to
imagine myself in a denim pencil skirt, or a vintage
trench - or, for that matter, a little black dress?
I'm cheered by its day-worn dishevelment; less Doris
Day, more Brigitte Bardot, or so I like to think.

When the clock strikes six, the trip home looms. As I
step on to the Tube I have to duck to avoid getting
caught in the door. But still I feel smug, glimpsing
my reflection in the window pane. It isn't until I
reach the street again that I realise it's raining.
Umbrellaless as I am I head out, thinking that perhaps
the hive might shield me.

By the time I get home, it's irretrievable: where once
I had a beehive, I now have a soggy mass of knotted
hair.

It was, without doubt, the most sophisticated hairdo
I've ever had and, if ever my turn came to wear
Chanel, I'd do it again in a flash. Glamorous the
beehive may be, but for life in the real world? Maybe
not.

owned or operated by The Independent.)

 

[scriptgirl]

Times Online
Is M&S and its Autograph line fashionable?

Critics harp, sales dip - but if Marks & Spencer's remit is to provide something for everyone, then it is doing its job

Lisa Armstrong


When Sir Stuart (then plain old Stuart) Rose joined Your M&S (then plain old Marks & Spencer) in 2004, he promised to honour its stated aims of having something for everyone - a mission that many thought hopelessly outmoded. He also gave a commitment to the business of five years.
There must have been times when he wished he hadn't. His first two years - though this tends to be overlooked now - were anything but smooth. Even his son's girlfriends complained that the lingerie was old-fashioned.
Then things started to go right. He hired Stephen Sharp to sex up the advertising and Kate Bostock to haul womenswear (and those pointy 1950s bras) into the 21st century. Sharp's appointment was key: some analysts believe that M&S's endlessly lauded rebirth was as much an act of rebranding as of product transformation. Sharp was behind the new typeface. He signed up Twiggy and Laura Bailey, then Erin O'Connor, then Noémie Lenoir, Lizzie Jagger, Myleene Klass and, finally, Lily Cole, until M&S had its very own pan-generational rainbow nation. He spent £25 million a year on advertising and it worked. Meanwhile, Bostock, with Next and Asda behind her, put on a succession of shows that eventually convinced the fashion press that M&S was back on track.
Of course, we celebrated. Lazarus had been raised; a national institution, complete with updated traditional values, rescued.
Then came those recent figures. In the six months to the end of January 2008, its womenswear business shrank by 14 per cent year on year: a bad omen in the volatile world of womens' clothing.
M&S has become not just a talisman of the confident British economy but a symbol of the kind of country that we'd like to be - one in which organic tenderloin of beef, rather than a Big Mac, is the national dish, and where environmental and ethical issues are more important than snaring a whole outfit for under a tenner. The clothes may no longer be made in Britain, but they are produced in factories where the working conditions are exemplary - a clever and realistic switch of emphasis.
If M&S is having a hard time, then what hope the rest of the high street? This is how Sir Stuart sold the downturn and, mostly, analysts agree. This is not a great time to be in fashion retail. Zara, the fashionistas' favourite, is struggling to make a profit in the UK. Gap, another fashion favourite, is seeing flat sales. Jigsaw, currently beloved by fashion editors, is also having it tough, while Kew, its cheaper stablemate, operates in the red. The shares of Next, the other high street giant, have fallen by 34 per cent, making it one of the FTSE 100's biggest casualties. February, analysts mordantly noted, “was a graveyard for the high street”.
The M&S management inclines towards Sir Stuart's view, having just anointed him executive chairman, extended his tenure until 2011 and appointed Kate Bostock to the board (she is hotly tipped to become the company's first female chief executive at some point). Ian Dyson takes over day-to-day running of the finances, which frees Sir Stuart to “focus on the bigger picture”. We can take this as a vote of confidence.
Is the management right? Last week I visited two branches of M&S, the Marble Arch flagship and, less than a mile away, the far less salubrious Edgware Road store. As usual, my reactions lurched from favourable to unfavourable every few feet.
Despite a facelift, the bland Marble Arch store is hardly a glamorous environment, even compared with Gap's utilitarian wooden floors and white walls. It will seem like a poor relation when Banana Republic (competing with M&S's Autograph collection) opens its 17,000 glossy square feet on Regent Street next week. Then there are the miles of uninspiring “value” knits in slightly the wrong shade, and the garish swimwear at the entrance. Lordy, you have to be devoted to the M&S cause to persevere - or to have seen something irresistible on a fashion page. Then you have to track it down, which is easier than it once was but still no task for the faint-hearted.
The trousers on the first floor are photographed on women wearing dreadfully sensible shoes - not a look to set the heart racing or the wallet ripping itself open. Suffice to say that M&S footwear won't be giving Manolo, Christian or even L.K. Bennett sleepless nights, though I did like the jewelled, Prada-esque patent pumps at £19.50.
My first sensation on walking into M&S was that I'd wandered into Littlewoods by mistake. There was no sign of all the brilliant items that Kate Bostock produces for press days. Then I started to spot them - the gems that just about make the expedition into greige interiors and oh-so-bland plastic-hanger-land worthwhile. The Autograph Weekend white cotton “safari” peacoat, a slick fit at £49.50; a lovely white pin-tucked cotton shirtdress hanging forlornly on the second floor, reduced from £25 to £9; a brilliant anthracite nylon parka (as seen on Lily Cole) at £59.50; the Limited Collection black kimono-sleeve top, £19.50; a very chic navy A-line jacket from Autograph, £49.50. Even the once to-be-avoided Per Una line offered a good cream trench with tortoiseshell buttons for £69.50. A £29.50 “With Silk” slouchy blouson T-shirt in drab olive or cream was not only stylish but very fairly described, with silk accounting for 56 per cent of its total yarn content.
The sailor pants that I tried on were a disaster - why place pockets precisely where they are guaranteed to make thighs look like a set of 4x4 tyres? But a black slouchy cotton pair were very good, and remarkable value at £19.50. In the name of duty I also tried on a T-shirt, the litmus test of all fashion houses. M&S's Limited one, “modal rich” (ie, stretchy) was a good shape and a fantastic price, but when I shrugged, its shoulders looked as though they might stay raised long after mine had returned to base. Still, for £9.50 I'd give it a go.
The underwear is hugely improved. I can't vouch for the lacy stuff, as I don't like scratchy, pointless tufts of nylon ruining the line of my clothes. But the Body Basics range of plain, moulded “cotton rich” (all these euphemisms become a bit trying) bras are excellent, except that, if I'm being fussy, I found some of the colours off-putting. A two-pack for £15 is terrific value, but the beige was more camel than flesh-coloured - and why package it with a white bra when most women know that white bras are about as discreet under a fine T-shirt or semi-sheer top as Katie Price at an Opus Dei convention? And why stitch a silly little metal coin-thing on an otherwise simple dusky pink bra from the Body Basics range? The first thing I'd do is snip it off.
The knickers, though, are utterly brilliant. A month or so earlier I'd visited the lingerie department with my two teenage daughters (who would far rather have been in the Kylie Minogue section at Selfridges). I'd expected terrible queues but we breezed in and were expertly served by an extremely knowledgeable fitter who found half a dozen bras that failed to register on the teenage scorn-ometer. I also managed to find them some cute flat-patent Mary Janes that were a cut above other cheap ranges and had a strap to stop the dreaded claw foot that so many teenage girls seem to be developing, thanks to their love of ballet shoes. For finding my girls a fashion shoe that we all liked, I love M&S. I also applaud its sorties into ethical clothing and make-up, and its Look Behind the Label campaign.
Thing is, all the items I picked out for myself were classic rather than high-fashion. And although they were all good, I didn't buy them because I own versions of them already. The Edgware Road store was grim, by the way - so untidy as to make 1994 Sarajevo look like Zurich. There was some nice underwear but in random sizes, and the only other noteworthy item was a good version of the YSL Downtown bag at an un-YSL-ish £29.50.
What I need to get me spending is something frivolous and wonderful - which I found the moment I crossed Oxford Street into Zara and stumbled on some high mock-croc gladiator sandals that will rev up all my classics. At £59 they were more than M&S would dare to charge but cheap compared with designers and, all things considered, brilliant. So although I'm hardly the most outré fashionista on the block, perhaps M&S's “fashion” offer isn't really for me, or the thousands of women like me. I will be looking in regularly at the underwear from now on, though, so perhaps Sir Stuart's initial promise of something for everyone has been fulfilled.
As for clothes, in providing for the millions of women who find Zara and its rivals too fashionable, too skimpy, too teeming with the under-30s, I'd say that M&S's key branches are doing a pretty good job. Despite the current downturn, it still has 13.6 per cent of the market. But maybe it does itself a disservice when it puts on such enticing fashion shows for the press, fostering the impression that it's a high-fashion brand when really it is supplying basics to Everywoman. It's one thing to be “expectation-rich”, but raise expectations too high and you risk the wrath of the disappointed shopper - whose fury, as we have seen before, knows no bounds.
Twentysomething
You'd think that a clothes store in an area full of young professionals would stock up on trendier lines. Not the M&S at Angel, Islington, in North London. The womenswear floor is tiny and the stock appeals most to women seeking durability.
Not much catches my eye. It's all boring denim shirts, high-neck T-shirts and the kind of shapeless Eighties-style jeans that make everyone's bum look big. I begrudgingly take a pair of smart black trousers (£39.50) and T-shirt (£5) into the changing rooms. I also spot a nice pair of beige high-waisted trousers (£35).
Sadly, both pairs are a bad fit, the pockets bunching immediately, and the moment I put on the T-shirt I feel decades older. The leg width of the high-waisted cotton casuals is clown-like.
Have I missed anything? Unless I'm after pyjamas or gym-wear, it's just more of the same: block colour, little originality. I leave with nothing. I'd feel misled if I'd gone into M&S expecting to come out looking like Twiggy, only to emerge looking like Pauline Fowler.
Francesca Steele
Thirtysomething
I am secretly rather proud of my ability to unearth a “find”, so I was confident that I would walk out of the King's Road branch of M&S with a carrier bag or two. I was disappointed: a sea of mustard yellows, lime greens and dirty oranges mingled with unflattering swirls and stripes in all directions. It took three laps, my standards lowering with each, to find something that I didn't dislike. If I spotted something nice, either the fabric was too shiny or the size too big (the only assistant was nearly asleep).
Simplicity was the best bet. I went for a cream cropped jacket (£59) but the polyester lining made it neither warm nor comfortable.A white trench that looked fine on the mannequin had gold zips that demeaned its classic cut - and it was £49.50: I'd seen a nicer version at H&M for £10. So I picked out a grey cashmere mix jumper (£49.50), an olive mix knee-length cardigan (£39.50), and a white T-shirt (£9.50), and headed for the changing rooms. The jumper was dull, the cardigan scratchy, the T-shirt OK. But by then I was desperate.
Sacha Bonsor
Fortysomething
The Marks & Spencer in Kensington High Street has lots of rich people living near by - which makes the store's lack of gloss a puzzle. On a recent Saturday lunchtime, it was only mildly busy. I made straight for the Limited Collection and picked out a grey and beige print tunic (£29.50) to wear with summer trousers, including a pale wide-legged grey pair (£39.50) from the Autograph Weekend range. I skirted by Per Una (fussy and droopy), making for Autograph. Here the nicest things included the short beige trench (£89.50) and the black shift (£79). The jeans did not fit well, but finding jeans is always tough.
I don't expect any one retailer to deliver everything I want to wear, but M&S manages to do more than most. Further proof of this came some days later in the Victoria Street store, where I found a pair of this season's chunky-heeled black patent shoes (£19.50), plus a Donna Karan-like jersey dress reduced to £7 for a pregnant colleague. All this and Plan A, Marks's eco and ethical strategy. Are we being served? Yes.
Anne Ashworth
Fiftysomething
The trouble with M&S is that it has to be so many things to so many people, so you don't get a single, strong vision. You get comfy trousers for plump customers. You get anoraks for dog-walkers, sensible jackets for office workers, and cheap children's clothes. But look in the right places (mostly the Limited Collection) and you'll nearly always find wearable and well-priced versions of the current trends. Take this week. I loved the white shirt with the huge sleeves (£29.50) that caught the eye of Vogue. Then there was a deliciously pretty blue-and-pink-flowered printed silk dress, a gorgeous deep-blue linen top with a beige crocheted yoke for £25, and a brilliant slightly shiny grey parka for £59.50. There's a slinky black jersey dress for £25 that would do for almost any occasion, and a more wearable version of Roland Mouret's Galaxy dress - again just £25.
Its cashmere is fantastic value and it has blouses, shirts and tops of every hue, shape and size - some would fit happily into the smartest wardrobes, others miss by a mile. But there are great buys to be had.
Lucia van der Post

• Have your sa

 

[scriptgirl]

Travel Weekly

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is featured in the latest autumn TV advertising campaign for high-street retailer Marks and Spencer. Model Twiggy features alongside Erin O'Connor, Laura Bailey, Noemie Lenoir and Myleene Klass in the 50-second ad in which the girls are shown embarking on a trip aboard the well-known train to Venice.M&S models board Orient

 

[scriptgirl]

Market Week

MARKS & SPENCER: Facing up to the future
Type: Marketing & promotion

M&S's recent resurgence has depended heavily on its advertising. But will the new face set to front its Christmas campaign - Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas - take it to the 'next level', and will the in-store merchandise match up to the marketing hype? asks Matthew Gorman

Marks & Spencer, whose advertising has been integral to its recent turnaround, is signing Antonio Banderas to star in its Christmas campaign (MW last week). But opinion is divided over whether the Hollywood actor is the right choice for M&S, which has long been the cornerstone of the high street in the UK.
Banderas, whose films include The Mask of Zorro and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, will be cast as a matinee screen idol in a campaign that will pay tribute to Hollywood films from the 1940s and 1950s. Many industry experts believe the campaign will take M&S to the "next level", but others warn that the retailer's core middle- England audience may not have heard of Banderas.

The resurgence of M&S has been closely linked to its advertising, which has featured Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, 1960s icon Twiggy and models Erin O'Connor, Laura Bailey, Lizzie Jagger, Noemie Lenoir and, more recently, Myleene Klass. The addition of Banderas to its Christmas campaign, which is being created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, is being seen as the retailer's first concerted attempt to promote its fashion offer beyond womenswear. The only real activity for its menswear range has underpinned the Autograph line, which has been promoted by several male celebrities, including Bryan Ferry.

TURNING UP THE HEAT

One advertising source says Banderas's signing "is all about raising the bar on their last ad". The source adds: "The fashion business is often driven by the use of celebrities. [M&S] has grown over the years from having Zoe Ball to Graham Norton to Helen Mirren and Shirley Bassey. It is gradually turning the dial up."

M&S's advertising strategy can be broken down into three groups: fashion, fronted by Twiggy and the M&S "girls"; food, which uses the "this isn't just food" strapline; and customer relationship management, which was thrust into the spotlight earlier this year with the retailer's Plan A "green" commitment.

Jasmine Montgomery, deputy managing director and head of strategy at FutureBrand, says: "The ads have been phenomenal - so insightful. Thank God they didn't have Tony Blair coming out in Levis trying to be cool." She believes that the campaigns are all about style, elegance and beauty, and champion older women in a similar way to the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign.

Montgomery adds: "Just the visual look and feel of that campaign set up what M&S is about. You wanted life to look like that." She thinks that having a mix of ages in the same shot has been "phenomenal" at advertising across categories.

But Richard Perks, director of retail research at Mintel, believes advertising can only do so much. "It has been successful and ads will get people into stores, but if you don't have what they want, they won't buy," he says. "Merchandise is the key."

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

The advertising source also questions how relevant Banderas is to M&S's core market: "Its target audience is still very middle England, middle class and middle aged, and one issue will be how many people know who he is."

The campaign has been running for more than three years and, according to one industry insider, M&S will need to have a rethink in about 18 months. "The formula has been the same for some time, with Twiggy and the girls, and the look and the feel," says the insider. "You have to ask where next? The public wants constant news and evolution, as do the City and analysts."

Fashion retailers have to keep the brand fresh, but changing their focus to other sectors, such as menswear, usually only lasts for a limited amount of time because womenswear generates the bulk of sales.

Beyond the advertising, the revival of M&S, since chief executive Stuart Rose took over in 2004, has been one of the biggest success stories of British retailing in recent years. Montgomery says: "M&S has been a phenomenal turnaround story. On a good day it was seen as cheap, but good value and on a bad day, cheap and frumpy."

As part of its revival, the company has expanded its price ranges, improved stores and moved into new areas, such as catering, with concepts such as its M&S Kitchen pilot (MW April 5).

Neil Saunders, consulting director at Mintel, says clothes and food are the main staples of the business, but he adds that there are now opportunities for the retailer in other areas. A number of stores have small technology sections, selling items such as MP3 players and flat-screen televisions, along with white goods. Homeware is seen as another growth area.

Montgomery adds: "M&S is doing a fantastic job in certain categories and has a huge reputation to leverage if it goes into other areas. Menswear and childrenswear are no-brainers. They are low-hanging fruit."

She says she would like to see the company moving into other categories such as bookshops, restaurants and delicatessens, although Perks argues he cannot see standalone stores ever being more then a "nice to have".

Along with extending its product range, the retailer has moved beyond the "one-size-fits-all" mentality for its store formats and begun adapting to location. Along with expanding its Simply Food concept - through standalone stores and concessions in petrol stations - the retailer has started trialling a new homewares store concept in Northern Ireland.

Saunders says: "You need to have different store formats and I think M&S, for a long time, tried to make one size fit all. Stores in the high street looked like the ones in city centres." Larger stores, such as the one at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, have such a wide variety of products for sale that they resemble department stores.

This has pushed M&S into a grey area. One branding expert says it needs to clarify its brand position to determine whether its stores will be seen as department stores or standalone stores.

Expanding abroad is also now considered one of the biggest opportunities for M&S. The company very publicly closed the majority of its international stores at the end of the 1990s, as it struggled in its home market. But analysts say the time is now right for the company to start looking abroad again. It has already opened stores overseas through franchise agreements, including a new outlet in Dubai.

For the past five years, M&S has had a spectacular reversal in fortunes on the back of a hugely successful advertising campaign. It will be hoping the addition of Banderas can take it to that "next level".

Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

 

[scriptgirl]

MArket Week


FASHION: Next feels the squeeze
Type: Personnel

Once the darling of the '80s retail design and branding revolution, Next is beginning to feel its age. Trailing in the wake of a resurgent Marks & Spencer, and under threat from Primark, will its new discount stores and international expansion plans be enough to halt the decline? By Ian McCawley

Simon Wolfson, the fresh-faced chief executive of retailer Next who is likened by industry commentators to teenage sorcerer Harry Potter, is delving into his bag of tricks again to keep the wolves from the company's door.
A resurgent Marks & Spencer (M&S) continues to cast a spell on the UK fashion market with improved collections and glamorous marketing campaigns, while other rivals like New Look are also sewing up shoppers by the busload.

By contrast, first-half results at Next's high street division disappointed analysts when they were announced last week. Profits slumped nearly 8% to pound 111.1m for the period, with underlying sales dropping by 7.5%. However, Next Directory earnings rocketed by 44%, and overall company profits climbed by 3.6% to pound 178.9m.

Next's high street struggles reflect a wider malaise among middle- market fashion players. Last week, French Connection posted its first loss in 14 years. It announced pre-tax losses of pound 3.6m for the six months to the end of July, compared with profits of pound 5.1m in the same period last year.

Others suffering too

French Connection chairman Stephen Marks was forced to make a statement denying he is to sell his 42% interest. Icelandic investment group Baugur, which already owns several UK-based retailers, including middle-market fashion player Mosaic, has been busy building its stake. Customers have grown tired of the famous "FCUK" slogan, dropped last year, and its most recent ad campaign - showing models participating in a catfight and a lesbian kiss - was slated by viewers.

The Advertising Standards Authority, which fielded more than 100 complaints about the TV execution, decided not to investigate. But the episode marked the end of a long relationship between Marks and creative guru Trevor Beattie, former chairman and creative director of TBWA/London and founder of Beattie McGuinness Bungay. Marks is now talking to other shops about the future direction of French Connection's advertising.

He is confident of sparking a recovery sharp enough to deliver a profit over the full year. For his part, Wolfson is cautious about Next's chances, saying like-for-like sales in the second half are likely to be down between 2% and 5% - but that is better than the 3- 6% previously forecast.

Whether or not they can fashion comebacks, French Connection and Next are clearly continuing to suffer from the buoyancy of M&S, led by chief executive Stuart Rose. Its latest high-profile campaign features Autumn Collection models Twiggy, Erin O'Connor, Laura Bailey, Noemie Lenoir and Elizabeth Jagger. M&S' preliminary results for the year to April 1 showed total clothing sales in the second half up by 4.4%, thanks to "well-received ranges, frequent additions of new products and better value, buying and styling", according to Rose. Clothing sales for the 13 weeks to July 1 were ahead by 10.7% against the first quarter of 2005.

Under Rose's stewardship, M&S is blooming - although he has become embroiled in the debate about "size-zero models", claiming Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell's attack on the fashion industry is mis-timed. Rose has branded Jowell's calls for a ban on underweight models at this week's London Fashion Week a "knee-jerk" reaction.

Adding to M&S' improvement, analysts say the middle-market is also being squeezed from below by continuing consumer interest in the once-scorned value fashion chains, led by the likes of TK Maxx, H&M and Primark. Although Primark's owner Associated British Foods recently reported a slowdown in underlying sales, the City is in no doubt that its surge over the past two years has eroded the share of other boutiques.

The experience of shopping at Primark is wryly described by one observer as "like rummaging around in a jumble sale", but its formula has grabbed cash-conscious consumers' attention. Next's attempts to pack its stores to the rafters have not been so successful.

Caught in the middle

Marketing experts are divided about Next's chances of regaining ground. Monica Lucas, a partner at retail and marketing consultancy Pragma, believes there are several reasons why Next Retail is suffering. She says: "Its merchandise has become safe and bland to the extent that it is a fashion-free zone. It is also caught between a younger and older age positioning, which is confusing consumers. In terms of price positioning, it is quite high against the likes of M&S and Dorothy Perkins."

Verdict Research senior retail analyst Maureen Hinton adds: "Next's high street operation is tied up with running ranges in the directory. In some ways, the model has reduced flexibility. It has to be faster in producing new ranges. Fashion this season is more its flavour, but it needs to invest in design to be different and excite consumers."

Origin Brand Consultants senior consultant Alan Atkin is more upbeat: "Next, along with M&S and other middle-market retailers, faces the challenge of being all things to all people, and to that extent it can appear schizophrenic. But the soaring online and directory sales are testament to the fact that Next is not a dead brand."

Wolfson recently announced he is giving Next a passage to India, where it plans to open 20 stores, according to sources. To shake up its UK operations, the chain is also reducing in-store lines by 10%, while simultaneously increasing selling space by more than one- fifth. Both measures are intended to reduce crowding on the shop floor.

Next Electricals has also been added to the growing homeware offer. And, perhaps more crucially, Wolfson is testing discount clothing stores, branded Lime, which he claims will be "big business" if a 12-month trial proves successful.

Atkin adds: "Lime is of interest because the idea is to fill gaps in ranges sold through Next's 40 clearance stores. It aims to offer better quality and design than cut-price competitors like New Look and Primark." But if Lime turns out to be a lemon, Wolfson will have to wave his magic wand to prevent the once dominant Next becoming a thing of the past.

 

[scriptgirl]

Haymarket

Using celebrities to endorse brands is a powerful tactic, but stars must be chosen with care.

Ever since actress Lillie Langtry appeared on a pack of Pears soap in 1893, stars have lent their faces and names to the promotion of branded products, and firms have fallen over themselves to pay for the privilege.

There are two strategies that can he applied to the role of celebrities as marketing tool: with a celebrity licence, the individual affixes their likeness or logo to a product, while with celebrity endorsements, the star lends their name to someone else's product. It is these endorsements which, although risky, are the more relevant for marketers.

Companies spend millions to get their products endorsed, and according to Uche Okonkwo, a business strategist in Paris, one in four TV advertisements now use celebrities, compared with one in eight 10 years ago.

David Beckham, who has deals with brands from Gillette and Coty to Adidas and Police sunglasses, is now worth about £60m through endorsements and advertising alone, according to Bailey Beeken, show director of the Licensing International in New York. Industry speculation estimates that Nike spent $ 192m on its celebrity endorsement campaign in 2004.

Even comparatively smaller brands are using personalities to promote their products; consider the effect models Twiggy, Erin O'Connor, Laura Bailey and Noemie Lenoir have had on Marks & Spencer's womenswear sales. Elsewhere, there is watch brand Tag Heuer's link with Brad Pitt, L'Oreal and its host of'worth it' girls - from (ennifer Aniston to Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria - Richard Branson and Samsonite luggage, and even Trinny and Susannah with Nescafe.

'Celebrities can build, refresh and add new dimensions to brands,' says Rick Isaacson, vice-president at IMG, a US licensing agency specialising in sports, entertainment and media, who is also chairing a seminar at the Licensing International 2006 exhibition in New York (see box, page 36).'What celebrities stand for enhances the brand, and marketers save valuable time in creating the credibility their client needs to build its brands,' he adds.'When consumers see a credible celebrity endorsing a product, they think that it must be OK.'

This is all very well - until the celebrity loses credibility. As supermodel Kate Moss proved not long ago, endorsement can cause grief if the personality gets into trouble. Moss was the face of four cosmetic and fashion groups when the so-called 'Cocaine Kate' scandal broke. The intense criticism that ensued in the media tarnished both her image and potentially that of the brands she endorsed, which led some of them to drop her.

As well as inappropriate behaviour, there is a danger that a celebrity's profile can be so big that it overshadows the brands they endorse. When Pepsi ditched singers Beyoncé Knowles and Britney Spears from its advertising, it did so because the soft-drink giant decided the celebrities were getting more publicity trom the campaign than its brand. It consequently decided to concentrate its efforts on its brand proposition without endorsement, as did car marque Chrysler when it dumped Celine Pion from its ad campaign because, say insiders, 'the Dion commercials produced great sales for the singer, not the car'.

But such instances are rare. When Moss fell from grace last year, the use of celebrity endorsement was not questioned; the only moot point was who would be suitable to take her place. And the fact that the supermodel recently signed lucrative deals with several fashion houses, including Calvin Klein, which led to her being renamed 'Comeback Kate', suggests that not even scandal can get in the way of some celebrities.

However, it can, lor a number of reasons, be tough to choose a suitable star. While many make a decision based on gut feeling, Ian Downes, founder of Start Licensing, believes brand owners should consider the appropriateness of the association, its potential for their brand and how the association might develop.

'Key questions for the brand should be about the fit as well as risk assessment, 'he says.'This can include a number of criteria, ranging from the celebrity's ongoing profile - whether they will remain in the spotlight - through to the likelihood of their private lives harming the brand. Brand owners must also understand how the celebrity sees their equity being developed one concern must be that they are not overused commercially.'

Walkers, which recently signed Charlotte Church to feature alongside frontman Gary Lineker in its Sensations crisp campaign, chooses its endorsers carefully, according to a spokeswoman. 'We work with our agencies to assess a celebrity's suitability for the brand and whether they fit with the creative concept.' She adds that the Welsh singer was chosen because 'she is a real woman with a luxury lifestyle, which we felt fitted perfectly with the Sensations brand'.

Church, who reportedly pocketed a £100,000 fee for the spot, is the latest in a long line of stars to appear alongside the former England footballer during the course of his relationship with Walkers. Victoria Beckham, Kate Winslet, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and model Helena Christcnscn, not to mention fellow sportsmen Bobby Robson, Terry Venables, Paul Gascoigne and Steve Redgrave, are just some of the celebrities who have lined up with him since 2005.

Experts agree that credibility and attractiveness play an important role in creating effective endorsement communications. They are also vital in determining how well a celebrity might work for a brand. Another key factor is whether they are easy to work with.

Once a brand finds an appropriate frontman, it should begin to plan how it will develop a long-term relationship in order to make real money from the partnership; payback, say industry experts, can only be maximised from using that celebrity regularly over a long period of time.

Lineker's 11-year relationship with Walkers reveals how repetition can strengthen the association for consumers who are already aware of the endorsement, as well as increase the number of consumers who begin to link the brand and the celebrity, and thus boost the bottom line. According to an Institute of Practitioners in Advertising submission in 2002, Lineker's endorsement was delivering'an immediate return on investment of £ 1.70, building to £5.10 in the long-term'.

While relatively few brands can lay claim to the longevity of this relationship - or such a return - celebrity endorsement shows little sign of waning. In fact, licensing commentators agree that it is growing at pace because for the majority of marketers, the reward is clearly worth the risk.
SIDEBAR
Walkers Sensations: signed singer Charlotte Church to star in ads with Gary Lineker
SIDEBAR
Licensing International 2006

Date June 20-22

Venue lavits Convention Centre. New York.

Theshow Football legend PeIe. who represents brands as diverse as Coca-Cola, MasterCard and Viagra, will be at the Licensing International 2006 looking for more endorsement opportunities. Also represented at the show will be Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell, who has launched a line of dinnerware and is hoping other manufacturers might want to license his name and image.

Both will be joining more than 525 leading licensors and agents, representing nearly 5700 properties and brands to more than 23,000 anticipated visitors.

Organised by Advanstar, Licensing International 2006 is the annual meeting place for anyone involved in the £ 100bn industry. UK properties and companies exhibiting include Manchester United, Granada, BBC Worldwide, Royal Ascot, Champneys. Paddington Bear, Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit.

This year's event sees the expansion of categories including corporate brands, food and beverage, home furnishings and consumer electronics.

The programme will include a session on 'The ins and outs of celebrity licensing', chaired by Rick lsaacson, senior vice-president of IMG.

Licensing show: 5700 brands

'When consumers see a credible celebrity endorsing a product, they think it must be OK'

Rick Isaacson

IMG

Case study Kelly Holmes/Sainsbury's

At a recent conference, Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King is reported to have claimed that his supermarket's 'Active Kids' initiative was 'the most successful of its kind in the UK'.

The schools-equipment scheme, which is fronted by Dame Kelly Holmes, is still ongoing, so results for this year are not yet in. However, following its launch last year, it signed up 86% of the UK's schools, tripling their average annual PE budgets and generating £17m worth of sports equipment for schools.

It also delivered a substantial uplift in sales for Sainsbury's when 'Active Kids' ran in the second quarter last year, it was responsible for 75% of that quarter's uplift, according to Robert Crumbie. Sainsbury's sponsorship manager for Active Kids.

'We can't isolate her influence, but anecdotal evidence shows Kelly has made a powerful contribution,' says Nicole McDonnell, group account director at Dynamo, the agency behind the scheme.

'Kelly is the ideal person to be the Active Kids ambassador,' adds Crumbie. 'Her message is for kids to keep on trying until they find what activity suits them.'

Sainsbury's: Active Kids campaign is fronted by Dame Kelly HolmesStar spotting

Byline: Mistry, Bhavna
ISSN: 00253650
Publication Date: 06-07-2006
Page: 33
Section: Endorsements
Type: Periodical
Language: English