Retail Swoons in June: Comp Sales Slow Down

PARIS — L’Oréal announced Thursday that second-quarter sales were up 6.1 percent to 3.7 billion euros, or $4.46 billion at the average exchange rate.

On a like-for-like basis, sales would have increased by 7.5 percent, the…

LONDON — An Italian drink in a Parisian restaurant was the inspiration for Lancaster’s newest scent, Echo Woman.

A post-dinner cocktail of grappa whet the appetite of Quest’s executive perfumer, Francoise Caron, who created…

PARIS — Barbara Bui hopes her nascent beauty business will blossom this fall with the launch of her first fragrance.

For the scent, the fashion designer has teamed with another high-end beauty debutante, Parour Prestige, a division of…

NEW YORK — Tocca Beauty hopes to cook up a storm with its new Cucina Collection for the kitchen, coming in September.

“Tocca Cucina pays homage to the life that centers in and around the kitchen,” noted Silke Steinberg, vice…

NEW YORK — Moore Unique, a three-year-old dermatological skin care brand with roots in the shave segment, has landed a coup. The doctor-founded brand has just signed a distribution deal with Wal-Mart, bringing its four shave items into 1,000…

NEW YORK — The Dead Sea, a worldwide resource for its rich salt, bromide, magnesium, potassium and sulfate properties, is no secret to the beauty world. To this day, hundreds of thousands of people visit the Middle Eastern waterscape to float in…

NEW YORK — The Clarins Fragrance Group U.S. has merged with Thierry Mugler Parfums.

“This is a positive move to strengthen the Clarins Fragrance Group and prepare a platform for new opportunities and organic growth, as well as many…

NEW YORK — The Thymes, maker of aromatic household and bath products, is launching a candle line to complement its already popular home and body scents.

The 15-item line, called Luminaria, is comprised of five families, each with its own…

DLI Holdings Corp.’s acquisition last week of Del Laboratories came at a crucial point for the manufacturer of cosmetics and health and beauty products.

MILAN — Acqua Di Parma is ready to enter a new market.

The luxury niche Italian cologne company will launch its first women’s fragrance in its home base of Italy and the rest of Europe in September. The fragrance won’t hit…

LANCOME PROMOTES PARK: Lancôme has named Elizabeth Park senior vice president of marketing. In addition to her current duties of makeup and promotional marketing at the L’Oréal USA division, Park’s responsibilities now…

NEW YORK — Legendary launch pad Henri Bendel recently hosted a battalion of beauty editors for its twice-yearly presentation of new products. Here, some of the freshest new offerings.

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

The inspiration of…

Two fashion magazines — Harper’s Bazaar’s and Vogue — will break with recent tradition by putting supermodels on their September covers.

FADE TO BLACK: When Hearst Magazines president Cathleen Black returns from Herb Allen’s annual media mogul mixer in Idaho, she may have some unpleasant business to attend to. Numerous sources within and close to Hearst say…

NEW YORK — Every city needs its own Jeffrey or Colette — or at least a store that, for lack of a better description, compares itself to those two groundbreaking retailers. The former paved the way for a new fashion neighborhood in New…

An African country is expected to call for an emergency meeting of the WTO to discuss the impact of quota elimination, trade sources said.

NEW YORK — Carrefour SA’s second-quarter revenue increase beat analysts’ estimates, but lower sales in France forced Europe’s largest retailer to cut its full-year sales growth forecast.

For the three months ended June…

Same-store sales for June suffered from tough comparisons, cool summer weather, higher energy prices and less than stellar Father’s Day sales.

PARIS — Christian Lacroix is justly celebrated for his ethereal romanticism, but the fall couture lineup he showed on Wednesday also had an added ingredient: a dose of reality. And it helped create a splendid collection. There were great day…

NEW YORK — Kimora Lee Simmons is apparently looking to add beauty to her list of offerings.

The president and creative director of Baby Phat is reportedly in talks with Coty Inc. to launch a women’s fragrance in…

The Marks & Spencer board rejected a third and final bid from retail mogul Philip Green, claiming it can do a better job of reviving the ailing company.

ADVISING FIN.PART: With less than three weeks to go before it must pay back bonds worth 200 million euros, or $245.9 million at current exchange rates, Fin.part is enlisting new help. The fashion group, which owns Cerruti and Frette, among…

The photo of Narciso Rodriguez’s resort shorts look on July 2, was incorrectly credited. The photographer was Talaya Centeno.

The photo of Sen. John Edwards on July 7, was incorrectly credited. It was taken by…

Pondering whether Hugh Grant has a new love…Those darling girls, Lauren Bush and Amanda Hearst…Calista and Harrison Flock to Wales.

Union president Bruce Raynor offered a two-word explanation for why the members of UNITE and HERE voted Thursday to merge: “Size matters.”

Christian Lacroix blended wonder and restraint in his collection, while Jean Paul Gaultier used superlative workmanship to create stylish musketeers.

PATCHING THINGS UP: It looks as if Tracey Emin has caught the fashion bug. At a party at Colette Wednesday night for the launch of handbags the artist designed for Longchamp, Emin hinted that more fashion projects could be in the works….

Bling, Bling

Elie Saab’s world is awash in heavy-duty glamour and revved-up eveningwear of the high-glitz variety. But then, he is targeting Hollywood types such as Halle Barry, Vivica A. Fox and Debra Messing, who have all…

PARIS — Surrounded by her tearful studio and models in butterfly-embroidered gowns, Hanae Mori — the so-called Japanese “Butterfly”— bid a graceful sayonara to the Paris couture, where she had been a faithful…

Bottega Veneta opens its largest store in the world today at 699 Fifth Avenue in a Twenties town house that boasts 9,000 square feet, 5,500 of which is selling space.

Estée Lauder is adding a little more color to its fall lineup, most of which will be available in 2,200 department and specialty stores for fall.

PARIS — “Hermèssence is the essence of Hermès,” explained Veronique Gautier, chief executive officer of the house’s fragrance division, referring to the company’s new collection of four scents.<br><br>But the…