Divergent Strategies: VF Focuses on Lifestyle As Buffett Grows Fruit

VF Corp. is now all about lifestyle, while Warren Buffett is out to get more intimate with America’s consumers.

The ongoing shift in economic power from Europe and North America to emerging giants such as China and India, and high-level ministerial talks aimed at jump-starting the suspended Doha global trade talks, are expected to loom large at the annual World…

Coach Inc., which easily beat Wall Street’s second-quarter expectations, raised its full-year 2007 guidance Tuesday, and indicated that with a $7 billion playground, the company has plenty of opportunities to grow.

A brief look at some of the day’s stories.

Fashion, you’ve got to love it.

As the spring couture collections continued, both Valentino and Elie Saab worked variations on highly specific themes: the color white and a blaze of sequins, respectively.

This season creates an opportunity for some ready-to-wear designers, whose small shows are sandwiched between the couture presentations.

“Wow, those are some boots!” said Kate Bosworth, gawking at a pair of glossed-up patent leather thigh-highs worn by Numero’s Babeth Djian at Chanel’s celebrity-packed couture show on Tuesday. Bosworth said she was happy to get started filming her new…

Gap Inc. has just put in a tall order — finding a chief executive officer for the struggling group.

After its first 10 years, Fondazione Prada is assessing its property — and it is literally sizable.

The weakening of the dollar and yen against the euro dented sales growth at Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA in the third quarter ended Dec. 31.

A strong euro-to-dollar exchange rate bit into Luxottica SpA’s fourth-quarter sales, but the company still managed to post double-digit growth for full-year 2006.

First the models, now the mannequins.

The new owners of GarfieldMarks, which has changed hands for the fourth time in seven years, think they finally have a winning formula of private equity and…

Carhartt Inc.’s workwear is now available for women.

The new Heaven’s Luxury Brand is as much about peace and unity as fit and fabric.

The Body Shop has teamed up with MTV Networks International to launch an HIV and AIDS fund-raising and awareness campaign called Spray to Change Attitudes.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would ban the sale in the U.S. of imported products deemed to be made in “sweatshops” overseas.

Patrik Nilsson, managing director of the Nordic region of Adidas Europe, has been named president of Adidas North America.

Nike Inc. has named Clare Hamill president and chief executive officer of its wholly owned Exeter Brands Group.

NorthPark Center’s five anchors, along with 11 specialty stores, are participating in Fashion at the Park, four days of runway shows, benefits and parties.

Seeking to give a glimpse of New York’s runway shows to the rest of the country, IMG Fashion announced plans Tuesday to bring FashionWeekLive to Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Francisco in March.

It looks like another interior design magazine is coming soon, this time from Ty Pennington, best known as the host and design leader of the ABC series “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Giorgio Armani is zeroing in on Cate Blanchett. Olivier Theyskens has already landed Reese Witherspoon for Nina Ricci.

Accessories manufacturers want a share of the red-carpet spotlight, but for them it’s a bit of a gamble.

The Sundance Film Festival is, after all, about movies.