WWD Honors featuring Farfetch UK Ltd
WWD Honors, an annual celebration of creative vision, performance and leadership in the fashion industry, will anchor WWD’s 2016 CEO Summit on the evening of Oct. 25 in New York. The first John B. Fairchild Honor, named after WWD’s late chairman and editorial director, is the cornerstone of this latest initiative in the franchise’s 116-year-old history, and Ralph Lauren will be the recipient. In addition, WWD editors will employ a series of metrics to determine and recognize outstanding company performance, executive leadership and social responsibility.
WWD 2016 Honorees
CEO/Creative Leadership
Sidney Toledano
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Christian Dior, Sidney Toledano helped build the couture house into a global powerhouse amid the ever-changing currents in the fickle luxury market. He is now adjusting to the times again, having brought in Maria Grazia Chiuri to be the brand’s seventh couturier to reinterpret for a new age in fashion.
Best-Performing Company – Large Cap
Pandora A/S
A powerhouse of popularly priced jewelry, Pandora saw sales grow 34 percent over the past 12 months as its stock price, return on equity, EBITDA, gross profits, net profits and digital engagement all helped put it atop of a list of 104 of the largest fashion companies in the world. From its perch in Copenhagen, the brand sells to consumers in 100 countries at 8,900 points of sale.
Best-Performing Company – Small Cap
Farfetch UK Limited
Farfetch’s community of more than 400 fashion boutiques has breathed new life into old stores – and supported newly opened ones — from New York to Bucharest to Riyadh. The eight-year-old company, which now includes brick and mortar with Browns in London, expects to drive gross merchandise volume of $800 million through its digital platform this year, a 60 percent gain.
Corporate Citizenship
Industria de Diseño Textil S.A. (Inditex)
Inditex works ardently with its employees, suppliers and in local communities, using the reach of its 7,000 stores across 90 markets to create more ethical, safe and community and environmentally friendly products. The fast-fashion firm’s “Right to Wear” philosophy puts sustainability at the center of all of its business decisions.
John B. Fairchild Honor
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Ralph Lauren Corp., used seemingly unending stores of creativity, endurance, determination and impeccable taste to build his necktie line into a $7.5 billion global empire. About to celebrate 50 years in business, the designer now competes in an industry that in no small part has been shaped by his efforts.
