business

After the fun-at-times legal war between Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent ended last fall with something akin to a dull whimper, we were worried that we’d have to wait forever to have another good copyright fight between hot shot fashion companies. Sure there are your usual “small shop got ripped off by a big brand” or “big company looks like a bully for attacking a small one,” but those aren’t nearly as exciting as when two top dogs lock horns. Fortunately, we’ve been saved, thanks to an old case still simmering from the good, litigious people at Gucci. As Bloomberg reports, Gucci’s copyright infringement case against Guess finally kicked off in fine form in New York (it was originally filed three years ago but is only reaching trial now). The former is claiming that Guess had not only copied several of its products, but had also mimicked their logo on said items, all in the quest to provide their customers with Gucci-like items that they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford. Seeing as the case is now at trial and wasn’t settled in a hushed backroom deal years ago, we bet you can figure out what Guess’ position in response to those allegations. For the next two weeks, the two will be battling it out, with Gucci asking for $124 million, Guess not wanting to give it to them, and we can only figure, featuring some of the best dressed attorneys and witnesses that courtroom has seen in a while.

And speaking of mod marvels, our fontastic friends at House Industries (makers of a swell set of Eames House alphabet blocks) have teamed with Japan’s Medicom Toys to celebrate the ubercollaborative company’s fifteen years of creating unreasonably covetable figurines. Meanwhile, Medicom’s iconic BE@RBRICK line hits the double-digit mark this year. Both occasions called for fresh logos (get your limited-edition print here), the creation of which House illustrates in the below video. That coppery creature is a giant BE@RBRICK customized by Adam and Angelo Cruz in what House’s Rich Roat describes as “a multigenerational merger of hand-rubbed copper metallic lacquer and hand-striped One-Shot enamel.”

Oreo, Jell-O, Maxwell House, Tang. It’s hard to find a grocery store aisle that doesn’t contain an iconic brand owned by Kraft Foods. Last summer, the Northfield, Illinois-based company, having at least partially digested its 2010 acquisition of Cadbury for $19 billion (that’s a lot of Mini Eggs), announced plans to split into two public companies: a “high-growth global snacks business” and a “high-margin North American grocery business.” The latter, which will include most of the cheesy stuff (Philadelphia cream cheese, the blue-box macaroni, those ubiquitous Singles), will get to keep the Kraft brand, leaving the larger snacks juggernaut in need of an appetizing new name. Kraft got down to business, soliciting some 1,700 suggestions from employees, and this week, the new corporate name was announced. Reader, it is Mondelēz International, Inc.

Say what? “‘Mondelēz’ (pronounced mohn-dah-LEEZ’) is a newly coined word that evokes the idea of ‘delicious world,’” noted the press release, which appears not to have been an early April Fool’s Day joke. “‘Monde’ derives from the Latin word for ‘world,’ and ‘delez’ is a fanciful expression of ‘delicious.’ In addition, ‘International’ captures the global nature of the business.” According to Kraft, the new name represents the Frankenstinian fusing of separate suggestions from two employees, one in Europe and another in North America. “I’m thrilled with the name Mondelēz International,” said Mary Beth West, the company’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “It’s interesting, unique, and captures a big idea—just the way the snacks we make can take small moments in our lives and turn them into something bigger, brighter, and more joyful.” As we come to terms with a future in which we’ll all be buying our Toberlones and Trident from a company whose name suggests a harebrained scheme of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, we imagined the munchies-fueled meeting that sealed the deal with these Top Ten Things Overheard at Kraft’s Branding Task Force Meeting:

10. What was the name of Speedy Gonzales‘s cousin?
9. Please pass the Oreos.
8. Let’s keep it simple. I vote for “Snacks Alive.”
7. What about Vandelay Industries?
6. I actually really liked New Coke. Thought it was totally delez.
5. OK, then just something that sort of rhymes with Vandelay…
4. No offense, but I’ve got a basketball game to watch. Let’s just combine all of these suggestions together and take the average.
3. I thought you said “fleur de lis.” Makes me think of Three Musketeers. [audible gasps] You working for Mars now, Jim?
2. That little thing over the second “e”—does that read too Häagen-Dazs?
1. ‘Delicious world,’ like in Esperanto? For me, it conjures castanets. Is this an emerging markets play?

By our count, we’re now in our fourth straight month of being in the black when it comes to the American Institute of Architects‘ monthly Architecture Billings Index. Our minds are always relatively cloudy, but we can’t even remember the last time that was the case. Looking back through our archives (which is chock full of repeated phrases like “inches up ever so slightly” and “takes another dive”), we see the last time we came close was the summer of 2010, when after three months of growth, you guessed it, the ABI “took another dive.” This month, like those preceding it, haven’t been giant leaps, but we’ve landed at 51.0, up from 50.9 the month prior (anything above 50 indicates an increase in billings and a general look at the health and wellness of the industry). So while not huge growth, we’ll certainly take four months of good news over the alternative. Here’s the AIA’s chief digit bearer:

“This is more good news for the design and construction industry that continues to see improving business conditions,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “The factors that are preventing a more accelerated recovery are persistent caution from clients to move ahead with new projects, and a continued difficulty in accessing financing for projects that developers have decided to pursue.”

Having primed retailers with Simon Doonan‘s wintry whimsybombs of posable manikins and blue tulle, Paypal has debuted a mobile payments system for small businesses that operate in the real world, not just the e-commerce ether. PayPal Here is an app and thumb-sized credit card reader for use on any iPhone (Android version coming soon), and the company tapped Yves Behar‘s fuseproject to mastermind the roll-out, from strategy and identity to user interface and packaging. “Most payment transactions are disconnected and confusing, with Paypal Here we sought to create an ecosystem where all elements are clear, simple, consistent, and a pleasure to use,” says Behar, whose team developed the arrowish Here logo as a symbol for easy payment that straddles the physical and virtual worlds. It carries through to the swiper. “The offset surface layer on the card reader easily identifies the credit card swiping track for the user,” explains Behar of the two-tone blue device, which fits on a smartphone and ships in a corrugated triangular box. “The front triangle is also an innovative drop-down lock that prevents swivel or pivot when one swipes a card.”

It’s a project of firsts: Marc Newson’s first crack at camera design, Pentax’s plunge into design world collaborations, and the first time a Pentax product will be sold at retail outlets other than camera stores. Behold, the Pentax K-01, a 16-megapixel digital SLR hybrid that uses sleek interchangeable lenses (the world’s thinnest, according to the company). Envisioned with “clean and simple lines that create an elegant graphical composition,” the new model was developed in line with Newson’s design themes to be “timeless, trusty, and touchable,” which translates to features such as original-design push buttons and control levers, a mode dial and power switch in his beloved machined aluminum, and a rubberized grip. Newson’s touch extends to the product logo, camera strap, and start-up screen.

“The inspiration behind this design, like many projects that I work on, is simply the desire to create something which as a consumer, I myself would like to own or would like to purchase,” says the designer, who describes the K-01 as “not gimmicky at all.” The camera has already sold out at Colette in Paris, where its release was feted by the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Dior jewelry designer Victoire de Castellane at a bash hosted by Olympia le Tan. Take one for a test drive at A+R, which is hosting a “Shoot+See” event this Saturday, March 17, at its Venice, California store. And click below to watch Newson lovingly fondle the “compact and trim” body of the K-01 as he answers questions about its development.
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As if we needed another reason to guzzle Diet Coke (pay no attention to that 4-MEI in the caramel color!), fashion designer and oldest living enfant terrible Jean-Paul Gaultier has been appointed creative director of the brand. Unfortunately, his position is limited to Europe, land of “Coca Light,” where he’ll design a selection of cans and bottles (limited-edition, bien sur) as well as add his signature flair to online content, retail concepts, and ad campaigns. “The bottles have the shape of a woman’s body, so it was great fun to ‘dress’ them,” said Gaultier in a statement issued by the Coca-Cola company announcing the collaboration. “The Diet Coke motif is so beautiful I had to design around this. The finishing touch was to apply my logo to the bottle, like applying a fragile stamp—making it something special you want to touch.” The “Night and Day”-themed bottles debut in stores across the pond next month, but Diet Coke has already debuted a trio of videos chronicling Gaultier’s adventures as “The Serial Designer” (we suspect something was lost in translation with that title). Modish marionettes and tiny cans of Diet Coke are involved. Voila:

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We, and everyone else in the country, has certainly jinxed it before, but maybe, just maybe, things really are turning around. The American Institute of Architects have released what’s become one of our favorite monthly rituals, the Architecture Billings Index. As you may know, anything above 50 indicates growth within the business of building, anything below and everyone starts getting gloomy and misty-eyed for those halcyon days of the mid-to-late-aughts. For the last three months running, there’s been none of that sadness, with this latest release indicating that things are still in the positive. At 50.9, following a slight dip from an even 51 the month prior, it certainly isn’t champagne and top hats just yet, but after the last couple of years, any slightly-above-water trend like this is welcome relief. However, cautious as usual, the AIA’s resident mathematical soothsayer warns that we’ve seen this sort of thing before…

“Even though we had a similar upturn in design billings in late 2010 and early 2011, this recent showing is encouraging because it is being reflected across most regions of the country and across the major construction sectors,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “But because we still continue to hear about struggling firms and some continued uncertainty in the market, we expect overall economic improvements in the design and construction sector to be modest in the coming months.”

All is well at Knoll. The mod furnishings company powered through 2011, picking up a Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award along the way to a 14% year-over-year increase in net sales, to $922.2 million. With an eye to further expanding its high-margin, high-design “Specialty” business, Knoll recently announced a pair of acquisitions. The company has purchased Boston-based FilzFelt, the go-to source for German-milled wool design and craft felt. Founders Kelly Smith and Traci Roloff will continue in their executive roles at FilzFelt. Also joining the Knoll family is Richard Schultz Design. “Richard Schultz began his career as a designer with Knoll and co-founded his company with his son Peter in 1992,” noted Knoll CEO Andrew Cogan in a statement announcing the deal. “Together, they have built an international reputation for exploring new materials and forms for outdoor furniture.” Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. In other Knoll news, the Cooper-Hewitt has added five KnollTextiles upholstery fabrics and two wallcoverings to its permanent collection. They include designs by Abbott Miller, Proenza Schouler, and Dorothy Cosonas, creative director of KnollTextiles. All of this Knoll talk making you crave Bertoia chairs and Risom stools? Good news: the Knoll Classics Sale is now on. Peruse discounted goods through Saturday at the NYC Knoll showroom (76 Ninth Avenue) or click over to Design Within Reach, where the sale runs through Sunday.

The branding wizards at Nike are often ten steps ahead of everyone else, and they have more than their superior sneakers to thank. In the last decade, the Beaverton, Oregon-based company has more than doubled its revenue, to $20.9 billion in 2011 (an impressive 10% increase over the previous fiscal year), and assembed a stable of labels ranging from Cole Haan to Umbro. It seems counter-intuitive, then, that over the past few years, Nike has dramatically reduced its TV and print advertising. So, what’s the deal? Digital, my dear Watson.

“Gone is the reliance on top-down campaigns celebrating a single hit—whether a star like Tiger Woods, a signature shoe like the Air Force 1, or send-ups like Bo Jackson’s ‘Bo Knows’ commercials from the late ’80s that sold the entire brand in one fell Swoosh,” writes Scott Cendrowski in a feature on Nike’s “New Marketing Mojo” that appears in the February 27 issue of Fortune. “In their place is a whole new repertoire of interactive elements that let Nike communicate directly with its consumers, whether it’s a performance-tracking wristband, a 30-story billboard in Johannesburg that posts fan headlines from Twitter, or a major commercial shot by an Oscar-nominated director that makes its debut not on primetime television but on Facebook.” Having learned from its online stumbles (a late ’90s assumption that March Madness was of global, rather than domestic, interest) and successes (Nike iD), the company has high hopes for its Digital Sport initiative, which some critics say “are more about keeping retail prices high than innovating.”
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