Paris, When She Sizzles

Presenting Paris Hilton as its new Guess girl, Guess Inc. (Los Angeles) has introduced two new store concepts: the Marciano chain for a slightly older consumer; and Accessories, mall-based boutiques with only handbags, hats and small leather goods, but no clothes.

The company has opened three new Marciano stores in the last week — one in a Los Angeles mall a week ago; one last Wednesday in McAllen, Texas; and one in Toronto over the weekend. The company said it will open nine more Marcianos in this country in the next 12 months, and 27 more Accessories stores, here and around the world. And it is still opening Guess stores; altogether, 100 store openings are planned in the next 12 months.

According to a report in The New York Times, Guess is climbing out of the depressed state into which it fell around the turn of this century, when it lost a significant chunk of its business to “streetwear,” the brands put out by Sean John, Russell Simmons and other rap stars and impresarios. Urban youth considered these brands more authentic than brands like Guess and Tommy Hilfiger. “We were not going to change, or start running after the customer,” said Paul Marciano, founder, creative director and co-ceo. “Not the streetwear customer, not the beach wear customer that Quicksilver and PacSun got; we still identify with the sexy young customer.”

So there will be no change in image — the suggestive ads featuring Hilton prove that. Instead, Guess has chosen to reinvigorate its roots, trying to recapture the Guess customer of old, club-hopping 18-to-22-year-old men and women, as well as the fashionable crowd who wore Guess a decade (or two decades) ago.

But as Guess lost share of sale at department stores, management decided to make “a big transition,” Marciano said. “We were 70 percent wholesale — department stores – in 2000. Right now, we are 72 percent retail,” meaning sales in its own stores. Nevertheless, he said, he intends to “recapture the department store business” and expand into Europe. The company has already opened Guess stores in Bucharest, among other places, and a “Guess by Marciano,” the transitional name for Marciano until Europeans understand who the Marcianos are, in Marseilles. “And we’re pushing a lot into Canada,” he added. The company already has 36 stores in Canada, he said, “and we hope to open another 12 stores in the next 12 months.”