Pop Quiz | Swarovski, Anya Hindmarch, Sephora

You can find the correct answer and detailed explanation for each question immediately following the question (simply highlight to read), along with all the answers at the end of the quiz. Good luck!

Question 1: Barrie is a Scottish knitwear mill. It is owned by _____.

a. Burberry
b. Ballantyne
c. Chanel
d. Louis Vuitton

Answer 1: Choice (c) is correct. In 2012, Chanel's investment arm, Paraffection, acquired long time supplier Barrie, one of Scotland's most historic mills. The company was facing serious financial difficulties and came close to shutting down, putting at risk a key element in the supply chain for some of Chanel's most iconic knitwear.

Question 2: Swarovski recently launched three new brands. Which of the new brands is the most design-driven?

a. by Swarovski
b. Atelier Swarovski
c. Cadenzza
d. lolaandgrace

Answer 2: Choice (b) is correct. Atelier Swarovski, with pieces retailing between €80 and €1,200 (about $100 to $1,600), is the most explicitly design-driven part of the group's offer. Autumn/Winter 2014 will see collections from Viktor&Rolf and Chinese fashion designer Ye Mingzi; previous seasons have featured some 60 collaborations with names including Christopher Kane, Maison Martin Margiela, Rodarte and Jason Wu.

Question 3: About whom was this said: "I had never been around a woman that yielded that kind of power"?

a. Anna Wintour
b. Eileen Ford
c. Louise Wilson
d. Diana Vreeland

Answer 3: Choice (b) is correct. Beverly Johnson, who signed with Ford Models in 1970, said: "I had never been around a woman that wielded that kind of power. She could close down a whole industry by not giving them any models. And she told them that." Johnson was referring to Eileen Ford.

Question 4: Which magazine has enabled its subscribers to 'unzip' its August 2014 issue focused on denim?

a. System Magazine
b. Industrie Magazine
c. Vogue
d. Marie Claire

Answer 4: Choice (d) is correct. This week, Marie Claire's 800,000 subscribers are unzipping the magazine's August denim issue, sponsored by Guess, by pulling on a perforated 'zipper' to reveal a second cover underneath.

Question 5: Which firm owns approximately 38 percent of Anya Hindmarch?
a. Mayhoola for Investments
b. Puig
c. OTB Group
d. Richemont

Answer 5: Choice (a) is correct. Mayhoola For Investments owns approximately 38 percent of Anya Hindmarch, although the founder still owns the majority of the shares.

Question 6: Sephora generates ___ percent of revenue at LVMH's selective retail unit, which generates more than ___ percent of total LVMH sales.

a. 25, 10
b. 50, 30
c. 75, 50
d. 100, 5

Answer 6: Choice (b) is correct. Sephora generates half of revenue at LVMH's selective retailing unit, which includes Paris department store Le Bon Marche and the DFS duty-free shops. The division has more than doubled in size between 2007 and 2013 and now generates more than 31 percent of total LVMH sales.

Question 7: Officine Generale is able to offer luxury-level product at an affordable price for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

a. it only offers a handful of silhouettes
b. it operates with a very lean staff
c. it doesn't spend on marketing
d. it values operational efficiency, like distribution centers close to factories

Answer 7: Choice (a) is correct. The company is lean to say the least — Officine Générale will hire its fourth employee in October — and is constantly looking for ways to reduce costs. Founder Pierre Mahéo currently aims to establish his own distribution centre near the Portuguese factories he uses. "I could ship to stores directly from there, instead of having stuff shipped to Paris, where it's packed and then re-shipped from France. I'll save time and money." The second factor: no marketing expenditure. "At the end of the day, I'm convinced the most effective advertising campaign is your product's quality. That's why people will come. Not because of ad pages," says Mahéo.

Question 8: Craig Redman and Karl Maier, creative collaborators, strive for ___ as a way to keep pushing their creativity.

a. constant reinvention
b. healthy skepticism
c. deliberate practice
d. out-of-the-box thinking

Answer 8: Choice (a) is correct. "It's easy enough to have a hit," said Craig Redman. "You can have a piece of work that's like a hit on the Internet, but if you can't sustain that, then it's absolutely irrelevant. We are constantly pushing ourselves to reinvent our work over and over. Constantly."

Question 9:  Hermès has appointed Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski artistic director of women's ready-to-wear. Where has she previously worked?

a. Céline
b. Maison Martin Margiela
c. The Row
d. All of the above

Answer 9: Choice (d) is correct. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski is a design veteran with a CV that includes positions at Céline and Maison Martin Margiela. Most recently, she was women's design director at The Row.

Question 10: Wildfang addresses the untapped demand for menswear made for women with a savvy mission-based, multi-channel approach. Its mascot is the _____.

a. rocker
b. tomboy
c. tribe
d. wolf

Answer 10: Choice (d) is correct. "Every band of thieves needs a mascot and ours is the wolf. In so many ways it represents our 'tomboy' spirit: bold, intelligent, loyal and part of a pack," said Emma McIlroy, one of Wildfang's founders.

1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (d) 5. (a) 6. (b) 7. (a) 8. (a) 9. (d) 10. (d)