1

Jurisdiction Request - Application for Late Filing:

Zoning Administrators Letter of Determination
Formula Retail Status on Jack Spade Mens Clothing store at 3166 16th Street

Dear President Hwang And Honorable Members Of the Board:
On behalf of independent merchants and businesses throughout San Francisco we ask that this
Board of Appeals except jurisdiction over this critically important Zoning Administrators Letter of
Determination (L.O.D.) and allow a public hearing on this matter.
The Zoning Administrators L.O.D. is the result of subterfuge in avoidance of San Francisco
Planning Code limitations on formula retail.
San Franciscos small business community was deliberately kept uninformed of this matter. Kate
Spade LLC is not an independent business simply because it assumes a disguise, and the Mission
Merchants Association is not acting as a community-based organization when it becomes a paid
consultant of an industry working contrary to the interests of the community.
The Valencia Corridor Merchants Association (VCMA) was prevented from filing an appeal for the
following reasons:
1. The general membership, board, the president of the Mission Merchants Association did
not receive any information contained in the LOD. [Exhibit A] The letter was addressed to the
VP of the Mission Merchants Association, Phil Lesser who is a paid consultant of Kate Spade,

LLC. This is clearly a conflict of interest: Phil Lesser is the person members of the MMA rely on
to relay crucial information, yet he has a vested, personal interest in not sharing information such
as this L.O.D. Had Phil Lesser shared this letter with the president, the board, or the general
membership, the message would have quickly reached our organization and the broader San
Francisco small business community. Some of our members are also members of the MMA
including the president and current treasurer [Exhibit B].
2. We did not receive notification from the Planning Department. As a new organization, we
were not aware of the Planning Departments Neighborhood Group list and its function. We have
since added ourselves to this list.
3. Kate Spade LLC mislead the Planning Department. The nature of Kate Spade LLCs
corporate structure was deliberately withheld from the Zoning Administrator. If the Planning
Department had been informed that Kate and Jack Spade are in fact the same company with an
integrated infrastructure, the ZA would have determined that all 172 Spade stores must be
considered when determining formula retail status. San Francisco small and independent businesses
would have been made aware of a conditional use public hearing and would have had the
opportunity to express concerns.
The VCMA learned about Kate Spade LLCs plan to open a Jack Spade store through rumors and
blog posts. Individual merchants went to great lengths to verify these rumors and upon
confirmation took swift action.
2
Why it took the VCMA 10 months to Appeal
On March 29, several members read a post on the blog Uptown Almanac. Just 4 days later, the
VCMA met and decided to take action.
The LOD indicated that no lease had been signed, so as an organization we decided to:
Reach out to the building owner to dissuade them from signing a lease with Kate Spade
LLC and assist him in finding a more appropriate tennant.
Reach out to our City Supervisor, Scott Wiener.
Visit the DBI to get more information.
Contact Jack Spade directly to dissuade them from signing a lease at this location and
offering assistance in finding another more appropriate neighborhood.
None of these actions yielded confirmation regarding Kate Spade LLCs intentions to open up a
Jack Spade store on 16th street. At this point, it seemed as though there were no actions that were
available for us to take.
On June 28 we learned that permits had been granted. Only then could we assume that a lease had
actually been signed. Within 2 business days, July 1, we filed an appeal on building permits #
201306078955 and # 201306240254. That same day we inquired about the process of filing a late
Jurisdiction Request.
3
Over the last few weeks we have obtained information and/or sought counsel from the following
individuals and organizations which made it possible to put this document together; Board of
Appeals, Mission Merchants Association, Kate Spade LLC., former employees of Jack Spade, Jack
Spade consultant Phil Lesser, neighborhood groups, City Supervisors Scott Weiner and David
Campos, neighborhood residents.
Our goal was to do enough research to be able to file a compelling argument while honoring the
resources of the Board of Appeals. By submitting this request by July 29, we understand that the
hearing for the appeal of the LOD and building permits # 201306078955 and # 201306240254 can
occur on the same day, August 22nd.
The VCMA met weekly to divide up assignments and report back. We communicated via email
almost daily between meetings. As small business owners and managers, we are incredibly busy
people with responsibility first and foremost to our families and employees. Finding time to
research comes at great personal sacrifice.
Why Formula Retail LOD Should be Reconsidered
There is significant public interest in this case. To date, we have collected nearly 2,000 signatures
of fellow merchants, property owners, and residents who would like to see this spot inhabited by
local business - not formula retail. This neighborhood deserves the right to weigh in before
formula retail moves in and changes the character of the street.
4
Kate Spade LLCs intent to open a Jack Spade at 3166 16th Street clearly undercuts the intention
of the formula retail law, which is designed to protect small business and independent business.
Melissa Xides, Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. - VP - Global Sales & Retail, Jack Spade, clearly
stated their intentions to double their fleet of stores. [Exhibit C].
Why Jack Spade is not Small Business / Independent Business
Jack Spade and Kate Spade are not two different companies. Kate Spade LLC. is a single, very
large, consolidated company, therefore all Kate Spade LLC stores [Exhibit D] must be considered
when determining compliance with San Francisco Planning Code section 703.3.
Kate Spade, Kate Spade Outlet, Kate Spade Saturday, Jack Spade and Jack Spade Outlet are
sub-brands of Kate Spade LLC.
All employees that work in Jack Spade stores or that work exclusively for the Jack Spade
brand, are Kate Spade employees. The only Spade listed on their paychecks and tax returns
are Kate, not Jack.
The heads of both brands (Kate and Jack) report to Kate Spade LLC. CEO, Craig Levit
Jack Spade does not have its own separate headquarters. It shares the same offices as Kate
Spade, in New York.
All Jack Spade merchandise is delivered by the same transportation company from the same
warehouse (Distribution Center) and managed by the same logistics team at Kate/Jack
Spade Headquarters.
Both brands share the same logistics software, IT, HR and legal departments.
5
Deleterious Effect
The expected entry of Kate Spade LLC, into the 16th St. is already having precisely the
deleterious effect on community-based businesses that San Franciscos formula retail controls were
intended to prevent. SEC. 703.3.a.5. [Exhibit E]
The neighboring clothing business within the same building as the proposed Spade store, Idol
Vintage, had experienced rent increases of $250 per year until Kate Spade LLC became a tenant.
When Idol Vintage lease expired on April 1, it went from $5,200 / month to $7,500. A 44%
increase.
We, the community-based businesses and local small retail employers of San Francisco, ask that
this Board of Appeals take jurisdiction on this Letter of Determination and allow a full public
hearing on this matter before it becomes a tool to undermine the purpose of the law and damages
all San Francisco neighborhood retail districts.
Respectfully Submitted,
16th Street Merchants [Exhibit F]
The members of the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association
6
Exhibit A
7/28/13 Mission Bicycle Mail - LOD
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c8dc43ef32&view=pt&q=don board&qs=true&search=query&msg=13fc1025a8777e3f&dsqt=1 1/1
Jefferson McCarley <jefferson@missionbicycle.com>
LOD
Don Alan <hemanova@earthlink.net> Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 6:18 PM
To: "Jefferson / Mission Bicycle Co." <jefferson@missionbicycle.com>
I have no knowledge of this letter, and the General Membership has never discussed it, nor has the Board, for
that matter.
Don Alan
President, Mission Merchants Association
hemanova@earthlink.net
(415)552-7835
On Jul 3, 2013, at 3:21 AM, Jefferson / Mission Bicycle Co. wrote:
Hi Don.
On 9/6 a LOD (Letter of Determination on Jack Spade) was mailed to Phil Lesser as the point of
contact for the MMA.
In it were instructions on how to appeal the board's determination that Jack Spade was not formula
retail.
The Board of Appeals should know whether or not Phil passed this information on to the general
membership in any way.
And if he did, how. Was it discussed at a monthly meeting or communicated via email?
Your help with this will be greatly appreciated by all of us at the VCMA.
Jefferson
Jefferson McCarley | General Manager
Mission Bicycle Company
San Francisco, CA
missionbicycle.com | shop 415.683.6166 | direct 415.606.3874
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
2012 was about discovering key learnings about our product, our core values, and our market opportunities. 2013 will be all about executing
against our key strategies so we can begin to grow our brand in a more meaningful way.
One of these key objectives is broadening our customer base. This February, we launched our first ad campaign in GQ, Esquire, and Fast Company.
Reaching an audience of 3.2 million people, we featured an independent filmmaker from New York City, Josh Safdi. We have since seen an 18-point
swing in traffic in our retail stores and are optimistic these efforts will continue to pay off.
We launched our first watch collection just last week and have received a lot of great editorial around them. The early selling is exciting and the
collection looks great. Our brand has also been spotted on celebrities like Ben Affleck, John Krasinski, Paul Rudd, and the list continues to grow.
So, who is the Jack Spade customer? He's in his 30s to mid-40s, lives in an urban area, well educated and makes a living in the business world, but
he has a creative twist. He embodies the idea of the balance between art and commerce. As you could see, he could vary in age, but what he has
in common is a sense of individuality, passion for a long-lasting product and he is not afraid to wear a little humor and color in his wardrobe.
Jack Spade started with bags and wallets in 1996 and had maintained ourselves as an accessory-only brand for many years. Along with our emphasis
to grow our business, came our emphasis to expand ourselves into a lifestyle brand. From in-house categories, like sportswear, swim, watches and
furnishings, most of which have only been introduced this year, to licensing opportunities, like tech accessories, eyewear, socks, underwear that
we continuously explore to help broaden our brand footprint, we have only scratched the surface with some of these newer categories and we
are well on our way to becoming the lifestyle brand we set out to be.
Our average price point is $165 for sportswear and $375 for bags. We sit in between the more mass-market players and niche designer brands.
That whitespace in the middle is opportunity. We benchmark ourselves with brands like Paul Smith, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, more from a business
model perspective than in aesthetic.
Our current portfolio is made up of our own stores, e-comm, and wholesale partnership. Let's start with our stores. We currently have 11 full-price
stores and 1 outlet store worldwide, up from 1 in 2007. Internationally, we opened stores in London, Tokyo and Bangkok last year, and all 3 are off
to a great start. In all cases, we strive to create unique store environments that engage our local customers and encourage them to visit us frequently.
For example, our lending library, located in every retail store, creates a sense of community. Our customers can check books out for free and shop
all-in-one visit. Our store in Venice Beach has a ping-pong table on the lawn where our customers have tournaments.
This fall, we plan to open our first store in San Francisco in the Mission District. San Francisco is actually one of our leading e-commerce markets,
a metric we use to help inform our real estate decisions, so we're excited to finally open a store there. It will also have our biggest lending library
inside the store, where customers can relax and take a load off. Our customers love us not only because of these unique environments, but because
we also staff them with interesting service-driven associates that are wild about our product and love telling our customers about it.
What does all this translate to? Great retail productivity per square foot and we're on track to pace with Kate Spade New York. Our conversion rates
and margins give us a good indication for growth and we expect to double our fleet of stores over the next few years.
Onto e-commerce. As Johanna mentioned, e-commerce is a leading channel within our brand community. Since we launched our stores in 2010,
our business has seen triple-digit growth year-over-year and is projected to keep that momentum over the next few years. Our e-mail database
tripled in the last 8 months and our unique visits are up 60% year-over-year. With our website relaunch happening this spring, you can expect
several key differences on our sites, one of which is how we integrate social media with shopping.
We have an extremely engaged customer base that connects with us on Instagram. We are becoming popular for our photos, led by Cuan and his
adventures through travel and product discovery. We'll have an auto feed of these photos streaming onto the homepage. We know this will help
to increase the time our customer spending on our site and his engagement levels with us. With the expertise of Johanna's team optimizing our
site functionality coupled with the creativity of the Jack Spade team, we will have a winning website experience.
27
THOMSON REUTERS STREETEVENTS | www.streetevents.com | Contact Us
2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without
the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated
companies.
MARCH 15, 2013 / 1:00PM, FNP - Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc Kate Spade New York 2013 Investor Day
Exhibit D
Juicy Couture 115
Juicy Couture Specialty: 69
Juicy Couture Outlet: 46
Kate Spade LLC. 172
Kate Spade: 138
Kate Spade Outlet: 33
Kate Spade Saturday: 1
Jack Spade: 9
Jack Spade Outlet: 1
Lucky Brand 249
Lucky Brand: 182
Lucky Brand Outlet: 67
5th & Pacific
536 Total US Stores
Exhibit E
SEC. 703.3. FORMULA RETAIL USES.
A. findings
(5) Money earned by independent businesses is more likely to circulate within the local
neighborhood and City economy than the money earned by formula retail businesses which often
have corporate offices and vendors located outside of San Francisco.
(6) Formula retail businesses can have a competitive advantage over independent operators
because they are typically better capitalized and can absorb larger startup costs, pay more for
lease space, and commit to longer lease contracts. This can put pressure on existing businesses
and potentially price out new startup independent businesses.
Exhibit F
16th Street merchants
We support a Jurisdiction Request on the Zoning Administrators Letter of
Determination Regarding the formula retail status on Jack Spade mens clothing store
at 3166 16th street.
Breezy Culbertson
Needles and Pens
3253 16th Street
BreezyCulbertson@yahoo.com
Jay Juvvadi
Val 16 Market
3100 16th Street
info@cybernib.com
Paul Stoll
Body Manipulations
3234 16th Street
paul@bodym.com
Aijz Ghani
Alhamra Restaurant
3083 16th Street
crishap@yahoo.com
Jesse Henry
Superior Automotive
3150 16th Street
superiorautomotive@juno.com
Malcom Graves
eyedare
3199 16th Street
eyedareopto@yahoo.com
Chris Statton, Executive Director
Roxie Theater
3117 16th Street
cstatton@roxie.com
Michael Katz
Katz Bagels
3147 16th St
(415) 552-9050
Exhibit G