Liz Claiborne Inc. is a fashion company founded in 1976 in New York City that designs and markets a wide range of women's and men's apparel, accessories and fragrance products. In 2006, the company generated sales of nearly $5 billion .[2] The company sells directly to customers throughout the world through 399 specialty retail formats, 625 concessions, 336 outlet and 13 e-commerce sites. Products marketed to men are labeled without the founder's first name, leaving the gender-neutral "Claiborne." The company's brands are available at more than 30,000 different retail locations throughout the world. As of 2006, Liz Claiborne employed more than 17,000 people worldwide and was ranked 440 in the Fortune 500 list.[3]
History
Founded in 1976 by Liz Claiborne, Art Ortenberg, Leonard Boxer and Jerome Chazen, it was an immediate success with sales of $2 million in 1976 and $23 million in 1978.[4] Liz Claiborne Inc. went public in 1981 and had made the Fortune 500 in 1986 ten years after it was founded with retail sales of $1.2 billion.[4] It was the first company founded by a woman to be listed in the Fortune 500.[5]
Liz Claiborne was also the first designer to insist that her collection be placed together on the department store sales floor instead of in separate clothing categories which changed the way we shop. Shoppers no longer went from shirt department to pant department to coordinate an outfit. They were able to mix and match pieces from the Liz Claiborne collection to create entire outfits. This revolutionized the way department stores arranged clothing for sale and created the role of fashion merchandising as we know it today.
Founder Leonard Boxer retired in 1985, and in 1989, Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg also retired from active management. Jerry Chazen, the fourth original partner, became the company's Chairman in 1989 and held that role until 2006.
In 1999, Liz Claiborne, Inc. acquired 85% of Lucky Brand Jeans. In 2001, they acquired Mexx and in 2003 they bought another large fashion company, Juicy Couture.
On October 16, 2006, Liz Claiborne Inc. named William McComb Chief Executive Officer.[6] In February 2007, Liz Claiborne Inc. named Tim Gunn, formerly Chair of Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design, Chief Creative Officer.
Claiborne died on Tuesday June 26, 2007 at the age of 78. She died after a several-year struggle with cancer.
Brands
- See Category:Liz Claiborne subsidiaries.
The Liz Claiborne Inc. portfolio of brands includes Liz Claiborne, Mexx, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and Lucky Brand Jeans.
Other brands include Axcess, Claiborne, Concepts by Claiborne, Liz & Co,Dana Buchman, Enyce, Kenzie, Kenziegirl, Mac & Jac, Marvella, Monet, Trifari, Narciso Rodriguez, Bora Bora, Curve, Mambo, Realities and Usher.
Liz Claiborne Inc. also holds the license to the DKNY Jeans and DKNY Active brands.
See also
Notes
External links
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