85 774
Fashion Jobs
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Pheasant Run Plaza
Permanent · CHICO
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Merrimack Premium
Permanent · MERRIMACK
ATHLETA
Assistant General Manager - 18th & 5th
Permanent · NEW YORK
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Arizona Mills
Permanent · TEMPE
GAP
General Manager - Philadelphia Mills
Permanent · PHILADELPHIA
OLD NAVY
General Manager - Shops at Waldorf Center (New Store)
Permanent · WALDORF
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Triangle Square
Permanent · NEW YORK
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Northgate Mall
Permanent · CHATTANOOGA
OLD NAVY
General Manager - Coosa Town Center
Permanent · GADSDEN
OLD NAVY
General Manager - Upper Valley Plaza
Permanent · LEBANON
ATHLETA
General Manager - Issaquah Commons
Permanent · ISSAQUAH
ATHLETA
General Manager - 2nd And Pch
Permanent · LONG BEACH
BANANA REPUBLIC
Assistant General Manager - Home
Permanent · TROY
OLD NAVY
Director, CRM, Marketing
Permanent · SAN FRANCISCO
HENKEL
Senior Automation Tech
Permanent · GENEVA
ESSILORLUXOTTICA GROUP
Customer Service Representative
Permanent · EAST SYRACUSE
ESSILORLUXOTTICA GROUP
Customer Service Representative Classic Optical)
Permanent · YOUNGSTOWN
ESSILORLUXOTTICA GROUP
sr. Manager, Business Growth
Permanent · NEW YORK
ESSILORLUXOTTICA GROUP
Associate Manager, Trade Event Marketing
Permanent · DALLAS
ESSILORLUXOTTICA GROUP
Oakley - Specialized Consultant
Permanent · PEMBROKE PINES
ESSILORLUXOTTICA GROUP
Oakley - Sales Supervisor
Permanent · CAMARILLO
ESSILORLUXOTTICA GROUP
Naasc - Material Handler II (Inbound Team Lead)
Permanent · MCDONOUGH
By
Reuters
Published
Jun 23, 2010
Reading time
3 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Apparel costs to rise: Perry Ellis CEO

By
Reuters
Published
Jun 23, 2010

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Clothing maker Perry Ellis International (PERY.O) sees a 10 percent rise in industrywide apparel prices over the next two years amid rising commodity prices and higher labor costs in China.

Perry Ellis

"Prices have to go up at some point. The American consumer will have to pay higher prices... It's only apparel and electronics, the items that keep coming down, everything else in life has come up," Chief Executive George Feldenkreis told the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit in New York.

Feldenkreis said the push for higher wages in China and the government's recent move to relax controls on the yuan would further contribute to price increases.

"Beijing is 30 million people. There is a movement to bring some of that prosperity to the midwest region in China. That is also creating more issues with labor costs... you have seen some unrest," he said.

The company, which sells branded merchandise in department stores such as Macy's Inc (M.N) and Kohl's Corp (KSS.N) and also licenses its brand to retailers, is also looking to migrate more toward direct ownership.

"We have announced we are taking back the dress shirt license, and (there's ) another we haven't announced but we will take back," Feldenkreis said.

Perry Ellis has considerably reduced its business with discount chain Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) due to price issues, and Feldenkreis said eventually even Wal-Mart will have to raise apparel prices.

It is now doing business worth $3 million to $4 million with the world's largest retailer, down from $60 million within the last three years.

Shares of Perry Ellis were down 4.9 percent to $21.74 in Tuesday afternoon trading on Nasdaq.

MEN'S APPAREL, WOMEN'S APPAREL

About 90 percent of Perry Ellis' revenue comes from its men's business, and the CEO said the men's business performed much better than the women's segment during the recession.

However, many men have traded down, opting for cheaper options to dress shirts and costly suits, he said.

"Men are wearing less suits... men are buying cheaper suits, Feldenkreis said. "Even the $200 suit has actually been growing ... but what really has suffered the most is that suit between $300 and several thousand (dollars)."

The company, which ended the quarter with $31.8 million in cash and no borrowings against its senior credit facility, is also up for buying a mid-tier women's brand, he said.

"We have been interested in making an acquisition in the women's space. A well-managed company... I don't want to buy anything I have to turn around anymore," he said, adding the company has some credibility with older women who recognized its namesake top designer in the United States.

In 2008, Perry Ellis spent $33.1 million to acquire the women's wear lines C&C California and Laundry by Shelli Segal from Liz Claiborne Inc (LIZ.N), and has been reworking those brands to resonate with shoppers.

Feldenkreis, a member of a group vying to bring the World Cup to Miami, also said there was a possibility the company might soon become involved with a soccer brand that it would license.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan, Alexandria Sage and Nivedita Bhattacharjee; Editing by Michele Gershberg, Matthew Lewis and Tim Dobbyn)

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.