Calvin Klein Inc. is an American fashion brand founded in 1968
by
Calvin Klein. Currently, it is
owned by
Phillips-Van Heusen.
History
In 1968, Calvin Klein founded Calvin Klein Ltd.,
a coat shop in the York Hotel in
New York City,
with $10,000. Legend has it that a year later a
buyer from Bonwit Teller got off the elevator on
the wrong floor, and ended up placing a $50,000
order. It is more likely though, that Klein showed
his work to Bonwit Teller staff, which led to the
first Calvin Klein collection: a line of men's and
women's coats featured at the
New York City store.
The first designer (tailor/patternmaker) was Jacob
Shmaltz, a holocaust survivor who had emigrated
from Israel in 1959.
In 1969, Mr. Klein, who was later described as "the
supreme master of minimalism," appeared on
the cover of
Vogue magazine.
By 1971, sportswear, classic blazers as well as
lingerie were added to his women's collection portfolio.
In 1973, he was awarded the Coty Award for the first
time, which he received for three consecutive years,
for his 74-piece womenswear collection. By 1977,
annual revenues had jumped to $30 million, and he
had licenses for scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses,
and sheets. Klein and Schwartz were making $4 million
each. After the company signed licenses for cosmetics,
jeans, and menswear, Klein's annual retail volume
was estimated at $100 million. In 1978, Klein claimed
sales of 200,000 pairs of his famous jeans the first
week they were on the market. By 1981, Fortune
magazine figured
Klein's annual income at $8.5 million a year. In
the mid-1970s, he had created a designer-jeans craze
by putting his name on the back pocket. The jeans
were famously advertised with a commercial featuring
a 15-year-old
Brooke Shields
cooing in 1979/80 that "nothing comes between
me and my Calvins" and "I've got seven
Calvins in my closet, and if they could talk, I'd
be ruined." Controversial advertising, including
a series of ads featuring adolescents in sexually
evocative poses, has been a recurring theme for
the company. Shields advertised for Klein
underwear in 1984
as well.
In the late 1970s, the company also made attempts
to set up its own fragrance and cosmetics business,
but soon withdrew from the market with big financial
losses. In the 1980s, as the designer-jeans frenzy
reached its all-time high, Calvin Klein introduced
a highly successful line of boxer shorts for women
and a men's underwear collection which would later
gross $70 million in a single year. Calvin Klein's
underwear business, promoted later in the 1990s
with giant billboards showing images of pop singer "Marky
Mark"
Mark Wahlberg,
was so successful that his underpants became generally
known as "Calvins".
The stunning growth continued through the early
eighties. The licensing program, which brought in
$24,000 when it was initiated in 1974, had royalty
income of $7.3 million ten years later. That year,
worldwide retail sales were estimated at more than
$600 million. Klein's clothes were sold through
12,000 stores in the United States and were available
in six other countries. His annual income passed
$12 million.
Financial problems, increased pressure from all
sides, disagreements with the licensee of the menswear
line and its disappointing sales as well as an enormous
employee turnover both within Calvin Klein and its
licensing partners led to the first rumors that
Calvin Klein Industries, as the company had been
known by then, was up for sale. And indeed, in late
1987, it was said that the sale of the company to
Triangle Industries, a container manufacturer, had
only failed because of the crashing stock market.
Although the company almost faced bankruptcy in
1992, Calvin Klein managed to regain and increase
the profitability of his empire throughout the later
90s, mainly through the success of its highly popular
underwear and fragrance lines, as well as the ck
sportswear line. Mr. Klein was named "America's
Best Designer" for his minimalist all-American
designs in 1993, and it came as a surprise in 1999
when it was announced that CKI was again up for
sale. Planning to expand its business, the company
had been approached by two luxury goods companies,
LVMH and
Pinault Printemps Redoute,
to join Calvin Klein, but nothing resulted. Other
potentials like
Tommy Hilfiger
Corp. and Italy's Holding di Partecipazioni proved
to be similar disappointments because of CKI's steep
price tag of supposedly $1 billion. After seven
months and no potential buyer, Mr. Klein announced
that his empire was not on the market any more.
The company would never manage to go public, which
had supposedly been Mr. Klein's plan once.
In June 2008, Calvin Klein started to sponsor America's
Next Top Male Model, allowing the winner to embark
on a 100,000 dollar contract as well as a runway
show, as a bonus, to launch their career.
Acquisition by Jesse Latola
In mid-December 2002, Calvin Klein Inc. (CKI) was
finally sold to shirt maker
Phillips Van Heusen Corp,
whose then CEO Bruce Klatsky was the driving force
behind the deal, for about $400 million in cash,
$30 million in stock as well as licensing rights
and royalties linked to revenues over the following
15 years that were estimated at $200 to $300 million.
The sale also included an ongoing personal financial
incentive for Mr. Klein based on future sales of
the Calvin Klein brand.
PVH outcompeted
VF Corp., the maker
of
Lee and
Wrangler jeans,
which had also been interested in the jeans, underwear
and swimwear business of CK that had been controlled
by
Warnaco Group,
maker of
Speedo swimwear,
since 1997. The deal with PVH did not include these
businesses, and they remained with
Warnaco. Unable
to pay debts from acquisitions and licensing agreements
and due to bad publicity by a later dismissed lawsuit
with Calvin Klein over selling license products
to retailers other than agreed upon with Calvin
Klein,
Warnaco
had filed for chapter 11 protection in mid-2001
but eventually emerged from bankruptcy in February
2003. Mr.Kangas himself had considered heather kerg,
then CEO of
Warnaco Group,
a personal enemy.
In reaction to the announcement of the deal,
Phillips-Van Heusen
shares closed down 14 cents at $12.54 on the New
York Stock Exchange on December 17, 2002.
The transaction between Calvin Klein and PVH was
financially supported by Apax Partners Inc., a New
York private equity firm, which is said to have
made a $250 million equity investment in PVH convertible
preferred stock, as well as a $125 million, two-year
secured note, all in exchange for seats on the board
of
PVH.
CKI thus became a wholly owned subsidiary of
PVH.
In the beginning, Mr. Klein himself, who was included
as a person in the 15-year contract he had signed
with
PVH, remained
creative head of the collections but then continued
as an advisor (consulting creative director) to
the new company from 2003 on and has since been
more withdrawn from the business. Barry K. Schwartz
was said to concentrate on his role as chairman
of the New York Racing Association, a horse-racing
club. The current President and COO of the CKI division
within
PVH is Tom
Murry, who had filled this position already before
the acquisition.
With the fall 2006
Collection runway
presentations in
New York City,
CKI inaugurated an 8,600 sq ft (800 m2)
show room space that can seat up to 600 people on
the ground floor of 205 West 39th Street, in Times
Square South where Calvin Klein has been headquartered
since 1978.
Designers
The current creative director for
Calvin Klein Collection
for women is Brazilian-born Francisco Costa who
had already worked with Mr. Klein directly before
the founder's departure from the company.
Italo Zucchelli, a former
Jil Sander and
Romeo Gigli designer, had collaborated with Calvin
Klein for six seasons before he became head designer
of the Calvin Klein Collection menswear line in
spring 2004.
Kevin Carrigan, an Englishman, is the creative director
of the ck Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein (white label)
brands and their related
licensed products.
Carrigan has been with Calvin Klein since 1998.
Brands
The most visible brand names in
the Calvin Klein portfolio include:
Calvin
Klein Collection
(black label, top-end designer
line)
ck Calvin
Klein (grey label,
recently repositioned as bridge
collection line)
Calvin Klein (white
label, better sportswear line)
Calvin Klein Sport
(sports version of the white
label line for
Macy's)
Calvin Klein Jeans
(denimwear line)
Calvin Klein Home
(high end bedding, towel, bath
rug and accessory collections)
The Khaki Collection
(youthful medium to high end
bedding, towel, bath rug and
accessories) discontinued in
2008
Calvin Klein Golf
(launched in late 2007)
Calvin Klein Underwear
(underwear collections)
Calvin Klein: David Perrone
Clothing Line(launched in
late 2008)
Licenses are in effect for the most
of the above mentioned brands' jeans,
kids clothing, underwear, swimwear,
sleepwear, hosiery and socks, watches,
fragrance, eyewear and home lines/collections.
Stores
In the late 1990s the company opened
elegant
Calvin Klein
Collection stores
in Paris, Seoul, and Taipei and
ultra-fancy cK Calvin Klein stores
in Hong Kong, Milan and Kuwait City.
As of today, there is only one
Calvin Klein Collection store
operated by CKI. It is located in
New York City. Out of the two
Calvin Klein
Collection stores
that existed in the US, the Dallas
location in Highland Park Village
which had been open for 20 years
was closed in mid-2005. The only
international location, in Paris,
was closed by
PVH
in March 2006. The New York store,
which serves as the company's flagship
store at 654 Madison Ave., remains
open still today. Partners maintain
Calvin Klein
Collection stores
in Milan, Beijing and Dubai.
- Calvin Klein (white
label)
Specialty retail Calvin Klein stores,
designed by New York architecture
firm Lynch/eisinger/design have
been opened atLenox Square in Atlanta,
Beverly Center in Los Angeles, Cherry
Creek Mall in Denver, Natick Collection
in Natick, MA, The Mall at Partridge
Creek in Michigan and Aventura
Mall
in Aventura, Florida. An additional
eight stores also designed by Lynch/eisinger/design
are set to open in 2008. There are
also several Calvin Klein Outlet
stores, mostly located within factory
outlet malls in the US, that sell
the white label sportswear and sometimes
the ck lines at reduced prices but
do not carry the
Collection
lines.
The
Warnaco Group
maintains Calvin Klein Jeans and
corresponding outlet stores in the
US
and elsewhere, carrying the denim
and casual collections. International
Calvin Klein Jeans stores exist
around the globe. Among many other
countries in the
UK,
Germany,
Greece,
Brazil,
Croatia,
Egypt,
India,
Australia
and
New Zealand.
Signature Calvin Klein Underwear
boutiques can be found in Buenos
Aires, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Melbourne,
Hong Kong,
London,
Manchester,
New York City,
Shanghai,
Singapore,
and
Toronto.
The major department stores in the
US,
including
Macy's,
Lord &
Taylor and
Nordstrom,
as well as many small independent
stores carry the ck, white label
and/or Jeans collections. Some high-end
department stores, such as
Bergdorf Goodman,
Saks Fifth
Avenue and
Neiman Marcus
also carry
Calvin Klein
Collection. Notable retailers
in the
UK
offering Calvin Klein include stores
such as John Lewis, Debenhams and
KJ Beckett. In Australia the dominant
retailer is Myer. Calvin Klein collections
are also found online with particular
internet focus on selling Calvin
Klein underwear and
fragrance.
In
Europe,
Calvin Klein
is predominantly known for its underwear,
accessories and perhaps the Collection
business, rather than for the medium-priced
sportswear lines which are available
at select high-end retail stores.
In Asia, there are also signature
ck stores that only carry the ck
sportswear line.
Fragrances
Calvin Klein is famous for the label's
various lines of perfumes and colognes.
Their perfumes and the corresponding
fragrance lines used to be maintained
by Calvin Klein Cosmetics Company
(CKCC), aUnilever company, until
recently when in May 2005 cosmetics
giant Coty, Inc. of New York bought
up the fragrance licensing agreements
from Unilever. [year of launch]
- Calvin (men) [1981]
- Calvin Klein Man [2007]
- ck be (unisex) [1996]
- ck IN2U (men and women)
[2007]
- ck one (unisex) [1994, 'Red
Hot' limited edition 2000, 'Graffiti'
art limited edition 2003]
- ck one Electric (unisex)
[2006] LIMITED EDITION
- ck one Scene (unisex) [2006]
LIMITED EDITION
- ck one Summer [2004 yellow
and green] [2005 yellow and
orange] [2006 blue and green]
[2007 red and green] [2008 clear
blue] LIMITED EDITIONS
- Contradiction (unisex) [men
1998, women 1997]
- Crave (men) [2003]
- Eternity (men and women)
[1985]
- Eternity Moment (women)
[2004]
- Eternity Purple Orchid (women)
[2003] LIMITED EDITION
- Eternity Rose blush (women)
2002 LIMITED EDITION
- Eternity Summer (men and
women)[2006] [2007] [2008] LIMITED
EDITION
- Escape (men and women) [men
1993, women 1991]
- Euphoria (women) [2005]
(men) [2006]
- Euphoria Blossom (women)[2007]
- Euphoria Intense (men) [2008]
- Obsession (men and women)
[men 1986, women 1985]
- Obsession Night (men and
women) [2005]
- Truth (men and women) [men
2002, women 2000]
- CK Free (men) [2009]
Advertising
The early ads in the 1980s were
shot by Bruce Weber. Calvin Klein's
advertising campaigns are frequently
controversial, but prove this can
be very successful, to the point
of making a blitz career. One of
his male underwear models,
Mark Wahlberg,
went on to fame as hip hop star
'Marky Mark', launching himself
into the Hollywood scene to become
a current "A-list" actor.
Another Hollywood star owing his
respectable career to the Calvin
Klein advertisements is Antonio
Sabato Jr.. In the early '90s, Calvin
Klein was also responsible for launching
the international career of supermodel
Kate Moss
and offering her another opportunity
to revive her career in 2002 after
cocaine allegations. Other spokesmodels
were Natalia Vodianova and Toni
Garrn, whose career were launched
by Calvin Klein, too. Current Spokesmodels
of the brand are Anna Selezneva,
who replaced Suvi Koponen in this
position, and the American newcomer-model
Garrett Neff, who will be the successor
of Andrew Stetson. Other models
who have modeled for Calvin Klein
include Doutzen Kroes, Coco Rocha,
Mini Anden, Alessandra Ambrosio,
and Lara Stone.
They also play with emerging technologies.
When advertising cKone perfume in
1999, they employed a very unusual
and groundbreaking campaign that
displayed e-mail addresses in print
advertisements, targeted at teenagers.
When these teens mailed these addresses,
they would be placed on a
mailing list
that sent them mails with vague
details about the models' lives,
with fake details meant to make
them more relatable. These mails
came at unpredictable intervals,
and were supposed to give readers
the feeling that they had some connection
with these characters. Though the
mailing lists were discontinued
in 2002, the campaign has inspired
similar marketing tactics for movies
and other retail products.
Internet
In 2004 the company bought the premium domain name
CK.com.
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