Tony Margolis, President and CEO of Oxford's Tommy Bahama Group, commented, "We have always seen licensing as an excellent way to present our vision of the Tommy Bahama lifestyle in products that are outside our area of expertise. Each of these categories will benefit from the superior focus and talent of best-of-breed partners who share the same passion for the brand and the vision of its potential that we hold. These partnerships will extend our brand in a smart and complementary way and we are excited to develop new points of contact with the lives of our consumers."
FRAGRANCE: Gemini Cosmetics, Inc. has been granted the license to develop a prestigious line of TOMMY BAHAMA men's and women's fine fragrance products scheduled to debut for Spring 2005. The signature line will consist of women's eau de parfums as well as men's colognes and ancillary products and will be available for preview in October 2004.
The TOMMY BAHAMA fragrance introduction is the initial venture for Gemini Cosmetics, Inc. Formed in 2004 by industry veterans Neil Katz and Robert Rumsby, both most recently executives at Liz Claiborne Cosmetics, Gemini Cosmetics is dedicated to developing innovative and exciting fragrance brands that are relevant and compelling to today's consumers. According to Mr. Katz, President and CEO of Gemini Cosmetics, "Understanding the consumer, brand imagery and strong relationships with retailers is the key to our success in the future."
HANDBAGS: Accessory Design Holding, Inc. (ADH) has been granted the license to design and distribute a complete collection of women's handbags and small leather goods under the Tommy Bahama label. The TOMMY BAHAMA collection will include women's handbags, travel totes, baby bags and pet accessories as well as a collection of small leather goods and coordinating accessories. The collection will debut in stores for Spring/Summer 2005.
ADH is a fashion industry holding and management company whose subsidiary holdings, Isabella Fiore, LLC and The Talbery Company ("Talbery") design, produce and market branded niche accessory lines. ADH was founded in July 2000 to partner financial and management resources with accessories design companies exhibiting visionary talent and exceptional growth potential. The TOMMY BAHAMA agreement is the first licensing expansion for ADH.
EYEWEAR: Altair Eyewear has been granted the license to design and distribute TOMMY BAHAMA Eyewear, a collection of sunglasses and ophthalmic frames that will debut for Holiday 2004. Altair's design team will create and manufacture an eyewear collection for men and women that captures the essence of TOMMY BAHAMA, incorporating unique materials, tropical colorations, authentic design details and advanced manufacturing techniques. "Tommy Bahama is the definitive elegant island lifestyle brand and we are excited to join their team," says Ken Suesse, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Altair. "Eyewear is an important fashion accessory for the Tommy Bahama consumer and we look forward to delivering innovative, industry leading collections that exceed their consumer's expectations."
Altair Eyewear is a subsidiary of the privately held company Vision Service Plan (VSP), headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California. Established in 1994, Altair Eyewear has grown to become a leading supplier of sunglasses and ophthalmic frames, by supporting all optical independents with the same services and benefits, regardless of their size.
CEILING FANS: Emerson Fans has been granted the license for a collection of TOMMY BAHAMA ceiling fans as well as floor and table fans. Incorporating signature design elements, the collection is a natural fit with TOMMY BAHAMA's relaxed, yet elegant island lifestyle. Launching at the January Lighting and Fan market in Dallas, Texas, the TOMMY BAHAMA collection will be available at retail for Spring 2005.
St. Louis-based Emerson is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers in electronics and telecommunications, process control, industrial automation, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, and appliance and tools. Sales in fiscal 2003 were $14 billion.
SAILING YACHTS: Beneteau USA Inc. has been granted the license to design and distribute the TOMMY BAHAMA Beneteau 423 and 473 sailing yachts. This represents a new category for TOMMY BAHAMA and further enhances the lifestyle brand concept. The first sailing yachts will be launched at the Annapolis boat show in October 2004.
Beneteau is the world leader in the sailboat business and the European leader, in all categories, in the pleasure boat industry. The company operates five boat factories in the Vendee region of France and one state-of-the-art factory in Marion, South Carolina.
ABOUT TOMMY BAHAMA
Established in August 1992, with corporate headquarters in New York and Seattle, TOMMY BAHAMA is a lifestyle company that defines elegant tropical living with men's and women's sportswear, denim, swimwear, accessories and a complete home furnishings collection. TOMMY BAHAMA is available at the country's finest retailers including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, as well as high profile resort locations around the world. There are over forty TOMMY BAHAMA retail locations across the country and additional stores will be opening this year. TOMMY BAHAMA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxford Industries, Inc. .
Oxford Industries, Inc. is a producer and marketer of branded and private label apparel for men, women and children. Oxford provides retailers and consumers with a wide variety of apparel products and services to suit their individual needs. Oxford's brands include Tommy Bahama(R), Indigo Palms(R), Island Soft(R), Ely & Walker(R) and Oxford Golf(R). The Company also holds exclusive licenses to produce and sell certain product categories under the Tommy Hilfiger(R), Nautica(R), Geoffrey Beene(R), Slates(R), Dockers(R) and Oscar de la Renta(R) labels. Oxford's customers are found in every major channel of distribution including national chains, specialty catalogs, mass merchants, department stores, specialty stores and Internet retailers.
The Company's common stock has traded on the NYSE since 1964 under the symbol OXM. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.oxfordinc.com/ .
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
The matters in this press release that are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements about our expected business outlook, anticipated financial and operating results, the anticipated benefits of the Viewpoint acquisition, growth of particular product lines, strategies, contingencies, financing plans, working capital needs, sources of liquidity, estimated amounts and timing of capital expenditures and other expenditures, are based on current management expectations that involve certain risks which if realized, in whole or in part, could have a material adverse effect on Oxford's business, financial condition and results of operations, including, without limitation: (1) general economic cycles; (2) competitive conditions in our industry; (3) price deflation in worldwide apparel industry; (4) our ability to identify and respond to rapidly changing fashion trends and to offer innovative and upgraded products; (5) the price and availability of raw materials; (6) our dependence on and relationships with key customers; (7) the ability of our third party producers to deliver quality products in a timely manner; (8) potential disruptions in the operation of our distribution facilities; (9) economic and political conditions in the foreign countries in which we operate or source our products; (10) regulatory risks associated with importing products; (11) the impact of labor disputes and wars or acts of terrorism on our business; (12) increased competition from direct sourcing; (13) our ability to maintain our licenses; (14) our ability to protect our intellectual property and prevent our trademarks and service marks and goodwill from being harmed by competitors' products; (15) our reliance on key management; (16) our inability to retain premium pricing on Tommy Bahama products due to competitive or other factors; (17) the impact of reduced travel to resort locations on our sales; (18) risks related to our operation of restaurants under the Tommy Bahama name; (19) the integration of Viewpoint into our company; (20) the expansion of our business through the Viewpoint acquisition into new businesses; (21) our ability to successfully implement our growth plans for Tommy Bahama; Tommy Bahama stores; and (23) unforeseen liabilities associated with the acquisition of Viewpoint and other businesses.
For a further discussion of significant factors to consider in connection with forward-looking statements concerning Oxford, reference is made to Exhibit 99.1 to Oxford's Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 16, 2003; other risks or uncertainties may be detailed from time to time in Oxford's future SEC filings. Oxford disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements.
Oxford Industries, Inc.
© 2004 PR Newswire
