Perry Ellis International (NASDAQ: PERY) announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Oxford Ophthalmic Corporation, a division of Eyewear Designs Ltd., to design, manufacture and distribute men's and women's eyewear under the Cubavera brand.
Eyewear Designs Ltd. is recognized for having the finest collection of designer eyewear brands in the industry. Each collection offers a broad base of design inspirations that reflect the designer's or the brand's style. When viewed as a whole, the collections comprise a comprehensive family of brands that target every niche of the eyewear consumer market.
George Feldenkreis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Perry Ellis International, said, "Eyewear Designs Ltd. is an industry leader in the eyewear market and the right partner for adding a new product category and interpreting the Cubavera lifestyle. We are extremely excited about the potential of this agreement and we look forward to working together with Eyewear Designs on a successful launch."
The Cubavera line will consist of men's and women's ophthalmic frames, ophthalmic sunglasses, ophthalmic readers, as well as non-ophthalmic sunglasses. The line will launch with 12 styles that capture a modernized retro feeling, with architectural details and embroidery concepts inspired by Cubavera apparel. They will be distributed through optical retailers, department stores and specialty shops throughout the United States. Initial shipments of men's ophthalmic eyewear will arrive for the Fall 2010 season.
"Cubavera is an internationally renowned brand and we are thrilled at the prospect of working together to market Cubavera Eyewear. The collection reflects the design aesthetic of the brand and reinforces its strong heritage. We feel Cubavera is an excellent addition to our impressive brand portfolio and offers our customers the ability to not only satisfy a niche in the eyewear market, but also appeal to a broader audience," States Andrea Gluck, Co-President of Eyewear Designs Ltd.
About Cubavera
Since its inception the Cubavera brand has transformed the ideals, joy and "sabor" of Latin culture into apparel. The Cubavera lifestyle is influenced by the Latin lifestyle but transcends categorization to appeal to a broad consumer demographic throughout the U.S. and abroad. Taking authentic fundamentals from the traditional guayabera, the brand couples innovative fabrics and design for a new twist on a traditional staple. The line has developed from its signature shirts into a collection offering a variety of suit separates, shirts, jackets, pants, shorts, and accessories.
About Perry Ellis International
Perry Ellis International, Inc. is a leading designer, distributor and licensor of a broad line of high quality men's and women's apparel, accessories, and fragrances. The Company's collection of dress and casual shirts, golf sportswear, sweaters, dress and casual pants and shorts, jeans wear, active wear and men's and women's swimwear is available through all major levels of retail distribution. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of nationally and internationally recognized brands including Perry Ellis®, Jantzen®, Laundry by Shelli Segal®, C&C California®, Cubavera®, Centro®, Solero®, Munsingwear®, Savane®, Original Penguin® by Munsingwear®, Grand Slam®, Natural Issue®, Pro Player®, the Havanera Co.®, Axis®, Tricots St. Raphael®, Gotcha®, Girl Star®, MCD® John Henry®, Mondo di Marco®, Redsand®, Manhattan®, Axist® and Farah®. The Company enhances its roster of brands by licensing trademarks from third parties including Pierre Cardin® for men's sportswear, Nike® and Jag® for swimwear, and Callaway Golf®, TOP-FLITE®, PGA TOUR® and Champions Tour® for golf apparel. Additional information on the Company is available at http://www.pery.com.
About Eyewear Designs Ltd.
Eyewear Designs Ltd. is headquartered in Syosset, N.Y. The Company designs, distributes and markets superior quality designer eyewear products to an ever-growing global distribution network, and many large retail accounts. For over 30 years, Eyewear Designs has been acknowledged as an industry leader offering world-class designer brand eyewear with innovative styling, manufactured to the highest quality standards.
Safe Harbor Statement
We caution readers that the forward-looking statements (statements which are not historical facts) in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations rather than historical facts and they are indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "could," "may," "might," "potential," "predict," "should," "estimate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "envision," "continue," "intend," "target," "contemplate," or "will" and similar words or phrases or comparable terminology. We have based such forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include: general economic conditions, a significant decrease in business from or loss of any of our major customers or programs, anticipated and unanticipated trends and conditions in our industry, including the impact of recent or future retail and wholesale consolidation, the effectiveness of our planned advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns, our ability to contain costs, disruptions in the supply chain, our future capital needs and our ability to obtain financing, our ability to integrate acquired businesses, trademarks, trade names and licenses, our ability to predict consumer preferences and changes in fashion trends and consumer acceptance of both new designs and newly introduced products, the termination or non-renewal of any material license agreements to which we are a party, changes in the costs of raw materials, labor and advertising, our ability to carry out growth strategies including expansion in international and direct to consumer retail markets, the level of consumer spending for apparel and other merchandise, our ability to compete, exposure to foreign currency risk and interest rate risk, possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity and armed conflict, and other factors set forth in Perry Ellis International's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those risks and uncertainties detailed in Perry Ellis' filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are valid only as of the date they were made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise.
Contacts:
For Perry Ellis International, Inc.
Integrated Corporate Relations
Allison
Malkin, 203-682-8225
