Oxford Industries, Inc. Press Release
222 Piedmont Avenue, N.E. • Atlanta, Georgia 30308
CONTACT:
J. Reese Lanier, Jr.
Telephone: (404) 653-1446
Fax: (404) 653-1545
E-Mail: rlanier@oxfordinc.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — July 15, 2004
Tommy Bahama Announces New Licensing Agreements
ATLANTA,
GA. – Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM) announced today that it has
signed five new licensing agreements for the Tommy Bahama brand, signaling the
next step in the company’s controlled brand extension.
The popular lifestyle brand added these exciting new categories to a
suite of successful licenses for the swimwear, footwear, accessories, home
furnishings and décor categories. The
new agreements are effective immediately.
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. (NYSE:OXM).
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®, Indigo Palms®, Island Soft®, Ely & Walker®
and Oxford Golf®. The Company also
holds exclusive licenses to produce and sell certain product categories under
the Tommy Hilfiger®,
Nautica®,
Geoffrey Beene®, Slates®, Dockers® and Oscar de la Renta® 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 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.