According to WSJ, Liz Claiborne wants to license or sell 16 of its brands.
The American sportswear maker, suffering from a downturn in department-store sales, announced today that it’s seeking to divest itself of 16 of its 36 apparel brands.
The 16 brands that Claiborne will try to sell or license out or possibly discontinue are Sigrid Olsen, Prana, Ellen Tracy, Dana Buchman, Mac & Jac, Kensie, Intuitions, C&C California, Enyce, Laundry, Tint, Stamp10, First Issue, Emma James, Tapemeasure and J.H. Collectibles.
Ellen Tracy and Dana Buchman are two brands, that helped establish the bridge market in the 80ies and 90ies.
Claiborne plans to double its spending on advertising for its Kate Spade, Lucky Brand and Juicy Couture labels to 3% to 5% of annual sales, in line with competitors like Coach Inc. To further reduce its dependence on department stores and better track customers’ buying patterns, the company plans to open 300 more of its own stores by 2010 and improve its e-commerce operations. Claiborne is also developing ways to shorten the time between orders and deliveries, and respond more quickly to consumer demand for particular styles.