Andrew Marc

Andrew Marc

Management history

The brand was founded by Andrew and Suzanne Schwartz in 1981.

In February 2008, the G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIII) acquired Andrew Marc. The purchase price, including working capital adjustments, was approximately million. G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. announced acquisition of Andrew Marc on Feb 11, 2008. The acquisition of Andrew Marc provided a luxury brand, an expanded mid-tier presence through the Levi’s and Dockers licenses, and opportunities for incremental leverage and economies of scale. Prior to the G-III acquisition, from June 2006, the label was owned by GB Merchant Partners.

Design, image and marketing

Andrew Marc Naomi Bag

Andrew Schwartz initiated the direction of the line, but Suzanne Schwartz designed the collection after she joined the team from 1984-2008. In 2006, she became vice-president. Suzanne also led merchandising and imagery for the brand. Design is done in-house.

While Suzanne designs and merchandises the line, Chris Gbur conceives of and casts image campaign concepts. Gbur is creative director under the management of 2008. The image is both rugged and cosmopolitan simultaneously. Much of the campaign is often shot in New York City and printed in sepia or grey scale.

2008 sees a record spend in print advertising with 20 pages across periodicals such as Vogue, GQ, Wired, Fashion of the Times, Vanity Fair. Some online placement can also be seen at VF Insider, Facebook, and VogueTV. 2008 also sees a redesigned e-commerce Internet site for Andrew Marc.

Merchandising

Andrew Marc is a luxury apparel line focusing mostly on men’s and women’s leather outerwear. Andrew Marc includes technology, materials and artisanship as features, but the line is positioned to be competitively priced against more expensive European designers. Although the styling is iconically American, the innovation in leather treatments developed by Andrew Marc are various and experimental, including waxes, distressing, pigmentation, oxidation and organic dying processes.

Since its inception, Andrew Marc has expanded into other categories. While remaining focused on outerwear he began to include wool and cloth and all season materials for his outerwear. He also began to experiment with models that could be reversible. Some models are also versatile and become vests or lighter by removing an internal secondary jacket.

In 1986, he founded Precision watch company for watch manufacture and distribution. The look and design is rugged yet finely crafted and inspired by the look of the bomber jackets. The watches are durable, water resistant, sporty but also luxury fashion oriented.

In 1998 Andrew Marc entered into agreements with Levi’s to produce leather and cloth outerwear under the Dockers label. The line included leather outerwear for men and women, and also included women’s cloth outerwear.

He also began collections of women’s and men’s accessories which now include men’s sport and travel bags. The materials of the accessories tend to match the materials used in the current seasons’ outerwear collections.

Spring of 2008 sees Andrew Marc entering into a shoe license with the Camuto Group who will design, market, and distribute women’s footwear under the Andrew Marc name. It is expected to debut in the Fall of 2009. Of the expected collection, Morris Goldfarb, G-III’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (parent company of Andrew Marc), said, “We are excited to begin the broader development of the Andrew Marc and Marc New York branded businesses, which hold an excellent position in upscale specialty retailers and department stores. We believe that the contemporary aesthetic and high-fashion identity of these brands can quickly and decisively transcend their roots from the outerwear market.”

Distribution

Andrew Marc is positioned on the luxury tier aside other labels such as Cole Haan and Burberry. Individual items range from 500. Andrew Marc can be found in many national department stores such as Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. The line is also available in specialty stores nation wide.

The men’s and women’s outerwear and accessories collections are also distributed through an online presence.

Financials

The company has performed notably well in Asia and Europe, with an increase in profit, despite the strong currency impact.

For 2007, Andrew Marc’s parent company G-III business recorded approximately 0 million of total revenue.

References

^ a b c Kimbally A. Medeiros The Modern Fashion Encyclopedia “Andrew Marc”

^ Daily News Record “LIVING THE ANDREW MARC LIFE…” April, 2006.

^ Vanity Fair Insider

^ Andrew Mark Online

^ “Marc’s New Man,” in WWD, 1 September 1998.

^ “Andrew Marc Said Near Pact for Levi’s Dockers Outwear,” in Daily News Record, 23 September 1998.

^ Business Wire “Andrew Marc Names Robert M. Mahan Chief Financial Officer” August 10, 2006.

^ Business Wire “G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. Announces Andrew Marc Shoe License,” June 11, 2008

^ Sak’s Fifth Avenue

^ Andrew Marc Online

^ www.1888pressrelease.com

^ Reuters “G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Fiscal 2008 Results, March 31, 2008

External links

Official web site

Categories: American fashion designers | Clothing brands | Luxury brands | Companies established in 1981 | High fashion brands | 1980s fashionHidden categories: Articles with a promotional tone from July 2009 | All articles with a promotional tone