Talk:Kate Spade & Company

Merge Herbert Gallen, create section on Ellen Tracy

Herbert Gallen was the CEO for Ellen Tracy for five decades, and the company -- now owned by Claiborne -- isn't even represented well in the article. Expand Ellen Tracy into a new section.

Ellen Tracy is no longer owned by Liz Claiborne Inc. The link between companies is too insubstantial. They should each have their own page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.65.219.124 (talk) 16:23, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Citations

I work for Rubenstein and Liz Claiborne, Inc. is a client of ours. To mitigate any potential conflict of interest, I corrected only factual misinformation about the line designed by Isaac Mizrahi, and added appropriate citations. If there are any questions/concerns to my actions, please discuss on my talk page. // Brycetom (talk) 20:50, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Maginze

For a school report i did her and she was just so much fun to learn about! Think about learning aboyt her she is really fun and awesome! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.174.208.8 (talk) 23:06, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Revisions for recent transactions

This article is in need of major factual revisions. Not only does the company not own the partnered brands Mexx, DKNY and Dana Buchman anymore, it does own the Liz Claiborne brand and as of today has changed its name to Fifth & Pacific Companies. All of the information related to these transactions can be found on the company's IR website and in its filing with the SEC on that agency's website.

Nick (talk) 18:37, 4 January 2012 (UTC)

Leadership

Looking to add two execs that have been with the company for nearly 9 years. Okay to post this: "Deborah Lloyd joined kate spade new york in 2007 and leads the creative aspects of the brand as president and chief creative officer. Craig A. Leavitt, currently chief executive officer, joined shortly thereafter to lead the development of all business aspects."

citations Karimzadeh, Marc (4 February 2013) “Deborah Lloyd Taps Kate Spade’s DNA” Women’s Wear Daily Lockwood, Lisa (3 February 2014) "Kate Spade Gears Up for Growth" Women’s Wear Daily

BonnieNYC2015 (talk) 22:23, 13 January 2016 (UTC)

Requesting edit assistance from the Wiki community

I work for Kate Spade & Company and am new to Wikipedia but understand and respect the rules of maintaining an approach in good faith and a neutral point of view. Additionally, I fully recognize that, since I work for Kate Spade & Company, I have a clear conflict of interest in matters relating to the company, hence my commitment to restrict my engagement to the Talk Page. My aim for participating is principally to draw attention to factual errors on the page and to recommend additional content helping to explain Kate Spade & Company’s business and operations more effectively.

With that in mind, I have drawn attention to the following points:

ISSUE 1. The current introduction of Kate Spade & Company doesn’t accurately explain the current business model. In addition, the current porfolio of brands is no longer accurate, therefore, I recommend a revised description of the brands. The section I am referring to here is:

• Remove Existing Text: “Kate Spade & Company, initially known Liz Claiborne Inc. (founded in 1976 in Manhattan), and becoming known as Fifth & Pacific Companies until February 25, 2014, is a fashion company that designs and markets a wide range of women's and men's apparel, accessories and fragrance products under the Kate Spade New York, Kate Spade Saturday, and Jack Spade labels.”
• Add Accurate Information: “Established on February 26, 2014, Kate Spade & Company principally operates under two global, multichannel lifestyle brands, kate spade new york and Jack Spade, with a focus on two key axes of growth – product category expansion and geographic expansion – and reaching customers across four category pillars, women’s, men’s, children’s and home to continue its vision of becoming a four billion dollar business at retail1.”

1. Source: Lockwood, Lisa (3 February 2014) "Kate Spade Gears Up for Growth" Women’s Wear Daily
2. Reference: Kumar, Devika Krishna. (29 January 2015) “Kate Spade 2014 Sales Jump on High Demand for Luxury Handbags.” Reuters
3. Reference: Neel, Julia. (21 July 2014) “Kate Spade's Mary Beech Talks Brand Storytelling.” Women’s Wear Daily

ISSUE 2. The current “History” section focuses on Liz Claiborne – the fashion designer – who already has a dedicated page. In addition, Kate Spade & Company has gone through a significant transformation over the past few years. Therefore, I recommend removing the first three paragraphs specifically about the fashion designer. Additionally, I recommend adding background on kate spade new york, Jack Spade and Kate Spade Saturday, as well as including a description of Kate Spade & Company’s current Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer, and its corporate social responsibility program. Here I am referring to:

• Remove Existing Text: “Liz Claiborne Inc. was founded in 1976 by Liz Claiborne, Art Ortenberg, Leonard Boxer, and Jerome Chazen. It was an immediate success with sales of $2 million in 1976 and $23 million in 1978. In 1980, Nina McLemore founded Liz Claiborne Accessories. Liz Claiborne Inc. went public in 1981 and had made the Fortune 500 list in 1986, ten years after it was founded, with retail sales of $1.2 billion. It was the first company founded by a woman to be listed among the Fortune 500.

Liz Claiborne was also the first designer to insist that her collection be placed together on the department store floor, instead of in separate clothing categories, which dramatically changed retail merchandising. Shoppers no longer went from shirt department to pant department to coordinate an outfit. They were able to mix and match pieces from the Liz Claiborne collection to create entire outfits. This revolutionized the way department stores arranged clothing for sale and created the role of fashion merchandising known today.

After retiring in 1989, Claiborne died on June 26, 2007, at the age of 78 from complications from cancer.”

• Add Information (to “History” section & add “Leadership” section): “In 1993, Kate Brosnahan Spade, frustrated she couldn’t find the fashionable yet utilitarian handbag she was craving, began creating them out of her apartment. Debuting with just six silhouettes, she combined sleek, utilitarian shapes and colorful palettes in an entirely new way.

One year later, Kate sold her first batch of signature nylon designer handbags to Barneys, and the bags soon wound up on the arms of much-photographed trendsetters.

In 1996, kate spade new york was featured in Vogue magazine, creating press interest in the brand. The same year, it debuted in Japan for the first time, and the country still plays an important role in the brand’s global strategy today as its second-largest market after the U.S.

During this time, the first Jack Spade bag was sold to a hardware store and three years later, the first Jack Spade store opened in SoHo. Travel bags, trench coats and general merchandise were designed with a simple, purposeful aesthetic in mind.

Kate and her husband, Andy Spade, sold a majority of the company to Neiman Marcus Group in 1999 and in 2007, the entire company was bought by Liz Claiborne Inc., founded in 1976 by Liz Claiborne, Art Ortenberg and Leonard Boxer with Jerome Chazen joining the company as a partner a year later.

Since 1999, the company has launched a number of categories including shoes, eyewear, fragrance, tabletop, ready-to-wear and jewelry to realize its vision of becoming a global, mulitchannel lifestyle brand.

As part of its steady international growth, kate spade new york debuted in Brazil and the Middle East in 2011.

On May 15, 2012, Liz Claiborne Inc. officially became Fifth & Pacific Companies and shifted focus to three brands – Juicy Couture, kate spade new york, and Lucky Brand Jeans. The new name also reflected the sale of the Liz Claiborne namesake brand to JC Penney Co. in October 2011, as well as other transactions. Continuing its international expansion, kate spade new york acquired its Japanese business from joint venture partner, Sanei International, in order to connect more directly with Japanese consumers.

To ring in its 20th anniversary in 2013, kate spade new york celebrated with a 12-month collection inspired by “things we love,” including a coffee table book by the same title and several collaborations including shoes and sleepwear. In May, kate spade new york opened a three-floor flagship on Madison Ave in New York City, showcasing all of its product categories and launched an exclusive collection to the store, aptly name the Madison Ave Collection.

Seeing an opportunity in the market to engage a new customer base, in 2013, the company launched a new global lifestyle brand, Kate Spade Saturday, in Japan, the United States and Brazil.

On October 7, 2013, Fifth & Pacific Companies announced they would sell Juicy Couture to Authentic Brands Group for $195 million. In December, the company announced it was selling Lucky Brand Jeans for $225 million to Leonard Green & Partners, leaving the Kate Spade businesses as the company's sole label.

On February 25, 2014, Fifth & Pacific Companies was renamed Kate Spade & Company to reflect the company's brand portfolio. Craig A. Leavitt succeeded William McComb as CEO, and McComb’s retirement marked the official end of the company's transformation from Liz Claiborne to Kate Spade & Company.

In 2015, Kate Spade & Company created a new business model to focus its capital and resources on kate spade new york to allow it to reach its full potential. With this strategy in mind, the company announced plans to absorb the key elements of Kate Spade Saturday's success into the kate spade new york brand. The company has also reimagined Jack Spade as an e-commerce and retail partner focused brand, in order to evolve the brand and position it to grow with an expanded customer base. Additionally, Kate Spade & Company launched several new product categories including swimwear, childrenswear, home (coming in the second half of 2015).

Leadership

Deborah Lloyd, formerly of Banana Republic and Burberry, joined kate spade new york in 2007 and leads the creative aspects of the brand as president and chief creative officer with an aim to broaden the line while honoring kate spade new york’s rich history. In this role, she oversees all creative aspects, including product design, merchandising and creative services.

Craig A. Leavitt, currently chief executive officer, joined shortly thereafter to realize the global potential of the brand and to lead the development of all commercial aspects. During his tenure, he has driven the brand's growth in both domestic and international distribution, and under his leadership, the company has introduced new product categories including ready-to-wear, jewelry, home and fragrance, as well as a thriving e-commerce site.

on purpose

Building on the company's heritage of empowering women to help transform their communities through trade-based initiatives, in 2014 Kate Spade & Company launched on purpose, a corporate social responsibility program and economic model. Through this for-profit initiative, the company works with a group of 150 local artisans in Masoro, Rwanda to establish their cooperative as a profitable supplier to kate spade new york and Jack Spade.”

1. Source: Lockwood, Lisa (3 February 2014) "Kate Spade Gears Up for Growth" Women’s Wear Daily
2. Source: Larocca, Amy (14 February 2010) “The Spades’ New Bag” New York Magazine
3. Source: Kamen, Robin (12 October 2012) “Forty Under Forty: Kate Spade” Crain’s New York Business
4. Source: Bay, Willow (9 November 2002) “Profile of Kate Spade” CNN Pinnacle
5. Source: Kaiser, Amanda (4 February 2013) “Kate Spade Continues to Thrive in Japan” Women’s Wear Daily
6. Source: Steigrad, Alexandra (4 February 2013) “Jack Spade in Expansion Mode” Women’s Wear Daily
7. Source: Bumiller, Elizabeth (12 March 1999) “A Cautious Rise to a Top Name in Fashion” The New York Times
8. Source: WWD Staff (27 March 2006) “The Liz Line” Women’s Wear Daily
9. Source: Warner, Melodie (4 January 2012) "Liz Claiborne to Change Name" The Wall Street Journal
10. Source: Seth, Radhika (8 June 2012) “Fifth & Pacific to Acquire Majority Stake in Kate Spade Japan” Japan Daily Press
11. Source: Jacobs, Alexandra. (29 May 2013) “Having Fun Is Hard Work” The New York Times
12. Source: Kaiser, Amanda (1 March 2013) “Kate Spade Saturday Opens in Tokyo” Women’s Wear Daily
13. Source: Lockwood, Lisa (3 February 2014) "Kate Spade Gears Up for Growth" Women’s Wear Daily
14. Source: Linnane, Ciara (3 March 2015) “Kate Spade expanding home category with 4 new licensing agreements” MarketWatch
15. Source: Karimzadeh, Marc (4 February 2013) “Deborah Lloyd Taps Kate Spade’s DNA” Women’s Wear Daily
16. Source: Lockwood, Lisa (3 February 2014) "Kate Spade Gears Up for Growth" Women’s Wear Daily
17. Source: Lamont-Djite, Tara (16 June 2014) “Kate Spade Makes Fashion On Purpose” Harpers Bazaar
18. Reference: Whitworth, Melissa. (31 August 2011) “Kate Spade to Launch in London.” The Telegraph
19. Reference: Lo, Danica. (7 July 2010) “Kate Spade’s Deborah Lloyd Talks Business Over Hot Cross Buns.” Racked
20. Reference: Young, Vicki M. (25 January 2015) “Kate Spade Saturday Stores to Close.” Women’s Wear Daily
21. Reference: Clark, Evan. (18 March 2013) “Craig Leavitt Sees $4B Future for Kate Spade.” Women’s Wear Daily

ISSUE 4. Under “Business Growth and Consolidation,” the text primarily refers to Liz Claiborne’s history. We reference Kate Spade & Company’s history in the section above, therefore I recommend removing the section all together. The section I am referring to here is:

• Remove Existing Text: “Founder Leonard Boxer retired in 1985, and in 1989, Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg also retired from active management. Jerome Chazen became the company's Chairman in 1989 and held that role until 1996, when Paul Charron became Chairman and C.E.O. and held that position until 2006. During Charron's tenure Liz Claiborne, Inc. acquired Lucky Brand Jeans in 1999. In 2001, they acquired Mexx and in 2003 they bought another small fashion company, Juicy Couture. The company acquired kate spade in 2006. On October 16, 2006, Liz Claiborne Inc. named William McComb, a Johnson & Johnson veteran, the company's Chief Executive Officer.

On October 8, 2009, JC Penney Co. (based out of Plano, TX), announced that it would become the exclusive retailer for the Liz Claiborne brand. All Liz Claiborne merchandise would exit any additional department-store retailer, and the Liz Claiborne New York designed by Isaac Mizrahi would move from department stores to QVC. The Liz&Co. and Concepts by Claiborne brands originally exclusively sold at JC Penney would be phased out, and the Liz Claiborne merchandise would begin appearing in JC Penney stores in August 2010. In October 2011, the company completed the sale of its Dana Buchman brand to Kohl's. In November 2011, the Company announced that it has completed the transaction to sell domestic and international trademark rights of its Liz Claiborne family of brands and domestic trademark rights of its Monet brand to JC Penney. In 2013, Fifth & Pacific narrowed its focus to the Kate Spade brand by selling both Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand Jeans, returning to a mono-brand company.”

ISSUE 5. Under “Brands”, the text was originally taken from katespadeandcompany.com. This text has since been updated on the Company’s corporate website and I recommend replacing the paragraph with the information currently available on the website. The section I am referring to here is:

• Remove Existing Text: “The Kate Spade & Company portfolio of brands today includes Kate Spade New York, Jack Spade and Kate Spade Saturday. The Adelington Design Group, a private-label jewelry design and development group, is also operated by the company. [9] It markets brands through department stores, and serves J. C. Penney, via an exclusive license for Liz Claiborne and Monet jewelry lines, and Kohl's with a license for Dana Buchman jewelry.”
• Add Accurate Information: “Kate Spade & Company (NYSE: KATE) designs and markets accessories and apparel under two global, multichannel lifestyle brands: kate spade new york and Jack Spade. With collections spanning demographics, genders and geographies, the brands are intended to accent customers' interesting lives and inspire adventure at each turn. The Company also owns the Adelington Design Group, a private brand jewelry design and development group that markets brands through department stores and serves jcpenney via exclusive supplier agreements for the Liz Claiborne and Monet jewelry lines. The Company also has a license for the Liz Claiborne New York brand, available at QVC, and Lizwear, which is distributed through the club store channel.”

1. Source: http://www.katespadeandcompany.com/web/guest/companyoverview

ISSUE 6. The image being referenced does not accurately reflect the Company or brands. Pictured currently is the building being occupied by Bergen Logistics. I intend to post a photo of the kate spade new york Madison Avenue flagship location in New York City.

1. Reference: http://fashionista.com/2013/05/kate-spade-new-york-upper-east-side
2. Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/fashion/kate-spade-store-on-madison-avenue.html

If there are no concerns raised, I intend to make these changes in two weeks.

KateSpade1993 (talk) 14:48, 16 April 2015 (UTC)KateSpade1993 10:45, 16, April 2015

Hello KateSpade1993. It's a shame no-one noticed your extensive post above, but had they done so, they would have told you not to make the edits that you proposed and have now made. I have temporarily reverted the article back to the version before your changes, even though it may not be as up-to-date as one would like. While phrases such as "the bags soon wound up on the arms of much-photographed trendsetters." and "the brands are intended to accent customers' interesting lives and inspire adventure at each turn" may come naturally to you, they have no place in an encyclopedia. The intent of your updates is probably fine - the terminology ("business-speak" as some call it) is not.

More to follow...  —SMALLJIM  17:08, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

(...continued) As an encyclopedia, Wikipedia is interested in the whole history of the company, not just what's happened recently (we call that recentism). So it seems to me that with a history stretching back to 1976, last year's changes should only take up a small part of the article.

You are, I'm sure, aware of our rules on conflict of interest and advertising, but taking some time to read and understand the Plain and simple conflict of interest guide would probably be a good idea before you do anything else here. If you want to know more about writing successfully for Wikipedia, our guide Writing better articles is worth browsing. I hope this helps,  —SMALLJIM  17:31, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Kate Spade & Company/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Start class rating by WP:BIO. Mid-importance as a popular designer with the mass audience. Daniel Case 16:24, 26 March 2007 (UTC) Reclassified as stub due to separation out of company info. Addition of more information about her life and career will help. Capitalistroadster 21:46, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Substituted at 18:25, 17 July 2016 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Liz Claiborne (fashion designer) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 11:15, 3 April 2017 (UTC)