ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Unless the context otherwise requires, “G-III”, “us”, “we” and “our” refer to G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. and its subsidiaries. References to fiscal years refer to the year ended or ending on January 31 of that year. For example, our fiscal year ended January 31, 2014 is referred to as “fiscal 2014.”
Overview
G-III designs, manufactures and markets an extensive range of apparel, including outerwear, dresses, sportswear, swimwear, women’s suits and women’s performance wear, as well as footwear, luggage and women’s handbags, small leather goods and cold weather accessories. We sell our products under our own proprietary brands, licensed brands and private retail labels.
G-III sells swimwear, resort wear and related accessories under our own Vilebrequin brand and footwear, apparel and accessories under our own Bass and G.H. Bass brands. We also sell a variety of apparel products under our other owned brands that include Andrew Marc, Marc New York, Jessica Howard, Eliza J and Black Rivet.
Selling products under well-known licensed brands is an important part of our strategy. We have licenses to produce branded fashion apparel under numerous well-known brands, including such brands as Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, Guess?, Cole Haan and Tommy Hilfiger. In our team sports business, we have licenses with the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Touch by Alyssa Milano and over 100 U.S. colleges and universities.
We also work with a diversified group of retailers, such as JC Penney, Express, and Kohl’s, in developing private label product lines.
We provide high quality apparel under recognized brands to a cross section of leading retailers such as Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, The Bon-Ton Stores, Dillard’s and JC Penney. We distribute our products through a diverse mix and a large number of retailers at a variety of price points, as well as through our own retail stores.
As of January 31, 2014, we operated 426 retail stores, of which 165 are operated under the Wilsons Leather name, 156 are operated under the G.H. Bass name, 5 are operated under our Andrew Marc brand and 70 are Vilebrequin retail stores. Substantially all of our Wilsons, G.H. Bass and Andrew Marc stores are operated as outlet stores. We also operate retail stores under the licensed Calvin Klein Performance brand. As of January 31, 2014, 3 of these stores are located in the United States and 27 are located in China.
We have acquired businesses that have broadened our product offerings, expanded our ability to serve different tiers of distribution and added a retail component to our business. Our acquisitions are part of our strategy to expand our product offerings and increase the portfolio of proprietary and licensed brands that we offer through different tiers of retail distribution.
In November 2013, we acquired the business of G.H. Bass & Co., a well-known heritage brand that developed the iconic original penny loafer (known as “Weejuns”). Bass footwear, apparel and accessories are sold primarily through our G.H. Bass outlet stores located in the United States. The brand is also licensed for the wholesale distribution of men’s and women’s footwear and men’s sportswear.
In August 2012, we acquired Vilebrequin, a premier provider of status swimwear, resort wear and related accessories. Vilebrequin sells its products through a network of company owned and franchised specialty retail stores and shops, as well as through select wholesale distribution. We believe that Vilebrequin is capable of significant worldwide expansion.
We have three reportable segments, licensed products, non-licensed products and retail operations. The licensed products segment includes sales of products under brands licensed by us from third parties. The non-licensed products segment includes sales of products under our own brands and private label brands. The retail operations segment consists primarily of our Wilsons and G.H. Bass stores, as well as a limited number of Andrew Marc retail stores and Calvin Klein Performance stores. See Note K to our Consolidated Financial Statements for financial information with respect to these segments.