Breaking News ! The famous ready-to-wear brand of the PVH group announces structural and economic changes in its organization.
It was announced on Wednesday March 6, 2019, that Calvin Klein is abandoning its top-of-the-line fashion to focus on mainstream fashion. PVH group confirmed with AFP, "I can confirm that the brand Calvin Klein 205W39NYC will close."
The PVH group (the group that also controls Tommy Hilfiger) recruited the Belgian designer Raf Simons - well known for his cult menswear label at Jil Sander and Dior - as the chief creative officer in August 2016 with the aim of reinventing the brand. Raf had proposed several break-up collections, infinitely more sophisticated and conceptual than anything Calvin Klein had known until then. In 2017, "all products sold under the 'Calvin Klein brand, from clothing to perfume, including watches and eyeglasses, represented a turnover of $ 9.1 billion".
But the problem was that the sales did not meet the expectations, and the PVH group wanted to “regain control”.In December 2018 Simon’s departure was announced after a PVH manager apportioned him some of the blame for declining sales.
PVH announced early January 2019 a strategic redesign and the name change of Calvin Klein 205W39NYC, as well as the closure this year of its flagship store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. They also chose to completely abandon the high fashion segment, according to the specialized website Women's Wear Daily (WWD) have fired 100 employees in New York and Milan! However, Calvin Klein spokeswoman told AFP that the brand "remained open to the idea of presenting its collections in a wide range of formats, including fashion shows".
In a turbulent international economy this kind of news has to be followed by attention, because in the future this could be the turn of other important players in the fashion industry who could close departments in order to refocus their profitability.
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