In a move that had been anticipated, PVH Corp. and G-III Apparel Group Ltd. said Monday that PVH’s Calvin Klein Inc. (CKI) subsidiary and G-III have entered into a five-year licensing agreement for the design, production and distribution of Calvin Klein Jeans women’s jeans wear collections in the U.S. and Canada.
This licensing deal comes on top of other women’s Calvin Klein businesses that are already licensed to G-III by CKI. The agreement will support PVH’s strategy to build a successful women’s jeans wear business in North America by leveraging G-III’s category and market expertise.
The launch of G-III’s first women’s Calvin Klein Jeans collection is expected for the spring 2020 season.
“G-III has been a great partner for us over the years and has successfully grown the Calvin Klein women’s wear business to be a leading resource across the North American apparel market,” Emanuel Chirico, chairman and CEO of PVH, said. “We look forward to our expanded partnership with G-III, as this represents another great opportunity to leverage their market expertise to drive the continued expansion of the Calvin Klein women’s apparel categories.”
Speaking to analysts last week on PVH’s first quarter results, Chirico acknowledged that the deal was already in the works.
“Product has started to be sourced and put together, and we really feel good about how strong their product presentations to department store channel has been,” he said. “The reception of the product at retail has been extraordinary.”
Chirico said G-III has “done an amazing job with our Calvin Women’s business overall, so obviously giving them Jeans is a bit of a no-brainer at this point.”
Morris Goldfarb, chairman and CEO of G-III, said, “We have an incredible relationship with PVH and the Calvin Klein team. They have done an outstanding job managing and marketing the Calvin Klein brand and we look forward to further developing this iconic global brand and building a profitable women’s business for Calvin Klein Jeans in the U.S. and Canada.”
The decision to license Calvin Klein Jeans comes after a series of moves to overhaul the business. In January, PVH said it would be streamlining its North America division to become a more effective organization, including consolidation of operations for the men’s Calvin Klein Sportswear and Calvin Klein Jeans businesses to strengthen the brand’s positioning.
The news came shortly after the company let its chief creative director, Raf Simmons, go and said its jeans and high-end collection had been disappointing.
Simons’ departure came after PVH said it was “disappointed” in the Calvin Klein 205 W39 NYC collection business and poor sell-through on the Calvin Klein Jeans relaunch in December. The company also closed its Calvin Klein store at 654 Madison Avenue in Manhattan.
G-III also makes and markets apparel and accessories under owned-brands that include DKNY, Donna Karan, Vilebrequin, G. H. Bass, Andrew Marc, Marc New York, Eliza J and Jessica Howard. In addition to Calvin Klein, it also has fashion licenses under the Tommy Hilfiger, Karl Lagerfeld Paris, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan, Guess, Vince Camuto, Levi’s and Dockers brands.