Calvin Klein: Brand History
Calvin Klein: Brand History
Brand history
Calvin Klein Inc. is an American fashion house established in 1968. It specializes in leather,
lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. The
company has substantial market share in retail and commercial lines as well haute couture
garments.
The company was founded by designer Calvin Klein and his childhood friend, Barry K.
Schwartz. The company is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Business history
1970
By 1971, Klein had added sportswear, classic blazers, and lingerie to his women's collection.
In 1977, annual revenues had increased to $30 million (equivalent to $127 million in 2020), and
Klein had licenses for scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses, and bedsheets. Klein and Schwartz
were making $4 million each. After the company signed licenses for cosmetics, jeans, and
menswear, Klein's annual retail volume was estimated at $100 million (equivalent to $422
million in 2020). In 1978, Klein claimed sales of 200,000 pairs of his famous jeans the first week
they were on the market. By 1981, Fortune figured Klein's annual income at $8.5 million.
In the late 1970s, the company also made attempts to set up its own fragrance and cosmetics
lines, but soon withdrew from the market with big financial losses.
1980
In the 1980s, as the designer-jeans frenzy reached its all-time high, Calvin Klein introduced a
highly successful line of boxer shorts for women and a men's underwear collection which would
later gross $70 million in a single year. The licensing program, which brought in $24,000 when it
was initiated in 1974 (equivalent to $124,421 in 2019), had royalty income of $7.3 million ten
years later (equivalent to $17.96 million in 2020). That year, worldwide retail sales were
estimated at more than $600 million (equivalent to $1476.55 million in 2020). Klein's clothes
were sold through 12,000 stores in the United States and were available in six other countries
through licensing deals, namely Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand,
and Japan.
1990
Although the company almost faced bankruptcy in 1992, Calvin Klein managed to regain and
increase the profitability of his empire throughout the later 1990s. During his 1990-1995 stint as
Calvin Klein's head of menswear design, John Varvatos pioneered a type of men's underwear
called boxer briefs, a hybrid of boxer shorts and briefs. Made famous by a series of 1992 print
ads featuring Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg, they have been called "one of the greatest apparel
revolutions of the century."
Our Calvin Klein business consists of two reportable segments: Calvin Klein North America and
Calvin Klein International.
Sales
INTERNATIONAL
46; 54; NORTH AMERICA
46% 54%
In the late 1990s, the company opened elegant Calvin Klein Collection stores in Paris, Seoul, and
Taipei and ultra-high-end Calvin Klein stores in Hong Kong, Milan, and Kuwait City. As of
today, there is only one Calvin Klein Collection store operated by CKI. It is located in New York
City. Out of the two Calvin Klein Collection stores that existed in the US, the Dallas location in
Highland Park Village which had been open for 20 years was closed in mid-2005. The only
international location, in Paris, was closed by PVH in March 2006. The New York store, which
serves as the company's flagship store at 654 Madison Ave., remains open still today. Partners
maintain Calvin Klein Collection stores in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Dubai, and Qatar.
Calvin Klein Jeans stores exist around the globe. Among many other countries in the UK,
Germany, Greece, Russia, Brazil, México, Croatia, Egypt, Chile, Argentina, India, the
Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. They also offer franchisee and opened in Cali last year.
Calvin Klein Underwear
Signature Calvin Klein Underwear boutiques can be found in Ljubljana, Buenos Aires, Cardiff
(as of April 2011), Mexico City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London,
Manchester, Manila, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, Frankfurt am Main, Munich,
Toronto, Hatfield, and Burnaby, B.C. (Metro Vancouver).
Department Stores
The major department stores in the US, including Macy's, Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom, as well
as many small independent stores carry the CK, white label and/or Jeans collections. Some high-
end department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus also
carry the Calvin Klein Collection. In Australia, the dominant retailer is Myer. Calvin Klein
products are also found online with particular internet focus on selling Calvin Klein underwear
and fragrance.
In Europe, Calvin Klein is predominantly known for its underwear, accessories and perhaps the
Collection business, rather than for the medium-priced sportswear lines which are available at
select high-end retail stores. In Asia, there are also signature CK, Calvin Klein stores that carry
diffusion line, aka grey label including womenswear, menswear, accessories.
Product Details
It specializes in leather, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and
ready-to-wear. The company has substantial market share in retail and commercial lines as well
haute couture garments.
Calvin klein is a global lifestyle brand that exemplifies bold, progressive ideals and a seductive,
and often minimal, aesthetic. They seek to thrill and inspire our audience while using
provocative imagery and striking designs to ignite the senses.
They believe in a culture that provokes discovery and brave thinking. They strive to make a
positive impact on the world. They inspire passion in our people. They embody authenticity and
embrace individuality.
MEN PRODUCT CATEGORY (ACCORDING TO THEIR WEBSITE)
OTHERS PRODUCTS
Every aspect of a product’s or service’s design must be impeccable. No detail is too small or
overlooked. No matter what the product or service, it is created with an end-user or a consumer
in mind. From start to finish, it’s created for the desired effect—whether it’s the perfect fit,
beauty, speed, accuracy, precision, you name it—the design fulfills that buyer’s wishes. How
something looks and feels is a result of design. Great design can make us want to buy a car, a
house, a pillow, a suit, a phone. They believe “It doesn’t matter if you like it. It only matters if
the customer does.” Calvin Klein focus on quality before quantity. They make sure everything is
up to your exact standards. They don’t settle for anything less.
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