Cintas: The Newest Name in Haute Couture
November 13 2006 - 8:18AM
PR Newswire (US)
Leading uniform company partners with designers to produce stylish
uniforms for the hospitality and gaming industries NEW YORK, Nov.
13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- High-end fashion-inspired uniforms are
an emerging trend in the hospitality and gaming industry, and
Cintas, in partnership with top designers such as Lafayette 148,
Cynthia Rowley and Joseph Abboud, is leading this industry trend.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061113/NYM069 ) In
fact, retail-inspired uniforms gained national exposure this spring
when NBC's The Apprentice featured Apprentice hopefuls working with
Lafayette 148 to redesign the apparel for Embassy Suites Hotels(R).
Recent market research performed by Cintas concluded that nearly
60% of consumers believe they will get better quality and service
from businesses that feature employees in innovative
retail-inspired uniforms, and almost 70% of consumers say that an
employee's appearance directly affects their expectations of a
business's quality of products and services. "Today's consumer pays
more attention to fashion and style," said Dan Ambrosio,
Vice-President of Specialty Sales, Cintas National Account Sales
Division. "We know that consumers equate quality service and
attention to detail with better-dressed employees." As part of its
fashion leadership platform, Cintas is also dialing up the style
quotient with its private label uniforms by hiring design talent
from top fashion schools, like Parsons School of Design -- Los
Angeles, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the International
Academy of Design and Technology. Cintas, a winner of countless
awards for custom-made apparel including the 2006 NAUMD "Image of
the Year" award for the new-uniform program at the Wynn Resort-Las
Vegas, has teamed up with world-renowned fashion designers to
implement new uniform programs for a variety of businesses. Most
recently, Cintas, in concert with Lafayette 148 developed the
Workstyle by Lafayette 148 apparel collection for Embassy Suites,
which is set to be introduced to the more than 180 hotels within
the Embassy Suites brand in the first quarter of 2007. "This major
uniform initiative for Embassy Suites has been an exciting journey
that began on NBC's reality show, The Apprentice. Lafayette 148
designed the Workstyle collection to combine high fashion and
quality with the absolute comfort and utility that employees
desire. Our partnership with Cintas has made this collection a
real-life reality," said Debra Clark, Vice President of Marketing,
Lafayette 148 New York. "Lafayette 148 is a creative and modern
design house, and we are very pleased with our collaboration on the
Embassy Suites Workstyle program," said Dan Ambrosio. This
partnership is just one dimension of what Cintas has unveiled at
the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show this week in
New York. The new message "Fashion Delivered" reinforces their
commitment to design innovation by staying ahead of trends to offer
a total fashion solution. "The bar has been raised in the
hospitality uniform industry and innovative design is just part of
what we have to offer. With our high-end customized fashions,
seamless distribution and outstanding services we have positioned
ourselves as a design resource to enhance our client's brand and
deliver the fashion they demand," said Ambrosio. Other designers
Cintas has partnered with include Cynthia Rowley for Kimpton Hotels
and Joseph Abboud for Mohegan Sun. In addition, Michael Kors
designed an exclusive program for W Hotels powered by Cintas which
is due to be rolled out later this year. Cintas' designer
collection is on display at the International Hotel/Motel and
Restaurant Show, November 12-14 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention
Center in New York City. About Cintas Headquartered in Cincinnati,
Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to
businesses of all types throughout North America. Cintas designs,
manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs,
and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional
products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services
and document management services for approximately 700,000
businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the
Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS, and is a
Nasdaq-100 company and component of the Standard & Poor's 500
Index. The Company has achieved 37 consecutive years of growth in
sales and earnings, to date. About Lafayette 148 New York Founded
in 1996 and named for its New York street address, Lafayette 148
New York offers sophisticated, chic designs crafted with an
outstanding attention to detail, in the most luxurious fabrics. The
collection, designed by Edward Wilkerson, is best known for
beautiful, feminine suitings, novelty embellished pieces, and
exquisite leathers and suedes. Lafayette 148 can be found at Saks
Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Lord & Taylor
doors, as well as at 250 specialty stores throughout the United
States and Canada. Tori Rappold Amanda Ashe Office: 212-614-4201
Office: 212-614-5257 Email: Email:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061113/NYM069
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Cintas Corporation CONTACT:
Tori Rappold, +1-212-614-4201, , or Amanda Ashe, +1-212-614-5257,
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