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BUSINESS
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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, 2018 is referred to as “fiscal 2018.”
G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. is a Delaware corporation that was formed in 1989. We and our predecessors have conducted our business since 1974.
All share and per share data in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been retroactively adjusted to reflect our two-for-one stock split effected on May 1, 2015.
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 women’s handbags, footwear, small leather goods, cold weather accessories and luggage. G-III has a substantial portfolio of over 40 licensed and proprietary brands, anchored by five global power brands: DKNY, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld. We are not only licensees, but also brand owners, and we distribute our products through multiple channels of distribution including brick and mortar and online channels.
Our own proprietary brands include DKNY, Donna Karan, Vilebrequin, Eliza J, Jessica Howard, G.H. Bass, Andrew Marc and Marc New York. We sell products under an extensive portfolio of well-known licensed brands, including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Karl Lagerfeld Paris, Levi’s, Docker’s, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan and Guess?. In our team sports business, we have licenses with the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and over 150 U.S. colleges and universities. We also sell products under private retail labels for retailers such as Costco, Christopher A. Banks, Express, Harley Davidson, JC Penney and Ross Stores.
Our products are sold through a cross section of leading retailers such as Macy’s, Hudson’s Bay Company, including their Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue divisions, Ross Stores, Dillard’s, Burlington Coat Factory, Nordstrom, JC Penney and TJX Companies. We also sell our products over the web through retail partners such as Macys.com and Nordstrom.com, each of which has a significant online business. We have also increased sales to pure play online retail partners such as Amazon and Fanatics.
We also distribute apparel and other products through our own retail stores. Substantially all of our DKNY, Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass stores are operated as outlet stores. As of January 31, 2018, we operated 165 Wilsons Leather stores, 139 G.H. Bass stores, 51 DKNY stores, 8 Karl Lagerfeld Paris stores and 4 Calvin Klein Performance stores, of which 359 were located in the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico and 8 are located internationally. Wilsons Leather, G.H. Bass and DKNY each operates its own online store. In addition, as of January 31, 2018, Vilebrequin products were distributed through 91 company-operated stores, as well as through 66 franchised locations and e-commerce stores in each of Europe and the United States.
Recent Transactions
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 and joint ventures 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.
Donna Karan/DKNY
In December 2016, we acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Donna Karan International Inc. (“DKI”) from LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. (“LVMH”) for a total purchase price of approximately $674 million after taking into account certain adjustments. DKI owns Donna Karan and DKNY, two of the world’s most iconic and recognizable power brands. The acquisition of DKI fits squarely into our strategy to diversify and expand our business and to increase our ownership of brands. We intend to focus on the expansion of the DKNY brand, while also re-establishing Donna Karan and