SIDELINES
DONNA STICKS WITH HANES: Hanes Hosiery has renewed its licensing deal with Donna Karan International for three more years, according to a Donna Karan spokeswoman. The existing agreement would have expired at the end of this year.
Hanes has produced the designer’s legwear since 1987; volume at retail last year was about $60 million. The firm also makes DKNY socks and tights.
PENNACO DROPS ANNE KLEIN: Pennaco Hosiery, a division of Danskin, will not renew its legwear license with Anne Klein when the agreement expires at the end of the year.
Pennaco, which also produces private label and Danskin legwear and its licensed Givenchy and Round the Clock lines, launched licensed Anne Klein legwear in 1991.
“After reviewing our current portfolio of brands, we have concluded that the Anne Klein name no longer addresses our goals for the division,” Cathy Volker, chief executive officer of Danskin, said in a statement. “We will be working with our retail partners to insure a smooth exit of their current inventories.”
Anne Klein has had “preliminary discussions” with potential licensees and expects to complete a new legwear deal before September, said Barbara Friedman, president of Anne Klein licensing. The firm plans to offer legwear for fall 1999.
FIORUCCI TEAMS WITH ASH: Ash Hosiery has signed a six-year licensing deal to produce Fiorucci legwear. Aimed at department and specialty stores, the line will be launched at retail for spring. The 25-piece collection features crew socks, trouser socks, knee-highs and tights.
Wholesale prices have not yet been determined. First-year projected wholesale volume is at least $2 million, said Lou Schneider, director of licensing for Fiorucci.
At Ash, Dawn Powers, vice president, will head the new Fiorucci legwear unit. She is based at the company’s New York showroom at 37 West 37th Street. The line will be shown there and at Fiorucci’s junior sportswear showroom at 1384 Broadway in New York.
Fiorucci legwear is targeted at the retro crowd, but it also should be popular with women who wore the brand in its heyday in the Seventies.
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SARA LEE TO CLOSE PLANT: Plagued by continued sluggish sales of sheers, the Sara Lee Corp., maker of Hanes Hosiery, L’eggs and licensed Donna Karan hosiery, plans to close its Las Cruces, N.M., hosiery plant by the end of the year. The 360 people employed at the knitting and sewing site will be eligible for transfers, early retirement plans or severance packages, according to a company statement.
Last month, Sara Lee said it would close its finishing and distributing facility in Florence, S.C., by the end of the year. That plant employs 400 people and produces primarily L’eggs hosiery. About 125 of those employees will relocate to Sara Lee’s finishing and distribution center in Rockingham, N.C.
The closings are the result of continued soft sales in sheers, according to Paul Lustig, chief executive officer of Sara Lee’s hosiery unit, and are unrelated to the company’s plans to sell its manufacturing plants and focus on sales and marketing. Once the plant closes, Sara Lee will maintain seven other production facilities.
PATENT PATROL: Patents are pending on two hosiery products.
Lori and James Lannon of Atlantic Highlands, N.J., have developed the Handy Hosiery Helper, a lightweight hanging bag with 13 snap-front compartments for various types of legwear. The product is designed to help women quickly locate their hosiery. Labels are included in the bag to identify the types of hosiery inside.
The couple devised the concept after Lori Lannon — who worked nights for a printing firm — routinely woke up her husband when she was searching for pantyhose. For travel, the product is designed to fit inside a standard hanging bag, she noted.
Another New Jersey resident, Helen Pejak of Cranford, also has a patent pending. She has a design for thermal pantyhose to be made of 80 percent nylon, 10 to 15 percent Lycra spandex and 5 to 10 percent thermal material.
The product is designed to be as sheer and comfortable as regular pantyhose, but warmer.