Jones on the Block: $5B Apparel Giant Puts Itself in Play

Despite new jobs and growing tax revenues, California’s economy is coping with high home costs and shrinking apparel manufacturing.

With economic incentives and ad campaigns, Nevada goes prospecting for California businesses.

The real estate boom puts California’s Central Valley on the retail map.

With the dot-com bust well behind them, the city’s shopping districts are booming again.

A look ahead to the rising trends in six of California’s key apparel categories.

California casual takes on a new meaning this season with sharp vests, airy blouses and cashmere tops.

Jones Apparel Group said its board is exploring a possible sale of the entire company and has hired Goldman Sachs as a financial advisor.

The London Fog Group filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, seeking to restructure its business, and is selling its Pacific Trail unit.

The Costume Institute has finalized the designers whose works will be part of the “AngloMania” exhibit that kicks off its four-month run May 3.

A brief look at some of the day’s stories.

Nordstrom wants to put a comprehensive designer offering in at least one store in each of its major markets, said Mike Koppel, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Surf brand Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. said executive chairman of the board Greg H. Weaver will retire on April 1.

Bernard Lacoste, the energetic and colorful executive who for more than four decades stewarded the Lacoste brand, died Tuesday.

The jury is still out whether the plethora of relaunched and new brands in better sportswear departments is beneficial.

Fueled by gains in the U.S. and tight expense management, Nike Inc.’s third-quarter earnings surged 19.2 percent and were far ahead of expectations.

A new fragrance marketer called Le Labo here wants to challenge the notion of mass-produced fragrances.

American Media’s reality show may be burning in development hell, but Jann Wenner’s contribution to the candid camera genre is coming along nicely.

How do you stick a round peg in a square hole? Fashion editors surely will try as they plan their fall-winter shoots and incorporate full-on Balenciaga retro regalia into their themes.

Liz Grossman hopes to use fashion to raise money for a good cause.

Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, the Switzerland-based luxury goods company, has sold the French department store Old England SA to Tercade SA for an undisclosed price.

Saks Fifth Avenue’s Andrew Jennings believes Americans have an enduring love affair with Italian fashion and has suggestions on how to keep the romance alive.

The 1,620-square-foot Mumbai store is located on the Grand Hyatt Plaza and will house all of Ferragamo’s products, including accessories, scarves, ties, fragrances, eyewear and apparel.

The seven countries in the deal were expected to start implementing it simultaneously, but so far only the U.S. and El Salvador have done so.

The Spanish trade fair SIMM featured novelty and a healthy dose of glamour for fall.

Eighteen-year-old Joanna Wong loves “American Idol,” pop music by singers like Celine Dion, and graphic T-shirts from American Eagle Outfitters.

The city of Los Angeles, which defines urban sprawl and a lifestyle built on the automobile, is embracing a new concept: downtown.

Material World, the fabric, sourcing and technology show that launched a New York event in September, is expanding to a biannual format in New York and will start on the West Coast by spring 2008.

Wholesale prices for domestically produced women’s and girls’ apparel fell 0.4 percent in February compared with the same period last year.