Word: ralphness
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This is not to say President Bush is now sailing toward victory. In a TIME poll of likely voters last week, Bush pulled in 46% vs. Kerry's 44% in a three-way race with Ralph Nader (5%). The poll showed a shift from early August, when Kerry had a 5-point lead, though in both cases the difference was within the margin of error. Bush may be showing movement, but more registered voters still say it's time for someone else to be President (49%) than believe Bush deserves to be re-elected (46%)--numbers sure to give G.O.P...
...prepared to shell out $850 for one of his 10-ply cashmere sweaters or $8,900 for hand-beaded pants. Or who may not even know his name. Kors built a fashion reputation dressing American jet-setters in cashmere and sequins, but now he covets single-name status like Ralph or Calvin. So he's launching MICHAEL Michael Kors (yes, the first name twice), intending to swathe Americans in what he calls "affordable luxury"--bright Argyle sweaters, paisley-print raincoats and stamped-leather handbags, most priced at less than $500. The new collection debuts this month in 350 department stores...
...Michael-as-Ralph strategy is the brainchild of Kors' financial backers, Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll, who bought a majority stake in Kors' company for a reported $100 million in January 2003 through their firm Sportswear Holdings Ltd. "It was time for him to become the next great American designer," says Stroll, who, along with Chou, conducted a "simple process of elimination" before they put their dollars behind Kors. "We wanted to invest in someone who is American, whose style is aspirational and who is seasoned but not too old. With these criteria, there were surprisingly few names to choose...
...turning Michael Kors into a $1 billion brand within a decade and taking the company public along the way. It's an ambitious plan to say the least, but they've done this kind of thing before. Canadian-born Stroll and Hong Kong--based Chou were the masterminds behind Ralph Lauren's international licensing deals throughout Europe in the 1980s. In the '90s, they put their money and Seventh Avenue experience behind a novice designer named Tommy Hilfiger. They took Hilfiger from a $25 million jeans business to a $1.8 billion global brand...
...power--his family owns Novel Denim, one of the largest suppliers of textiles, sweaters and yarns in the Far East--and Stroll's keen knowledge of international distribution, product development and marketing. With Hilfiger, they were able to use manufacturing muscle to lower prices below those of competitors like Ralph Lauren. They also invested millions of dollars in advertising, flooding international markets with Hilfiger's name and attracting a trend-setting young urban crowd to the brand. In 1992 they took the company public with one of the industry's most successful IPOs. In 2001 Chou and Stroll cashed...