Rachel Roy Announces Collaboration with Fairwinds Trading in an Effort to Create Jobs for Women in Africa
February 05 2010 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Designer Rachel Roy and
Fairwinds Trading have partnered on a unique product collaboration
in an effort to create jobs for women in Africa. As part of this
collaboration, items that are hand-crafted in Africa by
female-owned businesses will be integrated into select seasonal
Rachel Rachel Roy collections beginning in Spring 2010. Rachel
Rachel Roy is a division of Jones Apparel Group (NYSE: JNY). To
view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please
click: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/rachelroy/41987/ (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100205/MM48700 ) The launch
collection features a clutch that was crafted in Tanzania using
indigenous fabrics and textiles. The collection also features a
bracelet and earrings handmade in Rwanda. The bracelet is fashioned
from shredded woven paper and both the bracelet and earrings
feature beads constructed from a unique paper layering process.
These one-of-a-kind works of art were created by women using
patterns and techniques unique to their community of origin.
Founder and artistic director Rachel Roy said, "My goal as a
working woman and mother is to support women's independence through
employment. For the women who benefit from the Fairwinds Trading
partnership, the opportunity to work is an important source of
self-respect and financial freedom. I support this important
organization and its ongoing collaboration with Macy's made it a
perfect fit for the Rachel Rachel Roy brand. The vast network of
African artisans that Fairwinds has brought together is immensely
talented and I am excited to be able to incorporate their artwork
into my collection." Willa Shallit, founder of Fairwinds Trading
said, "The RRR clutch represents the story of a chain of women
supporting one another: A woman in rural Congo spends her days
weaving Kuba cloth, she then holds out her hand to a woman in
Tanzania who takes the woven cloth and adds other beautiful
materials to it. That Tanzanian woman hands it to Rachel Roy who
takes the Kuba cloth and makes it into a brilliantly designed
clutch, which a woman then purchases in the United States. Four
separate women's lives are interconnected through this one
accessory. It is a direct and powerful chain that works to fight
poverty, through beauty." Flotea Masawe, owner of Marvelous Batik,
who produced the clutch said, "We used Kuba cloth from weavers in
Congo and crafted the clutch in Tanzania before sending it to the
U.S. for Rachel's final touches. This clutch really has created a
chain of women in three different countries who linked together to
help alleviate poverty by providing employment and economic
opportunities for African women." The Rachel Rachel Roy Fairwinds
collaboration will be available at rachelroy.com and select Macy's
stores and macys.com. This collection compliments Macy's existing
partnership with Fairwinds including the Rwanda Path To Peace
collection which features exquisite baskets handcrafted by Rwandan
women. The collaboration with Fairwinds Trading is part of a series
of limited edition capsule collections that merge fashion with
culture, art, music, photography and philanthropy to bring a unique
element to the Rachel Rachel Roy brand. The Rachel Rachel Roy
collection features affordable contemporary sportswear, footwear,
handbags and jewelry. The collection is available exclusively at
select Macy's stores and online at macys.com/rachelroy and
rachelroy.com. You can become a fan of Rachel Roy on Facebook or
follow her on Twitter. About Jones Apparel Group Jones Apparel
Group, Inc. (http://www.jonesapparel.com/) is a leading designer,
marketer and wholesaler of branded apparel, footwear and
accessories. The Company also markets directly to consumers through
its chain of specialty retail and value-based stores and through
its e-commerce web sites. The Company's nationally recognized
brands include Jones New York, Nine West, Anne Klein, Gloria
Vanderbilt, Kasper, Bandolino, Easy Spirit, Evan-Picone, l.e.i.,
Energie, Enzo Angiolini, Joan & David, Mootsies Tootsies, Sam
& Libby, Napier, Judith Jack, Albert Nipon and Le Suit. The
Company also markets costume jewelry under the Givenchy brand
licensed from Givenchy Corporation, women's footwear under the
Dockers® and Dockers® Women brands and infants', toddlers' and
boys' footwear (excluding girls' footwear) under the Dockers® and
Dockers® Premium brands, licensed from Levi Strauss & Co.,
apparel and accessories under the Rachel Roy brand licensed from
Rachel Roy IP Company, LLC, and Jessica Simpson jeanswear licensed
from VCJS, LLC. Each brand is differentiated by its own distinctive
styling, pricing strategy, distribution channel and target
consumer. The Company contracts for the manufacture of its products
through a worldwide network of quality manufacturers. The Company
has capitalized on its nationally known brand names by entering
into various licenses for several of its trademarks, including
Jones New York, Anne Klein New York, Nine West, Gloria Vanderbilt,
l.e.i. and Evan-Picone, with select manufacturers of women's and
men's products which the Company does not manufacture. For more
than 30 years, the Company has built a reputation for excellence in
product quality and value, and in operational execution. Forward
Looking Statements Certain statements contained herein are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements regarding
the Company's expected financial position, business and financing
plans are forward-looking statements. The words "believes,"
"expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates" and similar
expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements also include representations of the Company's
expectations or beliefs concerning future events that involve risks
and uncertainties, including: -- those associated with the effect
of national, regional and international economic conditions; --
lowered levels of consumer spending resulting from a general
economic downturn or lower levels of consumer confidence; -- the
tightening of the credit markets and our ability to obtain credit
on satisfactory terms; -- given the uncertain economic environment,
the possible unwillingness of committed lenders to meet their
obligations to lend to borrowers, in general; -- the performance of
the Company's products within the prevailing retail environment; --
customer acceptance of both new designs and newly-introduced
product lines; -- the Company's reliance on a few department store
groups for large portions of the Company's business; -- the
Company's ability to identify acquisition candidates and, in a
competitive environment for such acquisitions, acquire such
businesses on reasonable financial and other terms; -- the
integration of the organizations and operations of any acquired
businesses into the Company's existing organization and operations;
-- consolidation of the Company's retail customers; -- financial
difficulties encountered by the Company's customers; -- the effects
of vigorous competition in the markets in which the Company
operates; -- the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified
executives and other key personnel; -- the Company's reliance on
independent foreign manufacturers; -- changes in the costs of raw
materials, labor, advertising and transportation; -- the general
inability to obtain higher wholesale prices for the Company's
products that the Company has experienced for many years; -- the
uncertainties of sourcing associated with an environment in which
general quota has expired on apparel products but litigation and
political activity seeking to re-impose quotas have been initiated;
-- the Company's ability to successfully implement new operational
and financial computer systems; and -- the Company's ability to
secure and protect trademarks and other intellectual property
rights. A further description of these risks and uncertainties and
other important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the Company's expectations can be found in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2008, including, but not limited to, the Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Disclosure and Item 1A-Risk Factors therein, and in
the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such
expectations may prove to be incorrect. The Company does not
undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking
statements as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. About Rachel Roy Rachel Roy (http://www.rachelroy.com/)
approaches the design of her collections with a feminine and modern
point of view. Her goal is to create clothing for women who embrace
fashion and dress with an effortless elegance, confidence, and
edge. The RACHEL ROY NEW YORK collection is available at Saks Fifth
Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and top
specialty stores worldwide. The RACHEL RACHEL ROY collection, the
diffusion companion to the designer collection, launched in August
2009 and embodies uptown glamour with downtown edge in sportswear,
footwear, handbags and jewelry. The collection is available
exclusively at Macy's and macys.com. In 2007, Roy was inducted into
the CFDA as a new member where she stands alongside other esteemed
fashion industry individuals. About Fairwinds Trading Fairwinds
Trading, Inc. (http://www.fairwindstrading.com/) is a U.S.-based,
for-profit company that uses business as a strategy for economic
empowerment of people, especially women, in developing nations. Our
focus on women as a preferred partner is based in part on our
history, in part on our leadership as a woman-owned firm, and in
part on evidence that raising the standard of living for women has
the greatest positive multiplier effect within family, communities
and cultures. Fairwinds' mission is to connect cultures through
business, art and understanding.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100205/MM48700
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/rachelroy/41987DATASOURCE: Jones
Apparel Group CONTACT: Ali Tyrangel, HL Group, +1-212-529-5533, ,
for Rachel Roy; or Joele Frank or Jennifer Friedman, both of Joele
Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, +1-212-355-4449, for Jones
Apparel Group Web Site: http://www.jonesapparel.com/
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