Online Marketing - Grocery Retailing Business Essay Example for Free

Online Marketing Grocery Retailing Business Essay â€Å"With household internet access continuing to increase, the customer base for online grocery shopping is widening, while other technological innovations such as the advent of smart phones is further benefiting the market† (Source: â€Å"Global Market Review of Online Grocery Retailing† report available at www.MarketResearch.com). The grocery retailing industry has many opportunities inherent in it for online marketing, and the competitive advantages that it would provide. While local brick-and-mortar storefronts will always be necessary due to the perishable nature of many items, the bulk and expense of shipping groceries and the occasional need to purchase something immediately – there are ways in which the internet can be leveraged to add to consumer convenience and increased profits. Providing online shopping is a possibility for grocery retailers. It’s very different than dry-goods retailers such as books, music, shoes and apparel – or services being marketing such as travel. â€Å"To date, sales of food and drinks over the internet have yet to make the same impact observed in other parts of the consumer goods industry, most notably books, clothing and electronic items such as computer equipment† (Source: â€Å"Global Market Review of Online Grocery Retailing† report available at www.MarketResearch.com). One way to leverage the internet – and I have seen this at my local ShopRite – is to purchase groceries online and pick them up at the local store. The shopper clicks on the items they want in an online virtual market, which are then gathered by a â€Å"personal shopper† in the store. The shopper then drives over to the market, pays at the customer service counter near the front of the store, from which an associa te will even wheel the cart out and load the bags into their vehicle. The potential is also there for personalization. By tracking online purchases, a profile can be developed with shorter lists of preferred items from which selections can be made. There could be a â€Å"standard template  order† (bread, milk, eggs, etc.) or whatever the consumer buys on a regular basis – which could provide a starting point, then be tweaked or added to by the consumer depending on their needs at any particular time. The system could become so sophisticated so as to proactively tell a consumer of an upcoming discount or sale price on an item. In this form of integrated marketing, For example, I’m entering an order and going to put an item on there that I usually buy. The smart technology has already prepared an item profile, and can tell me that it is going on sale in a few days, in case I want to wait to take advantage of the lower price. It could also inform me of a manufacturer’s coupon I may not be aware of – and send me to that supplier’s website for a printable or scannable coupon. Online shopping can reach more customers. Perhaps there are elderly, handicapped or other shut-ins for whom it is inconvenient to shop in a grocery store. So maybe they let a relative do their shopping, which would be at the store of the relative’s choosing. Now, the consumer can bring their business to the store of their own choosing, and simply ask someone to pick it up. Or perhaps they can drive, just not walk around the store. This could also increase the order size, since someone will be pushing it around the store and loading it into their vehicle for them. The opportunity also exists for a store to provide or arrange for delivery service to the consumer’s home. Increasing customer loyalty is another way in which grocery retailers can utilize online marketing to increase business. Many stores already have store cards with store discounts and coupons attached to them, as well as incentive goals to be reached with benefits attached. With online marketing, all of this information can be tracked. The coupons that print at the register and many people throw away or misplace, can now all be stored virtually and in one convenient place to be accessed when needed. The removal of expired coupons could also be automated. The opportunities for marketing in this space are vast, and we have only scratched the surface.

Symbolism of Mount Rushmore Essay -- Politics

The View from Mount Rushmore Amidst the Black Hills of South Dakota, the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln watch over the nation. George Washington, often called the father of the nation, was a leader in the American Revolutionary War to win independence from Great Britain and later became the first president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and added territory that doubled the size of the nation through the Louisiana Purchase. Theodore Roosevelt demonstrated strength, sought to improve the country through the Progressive movement, and constructed the Panama Canal (Nsp.gov). Abraham Lincoln sought to keep the country united during the Civil War and ensured freedom to African American slaves. The memory of these great leaders of the United States of America is forever carved into stone. Tourists who visit the monument each year are reminded of the ideals of freedom and democracy that these four presidents fought for a nd instilled in this country. Gerard Baker, the superintendent of Mount Rushmore spoke about the significance of the monument saying, â€Å"Mount Rushmore is a memorial that symbolizes America, and Americans should never lose sight of their cultural beginnings† (Nsp.gov). These men represent the freedom that this nation was founded on and yet, the image of this monument is often used to criticize the current situations of the country. Mount Rushmore has become more than a static symbol of freedom; it has transcended the past and has been utilized to create new and deeper meaning in a myriad of issues. Michael McGee defined ideographs as â€Å"culturally-grounded, summarizing, and authoritative terms that enact their meaning by ... ...oon/d8aab341-fbce-44cd-83e2-0ef20c01a75f.html>. NPS.gov. 2007. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 29 Oct. 2007 . PBS.org. 2007. Public Broadcasting Station. 2 Dec. 2007 . Pismestrovic, Petar. â€Å"Dreamland.† Cartoon. PoliticalCartoons.com. 2007. Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index. 29 Oct. 2007 . Dr. Seuss. â€Å"Liberators of America.† Cartoon. Introduction to Political Cartoons. 2007. 29 Oct. 2007 . Williams, Mike. â€Å"Back of Mount Rushmore.† Cartoon. Cartoonstock.com. 2007. Cartoonstock. 29 Oct. 2007 .

Calvin Klein Marketing Strategies Essay

Calvin Klein Inc. is a fashion brand founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein. The company is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and currently owned by Phillips-Van Heusen. Like other fashion brands, Calvin Klein established a world famous monogram: the â€Å"cK† emblem. Statistics: Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation Incorporated: 1967 as Calvin Klein Ltd. Employees: 900 Sales: $170 million (2001 est.) NAIC: 315232 Women’s and Girls’ Cut and Sew Blouse and Shirt Manufacturing; 315233 Women’s and Girls’ Cut and Sew Dress Manufacturing; 315234 Women’s and Girls’ Cut and Sew Suit, Coat, Tailored Jacket, and Skirt Manufacturing; 315999 Other Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing Company Perspectives: We believe our expertise in brand management, product design, sourcing, and other logistics provides us with the ability to successfully expand product offerings and distribution under the Calvin Klein brands while preserving the brands’ prestige and global presence. As a result, we believe we have the opportunity to realize sales growth and enhanced profitability. Key Dates: 1968: The Calvin Klein brand is launched. 1973: Klein wins his first Coty American Fashion Critics Award. 1979: Calvin Klein controls one-fifth of the designer jeans market. 1982: Klein enters the underwear business. 1985: A new perfume called Obsession is launched with a $17 million advertising campaign. 1989: A Unilever Co. subsidiary purchases the Calvin Klein cosmetics/fragrance line. 1994: A unisex fragrance, cKone, is introduced; the company’s underwear business is licensed to Warnaco Group Inc. 2000: Klein files suit against Warnaco Group and its CEO Linda Wachner. 2003: Calvin Klein is acquired by Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation. Company History: Calvin Klein, Inc., designs, licenses, and, in some cases, produces clothing, accessories, fragrances, and home furnishings bearing the name of designer Calvin Klein. Since its inception, the company was a partnership between Klein and his childhood friend Barry Schwartz. Named by Time magazine in 1996 as one of the 25 most influential Americans, Klein made his impact not only by designing but also by marketing his wares through high visibility and often controversial advertisements created by the company’s in-house agency, CRK Advertising. In 2002, worldwide retail sales of Calvin Klein products surpassed $3 billion. Most of these goods were manufactured and sold by other companies under license–licensed products account for over 90 percent of company revenue. After three years of shopping around for a buyer, Schwartz and Klein inked a deal with Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, the largest shirtmaker in the United States. The $430 million transaction was completed in F ebruary 2003. Rocketing to Stardom in the 1970s Born and raised in New York City’s borough of the Bronx, Calvin Richard Klein decided he wanted to be a fashion designer at an early age. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1963, he worked for women’s coat and suit manufacturers in Manhattan’s garment district before opening his own business in 1968. A childhood friend, Barry Schwartz, loaned him $10,000 in start-up money and joined the firm a month later, after the family supermarket in Harlem that Schwartz had inherited was gutted in the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King. Klein rented a dingy showroom to exhibit a small line of samples. His big break came when a vice-president at Bonwit Teller stopped at the wrong floor of the building, liked what he saw, and invited Klein to bring his samples to the president’s office. Klein wheeled the rack of clothes uptown personally and won an order of $50,000 (retail) on the spot. Bonwit’s gave the merchandise impressive exposure, with window displays in its flagship Fifth Avenue store and full-page ads in the New York Times. Soon after, Calvin Klein was besieged by orders. The fledgling company booked $1 million worth of business in its first year, reaching sales volume of $5 million by 1971. Klein mainly designed women’s coats and two-piece suits until 1972, when he began concentrating on sporty sweaters, skirts, dresses, shirts, and pants that could be mixed and matched for a complete wardrobe. The clothing featured  the simplicity of line, muted earth tones, and classic fabrics that characterized his work and gave it an air of understated elegance. Klein won a Coty American Fashion Critics Award–fashion’s Oscar–in 1973. He received an unprecedented third consecutive Coty Award for women’s wear in 1975 and, at age 32, was elected to the group’s Hall of Fame. That fiscal year (ending June 30, 1975) the firm shipped $12 million worth of merchandise, including swimsuits and dresses. It earned another $2 million to $6 million from licensing furs, umbrellas, sheets, shoes, scarves, belts, dresses, sunglasses, suedes, and patterns. Klein not only designed every item carrying his name but closely watched every step of the production process. Company revenues rose to $40 million in fiscal 1976 and a startling $90 million in 1977. Because its prices were generally below those of its two major competitors, Ralph Lauren and Anne Klein, the firm won the loyalty of young working women as well as older, wealthier buyers. Calvin Klein merchandise was so hot that the company could pick and choose among stores that wanted to carry the company’s products and blackball those that dared to try to return unsold goods. Seven hundred buyers and reporters were turned away from Klein’s fall 1978 fashion show; the buyers who got in placed $28 million worth of orders within 48 hours. Klein introduced his first menswear collection in 1978, telling the New York Times Magazine that he approached men’s clothing â€Å"with the same philosophy as the women’s. They’re for Americans who like simple, comfortable but stylish clothes–but with nothing over scale or extreme.† No less than 779 fabrics were used in the European-produced collection, which ranged from neckties to suits and overcoats. The production and sale of most of the men’s clothing was licensed to Bidermann Industries. Also in 1978, Calvin Klein introduced his own line of fragrances and a complete makeup collection of 18 beauty and skin-care products that stressed neutral colors to give the face a natural effect. However, the lightweight, rosy perfume (at $85 an ounce) needed to anchor the collection never caught on with the public. The fragrance and cosmetics business was sold to Minnetonka, Inc. in 1980. Calvin Klein jeans, by contrast, were to become the company’s biggest hit. Klein’s first attempt, in 1976, to capitalize on the designer-jeans craze–at $50 a pair–was a failure. The following year, however, his company cu t a deal to design the product for Puritan Fashions Corp., the largest dress  manufacturer in the world. Klein raised the groin in his jeans to accentuate the crotch and pulled the seam up between the buttocks to give the rear more shape. A Times Square billboard of model Patti Hansen on her hands and knees, her derriere arched skyward and the Calvin Klein label on her right hip visible, caused a sensation and remained in place for four years. By 1979, Calvin Klein was second to Gloria Vanderbilt in designer-jeans sales, with one-fifth of the market. A company spokesman observed, â€Å"The tighter they are, the better they sell.† The biggest lift to Calvin Klein’s jeans was the television campaign directed by Richard Avedon that featured 15-year-old model/actress Brooke Shields provocatively posed in a skin-tight pair of Calvin Klein jeans. In the best-remembered spot, she pronounced, â€Å"Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.† In another she declared, â€Å"I’ve got seven Calvins in my closet, and if they could talk, I’d be ruined.† These suggestions of underage sexuality struck a public nerve and, following a flood of complaints, the New York flagship stations of all three networks banned the two ads from the air. Klein could shrug off the criticism because sales of his jeans were then climbing to two million pairs a month. He added a jeans-inspired collection that included shirts, skirts, and jackets, also licensed to Puritan. These products accounted for about $100 million in sales in 1980. Branching Out in the 1980s In 1982, Calvin Klein entered the underwear business, once again exploiting the allure of youth in provocative poses to push the product. Photographer Bruce Weber’s beefcake ads featured a brawny Olympic pole vaulted in various states of well-endowed undress. When the company rented space in 25 New York bus shelters to display advertising posters featuring the underwear, all 25 had their glass shattered and posters stolen overnight. The follow-up was predictable–a line of women’s underwear featuring male-style briefs and boxer shorts that retained the fly front. Both campaigns were hits. The men’s line was part of the Bidermann license, which lapsed in 1987, while the women’s skivvies so outstripped Calvin Klein’s own manufacturing capabilities that in 1984 this division was sold to Kayser Roth Corp., a unit of Gulf & Western Industries, for about $11.2 million. Calvin Klein continued to design and create advertising for women’s underw ear, later adding hosiery and sleepwear lines. In 1982, Puritan Fashions–9 percent  owned by Klein and Schwartz–had sales of $245.6 million, of which licensed Calvin Klein products accounted for about 94 percent, earning $15.6 million in royalties for the firm. However, Puritan’s finances deteriorated as the designer-jeans boom ended and so, to protect their investment, in late 1983 Klein and Schwartz bought almost all the shares they did not already hold for $65.8 million in a leveraged buyout, with a Puritan subsidiary financing the purchase by taking out bank loans. The consolidated companies were renamed Calvin Klein Industries. After Puritan lost $11.3 million in 1984, Calvin Klein Industries placed $80 million in high-yield bonds (so-called junk bonds) through Michael Milken of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., mostly to keep Puritan afloat. Registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the junk bonds Calvin Klein issued afforded the public a rare look at the finances of the closely held enterprise. Calvin Klein Industries had 1984 revenue of $258.2 million and net income of $17.2 million, with Klein and Schwartz each collecting $12 million in salary, dividends, and other distributions. Puritan returned to profitability in 1985, earning $12.4 million. Nevertheless, Calvin Klein Industries had huge payments to make on its big junk-bond debt, and this financial problem seemed to be taking a toll on the designer. â€Å"Every color choice became life or death,† he later told Newsweek, â€Å"because doing everything as well as possible meant survival.† In 1988, he spent a month at the Hanley Hazelden Center in Minnesota to receive treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. When Minnetonka launched a new perfume called Obsession–at $170 an ounce–in 1985, Calvin Klein created a heavy-breathing print and TV campaign that cost more than $17 million in ten months alone, followed by another $6 million campaign for Obsession for Men. One Weber print ad featured two nude men entwined around one female; another, a naked couple with their groins pressed together; a third, three naked women, limbs entangled. A survey ranked the Obsession ads as the most memorable print advertisements of the year for four years in a row. TV commercials displayed a female model as the object of obsessive love by, in turn, a boy, a young man, an older man, and an older woman. Obsession quickly became the second-best selling fragrance in the world. Combined with Obsession for Men and a line of body products, sales broke the $100 million mark by the end of 1987. To complement Obsession, an oriental fragrance, in 1988 Calvin Klein  introduced a floral scent, dubbed Eternity, which was marketed in perfume, cologne, cologne-spray, and body-cream forms. Newly married to his second wife, Klein devised a softer $18 million promotional campaign based on the themes of spirituality, love, marriage, and commitment. By the end of its first year on the market, Eternity had grossed $35 million. Minnetonka (14 percent owned by the Calvin Klein Sport division) was sold in 1989, with the Calvin Klein cosmetics/fragrance line fetching $376.2 million from Unilever Co.’s Chesebrough-Pond’s subsidiary. Also in 1989, Calvin Klein opened its first full-line free-standing store, in a Dallas suburb. Products included Calvin Klein Sport lines for men and women, women’s and men’s underwear and sleepwear, hosiery, shoes, outerwear, accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances. Rescue and Resurgence in the 1990s In 1991, Calvin Klein introduced a new silk-scarf collection licensed to Ray Strauss Unlimited. Also that year, the company resumed menswear, licensing it to Gruppo GFT, an Italian manufacturer. Eyewear and sunglasses bearing the designer’s name, previously made by Starline Optical Corp., were licensed to Marchon Eyewear. The big story that year, however, was the introduction of Escape, a $115-an-ounce â€Å"fruity, floral† scent. â€Å"After work you get away,† Klein explained regarding the concept. â€Å"You escape, and you do it with style.† Escape proved a hit and was followed in 1993 by Escape for Men. Despite sizable royalty payments from these and other products, Calvin Klein was falling into financial trouble in the new decade. The company’s revenue dropped 13 percent in 1990, to $197 million, leading to a $4.3 million loss, the third time in five years the company had been in the red. The Puritan/Calvin Klein Sport division lost $14.2 million alone. Many younger women who could not afford the designer’s flagship Collection line were not buying his clothes at all. A sexually suggestive insert for Calvin Klein Jeans in Vanity Fair in October 1991 failed to stimulate sales, prompting U.S. retailers to contend that Klein had fallen out of touch with their customers. Calvin Klein, Inc. was restored to financial health partly through the efforts of David Geffen, the entertainment tycoon who was a long-time friend of the designer. Geffen purchased $62 million of the company’s debt securities in 1992 at a discount and was repaid in 1993, when the company took out a $58 million loan from Citibank. The firm then paid  off the Citibank loan by licensing the underwear business to Warnaco Group Inc. for $64 million. Warnaco also won the license for a new venture, men’s accessories. Undeterred by suggestions that with the end of the â€Å"decadent† 1980s sex no longer sold, Klein introduced a new line of underwear, including $16 fly-button shorts, in 1992 with ads featuring Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg), a muscular rap star. The campaign proved successful with both young men and women, grossing $85 million for the company within 12 months. In 1994, a partnership later renamed Designer Holdings Ltd. bought Calvin Klein’s fading jeans business for about $50 million. Calvin Klein introduced a khaki collection in 1996 and also licensed it to Designer Holdings, along with CK Calvin Klein Jeans Kids and CK Calvin Klein Kids Underwear, also introduced that year. Designer Holdings was acquired by Warnaco in 1997. By 1995, when it opened a four-level, 22,000-square-foot minimalist-style emporium at Madison Avenue and East 60th Street in Manhattan, Calvin Klein had six stores in the United States. In addition, during 1993 and 1994, the company licensed Calvin Klein boutiques to operators in Barcelona, St. Moritz, Zurich, and Singapore and formed a partnership with four Japanese companies to create in-store shops there and to produce more licensed apparel. Four stores–in Manhattan, Dallas, Palm Beach and Costa Mesa, California–remained in 1997. The company also had an outlet store in Secaucus, New Jersey. In 1994, Calvin Klein introduced cKone, a unisex fragrance that became another smash hit, grossing $60 million in its first three months. It was followed in 1996 by cKbe, promoted in a $20 million monochrome print and TV campaign directed by Richard Avedon that featured young models exposing lots of pierced and tattooed flesh. In a poll conducted by Louis Harris for USA Today, only 4 percent of the respondents expressed strong liking for the ads, while 57 percent said they disliked them. Advertising experts suggested that what was turning off the general public was precisely what was attracting the people who were buying the product, especially teenagers. Advertisements for Calvin Klein jeans also continued to provoke controversy. Posters featuring a notably skinny model, Kate Moss, were festooned with stickers reading à ¢â‚¬Å"Feed this woman† by a Boston-area group called Boycott Anorexic Marketing. The company ignored the group but was unable to shrug off the reaction, especially from Christian groups, created by its summer 1995 campaign for CK Jeans, featuring models  who appeared to be teenagers in states of undress that, according to one writer, â€Å"suggested auditions for low-budget porn movies.† For the first time the company retreated, pulling the ads, which the designer maintained had been â€Å"misunderstood. †¦ People didn’t get that it’s about modern young people who have an independent spirit and do the things they want to and can’t be told or sold.† A U.S. Justice Department investigation ended without charges after federal agents determined that no minors were used in the ads. The controversial ads did not offend the market for which the campaign was intended. CK Calvin Klein Jeans continued to be one of the strongest sellers among youths. â€Å"They want the Calvin Klein label,† explained the executive editor of Children’s Business in 1996. â€Å"Also at the point the children are over eight, they’re pretty much deciding what they want to wear. †¦ These lines †¦ have the cachet that comes from the adult market.† Later that year a Calvin Klein underwear ad showing a 20-year-old male model in very tight gray briefs, posed with his legs wide apart, was dropped by the company’s own licensee, Warnaco. Also in 1996, a group of parent-led anti-drug groups called for a boycott of Calvin Klein products to protest a new ad campaign that they said glamorized heroin addiction. The magazine and television advertisements in question featured gaunt, glassy-eyed models to promote cKbe. In 1999, an underwear billboard in Times Square featuring two scantily clad young boys launched yet another round of controversy. The ad was eventually pulled after rumors surfaced that speculated on Klein’s sexual orientation. In 1995, Calvin Klein launched, under license, a home collection composed of sheets, towels, and tableware. By 1997, only the designer’s signature Calvin Klein women’s collection of apparel and accessories and the CK Calvin Klein bridge collections of less-expensive women’s and men’s apparel (except in Europe, the Middle East, and Japan) were being manufactured by the company itself. Of the company’s $260 million in sales in 1996, $141 million came from its in-house products and $119 million from royalties and designer income. Of worldwide retail sales of $4.4 billion, apparel accounted for $2.7 billion, fragrances for $1.5 billion, and other products for $200 million. Net profits were $41 million. During the late 1990s, Calvin Klein, Inc. was 43 percent owned by the designer and 43 percent owned by Schwartz, who was chairman and chief executive officer. The rest of the equity was held by family trusts.  Gabriella Forte, a former Giorgio Armani executive, became the company’s president in 1994 and was put in charge of day-to-day administration. The company was divided into three parts: the Calvin Klein collection, cK sportswear, and cK Jeans. In addition to apparel, each segment offered perfume, accessories, and housewares. New Ownership in a New Century During 1999, both Klein and Schwartz agreed that it was time to seek out expansion via a merger or an alliance. In October, the company hired investment firm Lazard Freres & Co. to organize a deal. With a billion dollar price tag however, Calvin Klein was unable to find a suitable partner. and in April 2000 the firm took itself off of the market. Klein commented on the process in a June 2000 DNR article, claiming that â€Å"a year ago we decided to explore strategic options for the company. We wanted to see how we can take the company to the next step. It gave us the opportunity to talk to various partners and explore opportunities and take the business to the next level.† Klein went on to say, â€Å"We decided to remain a private company because we thought we could do it better on our own.† During that same time period, Klein filed suit against his largest licensee, the Warnaco Group Inc. and its CEO Linda Wachner. Claiming the firm had violated federal trademark laws and breached fiduciary duty and several contracts by distributing its jeans to low-end retailers, Klein hoped to strip Warnaco–on the brink of bankruptcy–of its licensing rights. Warnaco on the other hand, claimed that Klein had been fully aware of its distribution practices for years and they stood to lose millions if the suit favored Klein. In 1999, one-third of the company’s revenues and cash flow was attributed to the sale of Calvin Klein jeans. Relations became even more strained between the two companies when Wachner filed a libel suit against Klein for comments made in several speeches and on the television show Larry King Live. The two appeared in court in January 2001 but came to an amicable resolution before the proceedings began. In late 2002, Calvin Klein, Inc. caught the eye of Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), a company looking to acquire a major brand. As the largest shirtmaker in the United States, PVH owned the Van Heusen, IZOD, and G.H Bass brands and had licensing agreements with Geoffrey Beene, Arrow, DKNY, and Kenneth Cole. Under the leadership of CEO Bruce Klatsky, PVH made a play for Calvin Klein and eventually won the battl e. A  2002 New York Times article reported that the union would â€Å"give Van Heusen what Mr. Klatsky called the best-known apparel label in the world, and will give Calvin Klein, who will stay on with the new company, the financial resources to further expand his name in Asia and Europe. The purchase will also free the designer to worry more about aesthetics and less about production and bookkeeping.† Under the terms of the deal, Klein remained a design consultant for Calvin Klein, Inc. while PVH retained 100 percent ownership of the firm. The $430 million cash and stock deal also included royalty payments to Klein through 2018. Completed in February 2003, the acquisition marked a new era for the brand. For the first time, Klein did not have complete control over the products sold under his name, and his partner Schwartz had retired. After questionable behavior in March at a Knicks basketball game in New York was made public, Klein announced he was again seeking professional help for substance abuse. Both PVH management and Klein claimed it would not affect his role with the company. In March 2003, Calvin Klein announced a licensing agreement with Vestimenta S.p.A. in which the Italy-based concern would manufacture and distribute the Calvin Klein Collection line. PVH also planned to launch a new Calvin Klein men’s sportswear line in 2004. While Calvin Klein would no doubt continue as a leading brand for years to come, the results of its new ownership and management structure remained to be seen. Reference: https://giantkillers13.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/calvin-klein-marketing-strategy/

10 Ways Identity Thieves Can Get Your Information

Identity theft is when someone fraudulently uses your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, Social Security number, and address, for their financial gain. These uses might include obtaining credit, getting a loan, opening a bank account, or obtaining a credit card account or false I.D. card. What Happens When Someone Steals Your Identity If you become  the victim of identity theft, chances are it will cause severe damage to your finances and your good name, especially if you dont find out about it immediately. Even if you do catch it quickly, you can spend months and thousands of dollars to repair the damage done to your credit rating. Worst-case scenario, you can even find yourself accused of a crime you did not commit because someone used your personal information to perpetrate the crime in your name. Consequently, it is vital in todays electronic age to secure your personal information in the best way possible. Unfortunately, identity thieves are just waiting for you to make a mistake or get careless—and there is a wide variety of ways they go about stealing personal information. Read on to find out some of the most common methods identity thieves use and what you can do to avoid becoming their next victim. Dumpster Diving Dumpster diving—when someone  goes through trash looking for personal information that can be used for identity theft purposes—is becoming less common in the digital age. However, identity thieves still sift trash in search of credit card and bank statements, medical information, insurance forms, and old financial forms (such as tax forms). What you can do: Shred any sensitive material that might be used for illegal purposes prior to disposing of it. Stealing Your Mail Identity thieves will often target a person and steal mail directly from your mailbox. Thieves will sometimes have your mail redirected by filling out a change of address request at the post office. What you can do: Whenever possible, go paperless. Do as much of your banking and bill-paying online at sites that you trust are secure. Keep track of your bills and statements and know whats due when. If things arent showing up that should be and you suspect your mail may have been redirected, contact your local post office immediately. You might also consider forgoing a traditional mailbox and installing a mail-slot. That way, your mail will be safe inside your (hopefully) locked home. Stealing Your Wallet or Purse Identity thieves thrive by illegally obtaining personal information from others, and what better place to get it but from a purse or a wallet? A drivers license, credit cards, debit cards, and bank deposit slip, are like gold to identity thieves. What you can do: Keep the important stuff separate if possible. If you must carry a purse, make sure its one thats not easily snatched. Messenger-style bags that cross your shoulder are a good bet. Pickpockets prefer to come from behind so if you carry a wallet, try to keep it in a front pocket of your pants rather than a back pocket. You Are a Winner! Identity thieves use the temptation of prize winnings to lure people into giving them personal and credit card information over the phone. The identity thief dangles contest winnings, such as a big sum of money, a free vacation, or a new car—but insists that you must verify your personal information, including date of birth,  to prove you are over 18 years of age. Or, theyll say that the car or vacation is free, except for the sales tax, and explain that the winner must provide them with a credit card number. Theyll usually try to pressure you into telling them what they want to hear, saying they have to have the information immediately, or youll forfeit the prize. What you can do: If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Never give out your personal information over the phone to someone who says youve won a contest—even if youve entered a contest. In the event you actually do win something, you will be contacted by verifiable means. Skimming Debit or Credit Card Numbers Skimming is when thieves use a data storage device to capture the information from the magnetic strip on your credit, debit, or ATM card at an ATM or during an actual purchase.   When skimming from an ATM, thieves attach card readers (called skimmers) over the legitimate terminal card reader and harvest data from every card swiped. Other tactics are to place a fake PIN pad over the real one to capture victims PINs (personal  identification  numbers) as they enter them, or installing tiny cameras. Shoulder surfing—which is more old-school—is when a person reads over the shoulder of a card user to get their personal identification number. Skimming  can occur anytime someone with a digital card reader gains access to your credit or debit cards. It can be done easily  when the card is surrendered, such as in restaurants where it common practice for a waiter to take the card to another area to swipe it. Once thieves have collected the stolen information, they can log into an ATM and steal money from the harvested accounts, or clone the credit cards to sell or for personal use. What you can do: The good news is that credit card technology has advanced to combat the problem of identity theft. Using chip-enabled cards whenever possible will cut down on the threat. Make sure youre signed up for fraud alerts for your credit and debit cards and that the pertinent apps for them are enabled. To thwart cameras and prying eyes on the low-tech side of things, do what you can to obscure any direct view when you enter your PIN number. Of course, if you want to avoid the issue altogether, you could pay cash—but its not a recommended option for dealing with large sums of money. Phishing Phishing is an email scam in which the identity thief sends an email falsely claiming to be from a legitimate organization, government agency, or bank to lure victims into surrendering personal information such as a  bank account number, credit card number, or password. Phishing emails often send victims to a phony website thats designed to look like the real business or government agency. Most major banks, eBay, Amex, and PayPal are regular bait in phishing scams. What you can do: Look at the email closely. Many phishing scammers use poor grammar and spelling. Another giveaway is if they address you with anything other than the full name on your account. Salutations such as Dear Customer and Attention Account Holder are red flags that indicate a phishing expedition. Check the full return email address. While it might contain some of the company name the phisher is claiming to represent, it wont be complete and will likely have a bunch of unrelated add-ons. If you suspect phishing report it immediately. ​Obtaining Your Credit Report Some identity thieves obtain a copy of your credit report by posing as your employer or rental agent. This gives them access to your credit history including your credit cards numbers and loan information. What you can do: Consumers are entitled to one copy of their personal  credit report  from the three national  credit reporting  companies each year at no cost from AnnualCreditReport.com. These  reports  include a complete listing of everyone who has requested  your credit report (these  requests are  called inquiries). Pretexting Pretexting is the practice of obtaining someones personal information using illegal tactics, then selling the information to people who will use it, among other things,  to steal the persons identity, Pretexters may call and claim that theyre with the cable company and are doing a service survey. After exchanging pleasantries, theyll ask  about any recent cable problems, and see if youd mind completing a short survey. They may also offer to update your records, including the best time of the day to provide service should you need it, and take your contact information including name, address, and telephone number. Armed with your personal information,  pretexters often  search for public information about you, to learn your age, if youre a homeowner, whether or not you paid your taxes, places that you lived before, and the names of your adult children. If your social media profile settings are public, they can learn about your work history and the college that you attended, which may give them the ammunition they need to call former or current companies with which youre associated to gain information that will give them access to your  financial information, health records, and  Social Security number. What you can do: Unless youve initiated a call to a company, dont give out any information. Its that simple. Be polite but firm and hang up. Keep your social media settings private, and limit any information you include on professional networking sites. Business Records Theft and Corporate Data Breaches Theft of business records involves the theft of paper files, hacking into electronic files, or bribing an employee for access to files at a business. Identity thieves will sometimes go  through the trash of a business to get employee records which often contain Social Security numbers and customer information from charge receipts.A corporate data breach occurs when a corporations protected and confidential information is copied, viewed or stolen by someone who is unauthorized to obtain the information. The information can be personal or financial including names, addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, personal health information, banking information, credit history, and more. Once this information has been released, it will likely never be recovered and the individuals affected are at an increased risk of having their identities stolen.   What you can do: Theres not much you can do to prevent something like this. As soon as you become aware of any situation involving a public entity that has compromised your personal information, alert your bank and credit card companies, and contact the department of motor vehicles to alert them to the possible misuse of your drivers license number. Depending on what information was stolen, take as many proactive steps as possible. The FTC offers these guidelines: If the company responsible for exposing your information offers you free credit monitoring, take advantage of it.Obtain your free credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com  to look for any activity you dont recognize.Consider putting a credit freeze on your accounts with the three major credit report agencies. This makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name.File your taxes early, before a scammer has the opportunity to use your Social Security number to file a fraudulent tax return.