Notes from the apparel industry: Two decades at Liz Claiborne

Abstract

Since the establishment of Liz Claiborne 20 years ago, the retail world has seen a sharp decline in customer loyalty, and the women's apparel market has had to face shifting needs and tastes. As a pioneer in the global sourcing of product, Liz Claiborne also faced a variety of challenges from both labor and government as well as the strains of building ties with manufacturers overseas. The author was one of the four founders of Liz Claiborne in 1976. In this article, based on his remarks at Columbia Business School's April 1996 conference on retailing, the author discusses the difficulties retailers and manufacturers have faced in the past two decades and how Liz Claiborne, the largest manufacturer of women's apparel in the United States, has adapted.