1.
New Jersey
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New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies entirely within the statistical areas of New York City. New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, in the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. New Jersey was the site of decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century. In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Camden, Paterson, Newark, Trenton, around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains, around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as rivers, swamps. New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans, with the Lenni-Lenape being dominant at the time of contact, scheyichbi is the Lenape name for the land that is now New Jersey. The Lenape society was divided into clans that were based upon common female ancestors. These clans were organized into three distinct phratries identified by their animal sign, Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf and they first encountered the Dutch in the early 17th century, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade. The Dutch became the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey, the Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Middle Atlantic states. Although the European principle of ownership was not recognized by the Lenape. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw who established a patronship called Pavonia in 1630 along the North River which eventually became the Bergen, peter Minuits purchase of lands along the Delaware River established the colony of New Sweden. During the English Civil War, the Channel Island of Jersey remained loyal to the British Crown and it was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that Charles II of England was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I. The North American lands were divided by Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York, the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony. James then granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two friends who had remained loyal through the English Civil War, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton, the area was named the Province of New Jersey. Since the states inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic, New England Congregationalists settled alongside Scots Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed migrants
2.
Prada
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Prada S. p. A. is an Italian luxury fashion house, specializing in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, perfumes and other fashion accessories, founded in 1913 by Mario Prada. The company was started in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino as a goods shop – Fratelli Prada – in Milan. Initially, the shop sold leather goods and imported English steamer trunks, Mario Prada did not believe that women should have a role in business, and so he prevented female family members from entering into his company. Ironically, Marios son harbored no interest in the business, so it was his daughter Luisa Prada who took the helm of Prada as his successor and her own daughter, Miuccia Prada, joined the company in 1970, eventually taking over for her mother in 1978. Miuccia began making waterproof backpacks out of Pocone and she met Patrizio Bertelli in 1977, an Italian who had begun his own leather goods business at the age of 17, and he joined the company soon after. He advised Miuccia—and she followed the advice—on better decisions for the Prada company and it was his advice to discontinue importing English goods and to change the existing luggage. Miuccia inherited the company in 1978 by which time sales were up to U. S. $450,000, with Bertelli alongside her as business manager, Miuccia was allowed time to implement her creativity in the companys designs. She would go on to incorporate her ideas into the house of Prada that would change it and she released her first set of backpacks and totes in 1979. They were made out of a tough military spec black nylon that her grandfather had used as coverings for steamer trunks. Initial success was not instant, as they were hard to sell due to the lack of advertising and high-prices, next, Miuccia and Bertelli sought out wholesale accounts for the bags in upscale department stores and boutiques worldwide. The next big release was a nylon tote and that same year, the house of Prada began expansion across continental Europe by opening locations in prominent shopping districts within Florence, Paris, Madrid, and New York City. A shoe line was released in 1984. In 1985, Miuccia released the classic Prada handbag that became an overnight sensation, although practical and sturdy, its sleek lines and craftsmanship exuded an offhand aura of luxury that has become the Prada signature. In 1987, Miuccia and Bertelli married, Prada launched its womens ready-to-wear collection in 1989, and the designs came to be known for their dropped waistlines and narrow belts. Pradas popularity skyrocketed when the world took notice of its clean lines, opulent fabrics. The logo for the label was not as obvious a design element as those on bags from other prominent luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and it tried to market its lack of prestigious appeal, including the apparel, was its image of anti-status or reverse snobbery. Pradas originality made it one of the most influential fashion houses, sales were reported at L70 billion, or US$31.7 million, in 1998. Partrizio di Marco took charge of the business in the United States after working for the house in Asia
3.
Yves Saint Laurent (brand)
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Yves Saint Laurent YSL is a French luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Saint Laurent Paris revived its haute couture collection in 2015 under creative director Hedi Slimane, the new collection, Yves Saint Laurent Couture or Saint Laurent Paris 24, Rue de L’Université is the French houses first couture collection ever since the retirement of its legendary founder in 2002. Founded in 1961 it has considered one of the worlds most prominent fashion houses and known for its modern and iconic pieces. Today Saint Laurent Paris markets a range of womens and mens ready-to-wear products, leather goods, shoes. Yves Saint Laurent Beauté also has a presence in the luxury beauty market. Competitors to Yves Saint Laurent include, among many, the houses of Chanel, Burberry, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton. The eponymous brand was founded by designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé in 1961, some of his most memorable collections include the Pop Art, Ballet Russes, Picasso, and Chinese ones. He also started mainstreaming the idea of wearing silhouettes from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s and he was the first, in 1966, to popularize ready-to-wear in an attempt to democratize fashion, with Rive Gauche and a boutique of the same name. Ambassador to the couturier during the late 1970s and early 1980s was London socialite millionairess Diane Vandelli, making the brand more popular among the European jet-set. The brand continued to expand in the 1980s and early 1990s with fragrances for men and women, having launched its cosmetic line in 1978. However, by 1992 the companys profits were declining and the share price had fallen. In 1993, the Saint Laurent fashion house was sold to the pharmaceuticals company Sanofi, in the 1998–1999 seasons, Alber Elbaz, formerly of Lanvin, designed three ready-to-wear collections. Pierre Bergé appointed Hedi Slimane as collections and art director in 1997, Hedi Slimane decided to leave the house two years later, and became head of couture menswear at Dior Homme. In 1999, Gucci bought the YSL brand and asked Tom Ford to design the collection while Saint Laurent would design the haute couture collection. In 2002, dogged by years of health, drug abuse, depression, alcoholism. Reflecting on his career and impact on the industry, Saint Laurent was heavily quoted around the world for stating, Chanel freed women. Saint Laurent also stated, I created the contemporary womans wardrobe, the prêt-à-porter line was produced under the direction of Stefano Pilati after Tom Ford left in 2004. His style was decidedly more French than the overtly sexy image that Tom Ford propagated
4.
Chanel
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Chanel S. A. is a French, privately held company owned by Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, who was an early business partner of the couturière Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. Chanel S. A. is a fashion house that specializes in haute couture and ready-to-wear clothes, luxury goods. In her youth, Gabrielle Chanel gained the nickname Coco from her time as a chanteuse, the House of Chanel is known for the little black dress, the perfume No.5 de Chanel, and the Chanel Suit. Chanel’s use of jersey fabric produced garments that were comfortable and affordable, Chanel used colors traditionally associated with masculinity in Europe, such as grey and navy blue, to denote feminine boldness of character. An example of haute couture techniques is the woolen Chanel suit — a knee-length skirt. The complementary accessories were two-tone pump shoes and jewellry, usually a necklace of pearls, Coco Chanel thus could sell to them the hats she designed and made, she thus earned a living, independent of her financial sponsor, the socialite Balsan. Despite that social circumstance, Boy Capel perceived the businesswoman innate to Coco Chanel, because that locale already housed a dress shop, the business-lease limited Chanel to selling only millinery products, not couture. The First World War affected European fashion through scarcity of materials, in 1915 and in 1917, Harper’s Bazaar magazine reported that the garments of the House of Chanel were on the list of every buyer for the clothing factories of Europe. After the First World War, the House of Chanel, following the trends of the 1920s, produced beaded dresses. Originally, a bottle of No.5 de Chanel was a gift to clients of Chanel, the popularity of the perfume prompted the House of Chanel to offer it for retail sale in 1922. In 1923, to explain the success of her clothes, Coco Chanel told Harper’s Bazaar magazine that design simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance, business partners — late 1920s The success of the No. To that end, the businessman Théophile Bader introduced the venture capitalist Pierre Wertheimer to Coco Chanel, moreover, by 1937, the House of Chanel had expanded the range of its clothes to more women, and presented prêt-à-porter clothes designed and cut for the petite woman. Among fashion designers only the clothes created by Elsa Schiaparelli could compete with the clothes of Chanel. A. at 31 rue Cambon, meanwhile, because of the Nazi occupation’s official anti-Semitism, Pierre Wertheimer and family, had fled France to the U. S. in mid-1940. Later, in 1941, Coco Chanel attempted to assume control of Parfums Chanel. Occupied France abounded with rumours that Coco Chanel was a Nazi collaborator, her identity was secret agent 7124 of the Abwehr. At War’s end, upon the Allied liberation of France, Chanel was arrested for having collaborated with the Nazis, in Switzerland, the news revived Coco Chanel’s resentment at having been exploited by her business partner, for only ten per cent of the money. So she established a rival Swiss parfumerie to create, produce, in exchange Gabrielle Chanel closed her Swiss parfumerie enterprise, and sold to Parfums Chanel the full rights to the name Coco Chanel. As a post–War fashion that used some 20 yards of fabric, having decided to do business with Coco Chanel, Wertheimer’s negotiations to fund the resurgence of the House of Chanel, granted him commercial rights to all Chanel-brand products
5.
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
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The Victorias Secret Fashion Show is an annual show sponsored by and featuring Victorias Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victorias Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings, the show features some of the worlds leading fashion models such as current Victorias Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, and Lily Aldridge. American network television broadcasts the show during prime time, the first few shows in the 1990s were held in the days preceding Valentines Day to promote the brand for this holiday. They were not aired on national television, in 1999 and 2000 the show was webcast. Beginning in 2001, the shows were moved ahead of the Christmas holiday season, also in 2001, the show made its network television broadcast on ABC, though in all subsequent years, it has been broadcast on CBS. The show has held at a variety of locations in different cities including Miami, Los Angeles, Cannes, Paris. The first four shows were held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, the show is a lavish event with elaborate costumed lingerie, varying music by leading entertainers, and set design according to the different themes running within the show. The show attracts hundreds of celebrities and entertainers, with special performers, each year, twenty to forty of the worlds top fashion models are selected to perform in the fashion show. In a typical year, this includes about a dozen women under contract to the company, known as Victorias Secret Angels. The giant angel wings worn by the models, as well as wings of various forms and sizes such as butterfly, peacock. The first fashion show extravaganza, introduced by Stephanie Seymour, was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in August 1996, the show also featured Beverly Peele and Frederique van der Wal. She actually did ring the bell at the NYSE as part of the publicity campaign. The subsequent three annual shows were held at the Plaza. The show, which was aired by Broadcast. com, featured Tyra Banks, Laetitia Casta, Heidi Klum, Karen Mulder, Daniela Pestova, Inés Rivero, and Seymour.5 million. In 2001, the show, which was hosted by Rupert Everett, returned to the New York City, the show has continued to be broadcast on network television every year since. From 2002 through 2005, it was held at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City, the 2006 and 2007 shows were held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. On November 13,2007, the Victorias Secret Angels were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame right outside the Kodak Theatre, the other models, who also appeared in that years fashion show, were in attendance that day. The 2008 show coincided with the grand re-opening of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel, in 2006, Victorias Secret sub-brand PINK made its debut on the runway
6.
Tommy Hilfiger
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Thomas Jacob Tommy Hilfiger is an American fashion designer best known for founding the lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1985. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of clothing and record stores in upstate New York in the 1970s, the company later expanded into womens clothing and various luxury items such as perfumes, and went public in 1992. In 1997, Hilfiger published his first book, titled All American, A Style Book, Hilfigers memoirs American Dreamer, co-written with Peter Knobler, were published November 1,2016. Hilfigers collections are often influenced by the fashion of music subcultures and marketed in connection with the music industry, in 2005, contestants in the CBS reality show The Cut competed for a design job with Hilfiger in a similar fashion to The Apprentice. In 2006, Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion to Apax Partners and he remains the company’s principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process. In 2012 Hilfiger was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, thomas Jacob Tommy Hilfiger was born March 24,1951 in Elmira, New York. The second of nine children, both of his parents were practicing Catholics and his father Richard was a watchmaker of Dutch-German descent and his mother Virginia was a nurse of Irish descent. Hilfiger also claims descent from the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Hilfiger has described his upbringing as very happy and he credits his parents with instilling a good work ethic and compassion for others. Hilfiger had an early interest in sports, fashion, and the music industry, one of his brothers, Andy Hilfiger, went on to work as a musician and designer, while Hilfigers other brother Billy Hilfiger would join King Flux as a guitarist. Hilfiger graduated from the Elmira Free Academy high school in 1970 and his parents wanted him to get a college education and pursue a traditional career, and for a time he attended GST BOCES Bush Campus in Elmira. Hilfiger spent the summer of 1969 working in a store on Cape Cod. Opened in 1971 as People’s Place, the first store was located in downtown Elmira in what is now the site of First Arena, and had a salon, a record shop. To stock the store, Hilfiger and his friends would drive to New York City to buy clothing such as bell-bottoms, peasant blouses, and leather jackets. Slightly unsatisfied with the clothing he bought from suppliers, Hilfiger began sketching his own designs. I knew from early work that designing would be my life. Despite its initial success, after seven years of selling hippie supplies like bell-bottoms, incense and records out of ten stores, the Peoples Place went bankrupt in 1977, he’s often referred to this point in his life as his real-world MBA. At this point Hilfiger enrolled in classes on commerce and the side of the fashion industry
7.
H&M
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H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish multinational clothing-retail company, known for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. H&M and its associated brands operate in 62 countries with over 4,000 stores and, as of 2015 and it is the second largest global clothing retailer, just behind Spain-based Inditex. The company was founded by Erling Persson in 1947, when he opened his first shop in Västerås, the shop, called Hennes, exclusively sold womens clothing. In 1968, Persson acquired the hunting apparel retailer Mauritz Widforss, which led to the inclusion of a collection in the product range. The company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1974, shortly after, in 1976, the first store outside of Scandinavia opened in London. H&M continued to expand in Europe, and began to online in 1998. The two-letter domain was registered in the early 1990s, but data on the first registration is lost, the first US store opened in 2000 on Fifth Avenue, New York. In 2008, the company announced in a release that it would begin selling home furnishings. Initially distributed through the online catalogue, there are now H&M Home stores located internationally. Its worth was estimated at $12–16 billion, H&M operated 2,325 stores at the end of 2011, and 2,629 stores at the end of August 2012. Its 3, 000th store opened in September 2013 in Chengdu, the first H&M store to open outside of Sweden was in Norway in 1964, and the first to open outside of Scandinavia was in the United Kingdom in 1976. H&Ms expansion outside of Europe started with the US in 2000, in November 2004, selected company stores offered an exclusive collection by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. In November 2005, the company launched a collection by Stella McCartney and, in November 2006, in March 2007, it launched another collaboration designed by the pop star Madonna. In June 2007 the company worked with game developers Maxis to create a stuff pack for the latters The Sims 2 computer game, in November 2007, the company launched a collection by Italian designer Roberto Cavalli. It was reported that the sold out very quickly. Also in 2007, another design with Kylie Minogue was launched in Shanghai, in the spring of 2008 the Finnish company Marimekko was selected as guest designer and was followed by Japanese Comme des Garçons in the fall. In 2008, H&M used the song Hang On by British singer-songwriter Lettie as background music to its UK website. For spring and summer 2009, the British designer Matthew Williamson created two exclusive ranges for the company – the first being a collection of womens clothes released in selected stores, the second collection saw Williamson branch into menswear for the first time, only in selected stores
8.
Armani
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The brand utilizes the association of the Armani name with high-fashion, benefiting from its prestige in the fashion industry. By the end of 2005, estimated sales of the company were around $1.69 billion, Armani is the fastest growing fashion brand. The company already operates a range of cafés worldwide, in addition to a bar, Giorgio Armani is a high-end label specializing in mens and womens ready-to-wear, accessories, glasses, cosmetics, and perfumes. It is available only in Giorgio Armani boutiques, specialty clothiers, the logo is a curved G completing a curved A, forming a circle. According to WSJ and other reporters, in addition to couture line Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani. In addition, selling at lower prices are Armani Collezioni, Armani Exchange, Emporio Armani is the second brand of Armani family, features ready-to-wear and runway collections. Emporio Armani focuses on trends and modern traits, Emporio Armani usually only sold in freestanding Emporio Armani boutiques and its official website. Dj Ruru starred in four Emporio Armani underwear campaigns from Spring/Summer 2008 to Fall/Winter 2009-2010, beckham appeared with his wife, former Spice Girl and fashion designer Victoria, in the campaigns twice in 2009. All campaigns were photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, in January 2010, football star Cristiano Ronaldo and Hollywood movie star Megan Fox became the male and female face and body of Emporio Armani. In 2011 Megan Fox was replaced with Rihanna and Ronaldo was replaced by tennis athlete Rafael Nadal, Emporio Armani has teamed up with Reebok to create fashion shoes under the label EA7. Armani Collezioni is the line of Giorgio Armani that retails at a lower price and is less exclusive than Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani. The logo is usually displayed black written on a white label, Armani being larger and Collezioni underneath it. It provides made-to-measure tailored suits and shirts where every element can be chosen, last year, a sporty line of this label has appeared named Armani Collezioni Active in the same way as the EA7 line from Emporio Armani line. Armani Jeans is a collection of denim-related clothing, created in 1981. Armani Jeans is mainly sold in department stores, although there are many freestanding Armani Jeans stores in the world, some Armani Jeans items are sold in Emporio Armani Stores. This line does not feature Giorgio Armanis signature simplicity, the colors used are more diverse than those found in his higher end lines. Brazilian Midfielder Kaka was signed to endorse the jeans, A|X Armani Exchange was launched in 1991 in the U. S. It retails fashion and lifestyle products and is known for its occasionally provocative ad campaigns, inspired by street-chic culture and dance music, it is targeted as the more accessible Armani brand
9.
Gap Inc.
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The Gap, Inc. commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap, is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Andreas Antoniou and is headquartered in San Francisco, the company operates five primary divisions, the namesake banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Intermix, and Athleta. Gap Inc. is the largest specialty retailer in the United States, as of September 2008, the company has approximately 135,000 employees and operates 3,727 stores worldwide, of which 2,406 are located in the U. S. The Fisher family remains involved in the company, collectively owning much of its stock. Donald Fisher served as Chairman of the Board until 2004, playing a role in the ouster of then-CEO Millard Drexler in 2002, fishers wife and their son, Robert J. Fisher, also serve on Gaps board of directors. Robert succeeded his father as chairman in 2004 and also served as CEO on an interim basis following the resignation of Paul Pressler in 2007, on February 1,2015, Art Peck took over as CEO. They had raised US$63,000 to open the store, in 1970, Gap opened its second store in San Jose, California, its back room serves as the companys first replenishment warehouse. In 1971, Gap established its headquarters in Burlingame, California with four employees. By 1973, the company had over 25 locations and had expanded into the East Coast market with a store in the Echelon Mall in Voorhees, in 1974, Gap began to sell private-label merchandise. In the 1990s, Gap assumed an upscale identity and revamped its inventory under the direction of Millard Drexler, however, Drexler was removed from his position after 19 years of service in 2002 after over-expansion, a 29-month slump in sales, and tensions with the Fisher family. Drexler refused to sign an agreement and eventually became CEO of J. Crew. One month after his departure, merchandise that he had ordered was responsible for a rebound in sales. Robert J. Fisher recruited Paul Pressler as the new CEO, he was credited with closing under-performing locations, however, his focus groups failed to recover the companys leadership in its market. That January, Pressler resigned after two disappointing holiday sales seasons and was succeeded by Robert J. Fisher on an interim basis. He began working with the company in 1980 and joined the board in 1990, and would later assume several senior positions, including president of Banana Republic. The boards search committee was led by Adrian Bellamy, chairman of The Body Shop International, on February 2, Marka Hansen, the former head of the Banana Republic division, replaced Cynthia Harriss as the leader of the Gap division. The executive president for marketing and merchandising Jack Calhoun became interim president of Banana Republic, in May, Old Navy laid off approximately 300 managers in lower volume locations to help streamline costs. That July, Glenn Murphy, previously CEO of Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, was announced as the new CEO of Gap, Inc
10.
Burberry
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Burberry Group, Inc. is a British luxury fashion house headquartered in London, England. Its main fashion house focuses on and distributes ready-to-wear outerwear, fashion accessories, fragrances, sunglasses, the first shop opened up in the Haymarket, London, in 1891. Burberry was an independent family controlled company until 1955, when it was reincorporated, the fashion house has dressed notable actors, world leaders, musicians, and athletes. Its distinctive check pattern has one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its trench coat, Burberry has branded stores and franchises around the world and sells through concessions in third-party stores. Christopher Bailey has been the CEO and Chief Creative Officer since 2014, the company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE100 Index. In 2015, Burberry ranked 73rd in Interbrands Best Global Brands report, ahead of Ralph Lauren, Burberry has more than 500 stores in over 50 countries. Burberry was founded in 1856 when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry, a drapers apprentice, opened his own store in Basingstoke, Hampshire. By 1870, the business had established itself by focusing on the development of outdoors attire, in 1879, Burberry introduced in his brand the gabardine, a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric, in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving. Burberry was the name, but then the company soon switched to using the name Burberrys. In 1999, it reverted to its old name, Burberry, the name Burberrys of London is still visible on many older Burberry products. In 1891, Burberry opened a shop in the Haymarket, London, in 1901, the Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo was developed containing the Latin word Prorsum, meaning forwards, and later registered it as a trademark in 1909. In 1911 they became the outfitters for Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, and Ernest Shackleton, a Burberry gabardine jacket was worn by George Mallory on his attempt on Mount Everest in 1924. Adapted to meet the needs of military personnel, the coat was born during the First World War. After the war, the coat became popular with civilians. The iconic Burberry check has been in use since at least the 1920s, Burberry also specially designed aviation garments. In 1937, A. E. Clouston and Betty Kirby-Green broke the record for the fastest return flight from London to Cape Town in The Burberry plane – which was sponsored by the brand. Burberry was an independent family controlled company until 1955, when it was taken over by Great Universal Stores, stars of the modern world began wearing the Burberrys brand
11.
Victoria's Secret
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Victorias Secret is an American designer, manufacturer and marketer of womens premium lingerie, womenswear and beauty products. With 2012 sales of $6.12 billion, it is the largest American retailer of womens lingerie, Victorias Secret is wholly owned by L Brands, a publicly traded company. Victorias Secret was founded by Roy Raymond, and his wife Gaye, in San Francisco, California, eight years prior to founding Victorias Secret, Raymond was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife at a department store. The companys first store was located in Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Raymond picked the name Victoria to associate with the refinement of the Victorian era. The Secret was what was hidden underneath the clothes, Victorias Secret grossed $500,000 in its first year of business, enough to finance the expansion from a headquarters and warehouse to four new store locations and a mail-order operation. By 1980, Raymond had added two more San Francisco stores at 2246 Union Street and 115 Wisconsin Street, by 1982, the fourth store was added at 395 Sutter Street. Victorias Secret stayed at that 395 Sutter Street location until 1990, in April 1982, Raymond sent out his 12th catalogue, each catalogue cost $3. Catalogue sales now accounted for 55% of the companys $7 million annual sales, the Victorias Secret stores at this time were a niche player in the underwear market. The business was described as more burlesque than Main Street, raymonds philosophy of focusing on selling lingerie to male customers became increasingly unprofitable and Victorias Secret headed for bankruptcy. In 1982, it had grown to five stores, a 40-page catalogue, Raymond sold Victorias Secret Inc. to Leslie Wexner, creator of Limited Stores Inc of Columbus, Ohio, for $1 million. In 1983, Leslie Wexner revamped Victorias Secret and he discarded the money-losing model of selling lingerie to male customers and replaced it with one that focused on female customers. Victorias Secret transformed from more burlesque than Main Street to a mainstay that sold broadly accepted underwear. The new colors, patterns and styles that promised sexiness packaged in a tasteful, glamorous way and with the appeal of European luxury were supposed to appeal to. The stores were redesigned to evoke 19th century England, from at least 1985 through to 1993, Victorias Secret sold mens underwear. In 1986, four years after the sale, The New York Times commented, in an industry where mark-downs have been the norm, in the five years after the purchase, The Limited had transformed a three store boutique into a 346 store retailer. Howard Gross took over as president from his position as vice-president in 1985, the New York Times reported on Victorias Secrets rapid expansion from four stores in 1982 to 100 in 1986, and analysts expectations that it could expand to 400 by 1988. In 1987, Victorias Secret was reportedly among the best-selling catalogs, in 1990, analysts estimated that sales had quadrupled in four years, making it one of the fastest growing mail-order businesses. The New York Times described it as a visible leader
