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Article: THE TRACY TRANSITION.(Liz Claiborne Inc.'s acquisition of Ellen Tracy )
- Article from:
- WWD
- Article date:
- March 27, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Conde Nast Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Marc Karimzadeh
Liz Claiborne's acquisition of Ellen Tracy in 2002 for $180 million was a trophy for Claiborne chief Paul Charron.
The purchase of Tracy, the leading bridge brand in the market, established Claiborne as a major player in the lucrative field and gave it significant real estate in upscale specialty and department store chains like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's. And, as Charron famously says, "It's a good thing to buy your competition."
According to Tracy executives, Charron followed a simple mantra: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
"Liz wanted to let Ellen Tracy be Ellen Tracy, and that was ...