Tommy Hilfiger Returning to Profitability

Apax Partners Inc. (New York) has announced that its Hong Kong-based Tommy Hilfiger Inc. will finish its most recent fiscal year with a 23.9 percent growth in earnings and a 14.4 percent gain in sales.

The company, which acquired the Hilfiger brand two years ago, said European sales grew 22.8 percent and North American sales were up 2.5 percent. U.S. same-store sales at the 206 Tommy Hilfiger retail stores (most of which are outlet stores) rose 6.7 percent.

The company opened 140 new freestanding stores during the year ending May 31, 2008, and now has a total global store portfolio of 796. It has also entered into a strategic alliance with Macy's Inc. (Cincinnati) to begin in the fall, with women's, men's and children's sportswear rolling out to 550 stores. And it has signed a lease for a 22,000-square-foot global flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York. It will also open a store in Miami this summer.

“We are extremely proud of these record financials,” said Apax ceo Fred Gehring. “For many years now, our international business outside of the U.S. has delivered consistent growth at a premium position. We are especially pleased as well that the initiatives we have undertaken in the past two years to elevate and reposition the brand in the US have delivered such strong results.”

“I am so happy that the repositioning and the turnaround have been successful,” said Hilfiger, who serves on board as the designer and as the public face of the brand. “We've been right-sizing the business, reorganizing and cleaning up the wholesale distribution,” he told Women’s Wear Daily.