November, 2006
Apparel Magazine to Honor 10 All-Star Award Winners
Awards Recognize Innovation, Growth, Corporate Goodwill and Excellent Management
Apparel magazine, the leading b-to-b publication for apparel and apparel retail executives, will present its 2006 All-Star Awards to 10 outstanding apparel businesses at a ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Katie Murphy Amphitheater of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, NY.
The 10 winners are: Chardan Ltd., Cutter & Buck, Danskin, Goodwill Industries of South Florida, Hirdaramani Industries, Lori Coulter, The Marena Group, Dr. Deborah Meyer-Brosdahl of Kansas State University, Spyder Active Sports and Trina Turk. (A brief description of each winner and the names of the nominators follow this release.)
One of the 10 winners will be named the 2006 Grand All-Star Award winner at the ceremony. The Grand All-Star Award winner is the firm the Apparel editorial staff determines to be the strongest in meeting the All-Star Award criteria, which are: (1) Innovation; (2) Excellence in Management; (3) A Strong Track Record of Growth; and (4) Corporate Goodwill that Reflects Positively on the Industry. Each All-Star Award winner will be profiled in the December issue of Apparel. Winners are selected by Apparel Magazine’s editorial staff based on nominations from industry executives, All-Star Award partner associations and others.
“This year’s All-Star Award winners are very diverse businesses, but they all have a common drive to innovate,” said Kathleen DesMarteau, editor in chief of Apparel. “We look forward to recognizing each of them next month in New York and to featuring their stories in our December issue’s All-Star Salute.”
The All-Star Awards presentation ceremony will follow the day one keynote address of the 2006 Apparel Tech Conference,
which will run Wednesday Nov. 8 to Thursday, Nov. 9 at FIT and will feature presentations by technology and other solutions suppliers to the apparel industry, plus tabletop displays of sponsoring firms’ solutions.
On Nov. 8, the conference hours will be 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by a networking reception at FIT open to all attendees and All-Star Award winners from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The conference will continue on Nov. 9, running from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Apparel Tech Conference is produced by Apparel Magazine and hosted by FIT.
Leading vendors will exhibit on both days of the Conference, previewing new solutions, products and services designed to drive apparel and retail companies’ competitiveness. These include Platinum Sponsors Cognis Corp., Datacolor, Lectra and TUKAweb; Gold Sponsors AlvaProducts, Assyst-Bullmer Inc., Blue Fox Porini, Business Management Systems, Computer Generated Solutions, Fashionware, Gerber Technology, Infor (formerly Geac), New Generation Computing, OptiTex USA Inc., Polygon Software, PTC, Shapely Shadow, TXT e-solutions and UGS Corp.; and Silver Sponsors Cotton Incorporated, ecVision, Freeborders, QuestaWeb and Yunique Solutions. [TC]² is an official endorser of the Apparel Tech Conference.
Registration for the Conference is free to apparel, retail and soft goods executives and professionals. A portion of the proceeds from the event’s sponsorships will benefit the scholarship initiatives of FIT’s Production Management program. To register, visit apparelmag.com.
About the 2006 Apparel All-Star Award Winners
Chardan Ltd.
Nominated by National Association of the Sewn Products Industry (SEAMS)
This Thomson, GA-based apparel manufacturer has withstood the test of time by adapting its excellent service and flexibility to the needs of customers ranging from the U.S. Navy and American Airlines to Talbots and L.L. Bean to small retail golf lines such as Sport Haley and Kiltee.
Cutter & Buck
Nominated by Yunique Solutions
A leader in the golf wear market, Cutter & Buck is a major force on the golf tour circuits, and it is growing its business through sales with specialty golf stores, corporate channels, its web site and its new catalog.
Danskin
Nominated by Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA)
Since 1882, the Danskin brand has resonated with women and girls, and it continues to do so more than ever today through a wide variety of high-performance styles for fitness, dance and yoga. Danskin has grown tremendously under the leadership of president and CEO Carol Hochman, and this fall rolled out its own diffusion line of organic apparel at Wal-Mart.
Goodwill Industries of South Florida
Nominated by Gerber Technology
This non-profit organization employs more than 500 in the manufacture of trousers, slacks and caps for the U.S. Armed Forces, all the while pursuing its mission to train, employ and place people with disabilities and special needs in jobs that help them transition to independence.
Hirdaramani Industries
Nominated by TUKAgroup
Founded in the 1890s by a 16-year-old entrepreneur with a big dream, this Colombo, Sri Lanka-based apparel giant has more than 16,000 employees and manufacturing units in Sri Lanka and India and strategic manufacturing partnerships in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Lori Coulter
Nominated by OptiTex
Lori Coulter has pushed the envelope when it comes to swimwear design and development by offering customers customized creations based on the latest in 3-D body technology. The eponymous founder developed her TrueMeasuresm process with the goal of “helping to make life just a little bit better for all women.”
The Marena Group
Nominated by [TC]²
With state-of-the-art manufacturing and tremendous supply chain speed behind it, Marena’s ComfortWear brand of compression garments helps in the post-operative healing of people around the world.
Dr. Deborah Meyer-Brosdahl, Kansas State University
Nominated by International Textile & Apparel Association (ITAA)
Teaching the leaders of tomorrow’s apparel marketplace, this visionary educator has a passion for preparing students to perform in an increasingly global business environment. She brings into the classroom extensive knowledge based on her own business experience plus research in areas ranging from consumer behavior to sustainability to quality.
Spyder Active Sports
Nominated by Lectra and Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA)
Renowned for integrating high-tech fabrics, fashion and functionality into its engineered skiwear, this almost 30-year-old company sells its lines in the United States and Canada to 550+ specialty retailers, plus to 50 other countries through its Spyder-Europe office and independent distributors around the globe.
Trina Turk
Nominated by California Fashion Association (CFA)
Her mother taught her to sew at age 11, and this California-based designer has been applying her creative talents in the fashion business ever since. Trina Turk’s sales topped $25 million in 2005, and the company plans to add a New York retail store to complement its two in California (Los Angeles and Palm Springs).
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