USA: I.C. Isaacs Expands Girbaud Licenses To Include Canada

I.C. Isaacs & Company, Inc (Nasdaq: ISAC) announced today that its licenses for men's and women's jeanwear and sportswear under the Marithe & Francois Girbaud labels have been expanded to include Canada. The company also announced the appointment of Western Glove Works to distribute Girbaud apparel throughout Canada, beginning with the Spring 2001 collections.Western Glove Works, based in Winnipeg, Canada, employs over 1100 people and is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of jeanwear and casualwear in Canada. Western Glove Works presently distributes its own brand, Silver Jean, throughout North America and previously had a sales arrangement for Calvin Klein Jeans in Canada, which ended earlier this year.Bob Silver, the president of Western Glove Works, commented: "We are very excited about distributing Girbaud jeanwear and sportswear in Canada. Marithe and Francois Girbaud are extremely talented designers and we've seen the people at I.C. Isaacs do an excellent job in re-establishing the Girbaud brand as a fashion leader in the US market."In commenting on the expansion into Canada, Robert J Arnot, chairman and CEO of I.C. Isaacs, stated: "We could not think of any other company we would rather be associated with to distribute Girbaud jeanwear and sportswear in Canada. The Canadian market represents a new avenue for growth and we anticipate that, as in the US, retailers and consumers in Canada will respond positively to the creativity and innovation in the Girbaud collections."Danny Gladstone, president of the Isaacs' Girbaud Division, added: "Bob Silver truly appreciates the freshness of Girbaud products and he and his organization have a proven track record in distributing fashion apparel. I look forward to collaborating with them in making the Girbaud sales and marketing effort in Canada a success."