Tommy Hilfiger Group, wholly owned by Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), has announced the launch of a new division that will take control of the Arrow brand in Europe and manage the future introduction of additional Phillips-Van Heusen brands in the European market. The new division, PVH Europe, will be based in Amsterdam.
Michael Arts, who has been serving as executive vice-president of Global Brand Management for Tommy Hilfiger, will assume the additional role of president of PVH Europe and will be supported by a dedicated team as well as the existing Tommy Hilfiger European infrastructure.
“Since joining forces with PVH in May this year, we have studied the opportunities for international expansion of PVH’s most iconic brands, using Europe as a starting point. We strongly believe in the global potential for the Arrow brand due to its extremely credible – almost unparalleled – American heritage. Arrow’s heritage goes back over 150 years and the brand has a wealth of history in its archives ready to be rediscovered and interpreted for today’s world,” said Fred Gehring, CEO, Tommy Hilfiger Group and PVH International.
Gehring continued, “Long before our acquisition by PVH, we viewed Arrow as one of the most interesting authentic American brands. With the launch of PVH Europe, we are extremely excited to realize its full potential under Michael’s passion and leadership.”
Arrow will premiere as a featured brand at Pitti Uomo Imagine in Florence in January 2011.
Michael Arts, president, PVH Europe, said, “For some time now, I had been eager to immerse myself in the Arrow archives, imagining that it would hold many treasures. When I finally had the opportunity to do so, I found an enormous collection of imagery, design, merchandising and marketing ideas, all of which were extremely innovative for their time. The rich history provides a strong platform for Arrow to eventually be developed into a lifestyle brand with strong category specialisation. I strongly believe in this opportunity and can’t wait to get started.”
Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, one of the world’s largest apparel companies, owns and markets the iconic Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands worldwide. It is the world’s largest shirt and neckwear company and markets a variety of goods under its own brands, Van Heusen, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, IZOD, Arrow, Bass and GH Bass & Co, and its licensed brands, including Geoffrey Beene, Kenneth Cole New York, Sean John, Chaps, Trump, DKNY and Timberland, among others.
– IndiaRetailing Bureau
