ATLANTA, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Oxford Industries, Inc.
(NYSE: OXM). Thousands of items of counterfeit TOMMY BAHAMA clothing and other
designer brand merchandise valued by authorities at close to $1 million
dollars were seized during the raid of a trading group in Apex, North Carolina
on September 16th. At least one suspect has been arrested and is facing
federal charges possibly including fraud, trademark and copyright
infringement, import violations, tax evasion and money laundering.
Oxford Industries, Inc., the parent company of TOMMY BAHAMA, initiated
this investigation, which involved federal, state and local law enforcement
authorities. Tony Margolis, Chief Executive Officer of Tommy Bahama said, "We
are taking a very aggressive position as we fight this type of crime ... we
choose to send a message to all the people who try to undermine our brand's
integrity -- we will come after you."
In addition to the TOMMY BAHAMA merchandise, other brands seized in the
mid-morning raid include Polo, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Hermes, Lacoste,
Hugo Boss and Emporio Armani. Apex Police Department Chief Robert Boone
praised Oxford Industries for taking the initiative to investigate and provide
law enforcement officials with solid evidence. "That was a tremendous amount
of help," Boone said. "This is one of the few cases where we had local,
federal, state and corporate officials working together to address a mutual
problem."
According to the Department of Commerce, counterfeit goods cost businesses
some $200 to $250 billion each year in lost sales. As part of its commitment
to cracking down on these crimes, the International Anti-Counterfeiting
Coalition reports that more than $64 million dollars worth of counterfeit
merchandise has already been confiscated this year by similar task forces
nationwide. "The real victim is the public, who perceives that they are
buying a quality product and in fact are receiving inferior products," said
Chief Boone.
Oxford Industries was first alerted to the possibility of a counterfeiting
operation after several suspicious items were put up for auction on Ebay. Apex
Police, Federal Agents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well
as the North Carolina Attorney General's Office participated in the
investigation and described what they found as a sophisticated, well
established yet illegal operation.
Oxford Industries was pleased with the results of the raid, and plans to
continue working with authorities in other areas of the country to stop the
flow of counterfeit products from China. "We are constantly on the lookout
for suspicious sellers on Ebay, at flea markets, and, as in this case,
operating under the guise of being a legitimate business," stated an Oxford
spokesperson. "We are committed to tracking these criminals down and making
sure that only legitimate, high quality Tommy Bahama products are available to
the general public."
Oxford Industries, Inc. is a producer and marketer of branded and private
label apparel for men, women and children. Oxford provides retailers and
consumers with a wide variety of apparel products and services to suit their
individual needs. Oxford's brands include Tommy Bahama(R), Indigo Palms(R),
Island Soft(R), Ben Sherman(R), Ely & Walker(R) and Oxford Golf(R). The
Company also holds exclusive licenses to produce and sell certain product
categories under the Tommy Hilfiger(R), Nautica(R), Geoffrey Beene(R),
Slates(R), Dockers(R) and Oscar de la Renta(R) labels. Oxford's customers are
found in every major channel of distribution including national chains,
specialty catalogs, mass merchants, department stores, specialty stores and
Internet retailers.
Oxford's stock has traded on the NYSE since 1964 under the symbol OXM.
Please visit our website at http://www.oxfordinc.com .
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS OF THE
PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
The matters in this press release that are forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to statements about our expected business outlook,
anticipated financial and operating results, the anticipated benefits of the
Viewpoint acquisition, growth of particular product lines, strategies,
contingencies, financing plans, working capital needs, sources of liquidity,
estimated amounts and timing of capital expenditures and other expenditures,
are based on current management expectations that involve certain risks which
if realized, in whole or in part, could have a material adverse effect on
Oxford's business, financial condition and results of operations, including,
without limitation: (1) general economic cycles; (2) competitive conditions in
our industry; (3) price deflation in worldwide apparel industry; (4) our
ability to identify and respond to rapidly changing fashion trends and to
offer innovative and upgraded products; (5) the price and availability of raw
materials; (6) our dependence on and relationships with key customers; (7) the
ability of our third party producers to deliver quality products in a timely
manner; (8) potential disruptions in the operation of our distribution
facilities; (9) economic and political conditions in the foreign countries in
which we operate or source our products; (10) risks associated with changes in
global currency exchange rates; (11) regulatory risks associated with
importing products; (12) the impact of labor disputes and wars or acts of
terrorism on our business; (13) increased competition from direct sourcing;
(14) our ability to maintain our licenses; (15) our ability to protect our
intellectual property and prevent our trademarks and service marks and
goodwill from being harmed by competitors' products; (16) our reliance on key
management; (17) our inability to retain current pricing on our products due
to competitive or other factors; (18) the impact of reduced travel to resort
locations on our sales; (19) risks related to our operation of restaurants
under the Tommy Bahama name; (20) the integration of Ben Sherman into our
company; (21) the expansion of our business through the acquisition of new
businesses; (22) our ability to successfully implement our growth plans for
acquired businesses; (23) our ability to open new retail stores; and (24)
unforeseen liabilities associated with the acquisition of acquired businesses.
For a further discussion of significant factors to consider in connection
with forward-looking statements concerning Oxford, reference is made to
Exhibit 99.1 to Oxford's Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 16, 2003; other
risks or uncertainties may be detailed from time to time in Oxford's future
SEC filings. Oxford disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking
statements.
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