Apparel & Accessories Retail Industry Competitors

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the world's largest luxury goods company, with brands that are bywords for the good life and everything showy. LVMH makes wines and spirits (Dom Pérignon, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Hennessy), perfumes (Christian Dior, Guerlain, and Givenchy), cosmetics (Bliss, Fresh, and BeneFit), fashion and leather goods (Donna Karan, Givenchy, Kenzo, and Louis Vuitton), and watches and jewelry (TAG Heuer, Ebel, Chaumet, and Fred)....

Working women who have never heard of A & E Stores are more likely to be familiar with its Strawberry and Bolton's retail apparel chains. The company operates about 80 clothing stores, mostly in the Northeast, including more than 15 Strawberry Stores selling junior and women's apparel, shoes, and accessories, located in prime office districts in Manhattan and elsewhere in New York City....

Trading on its century-old name, Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) sells upscale men's, women's, and kids' casual clothes and accessories -- quite a change from when the company outfitted Ernest Hemingway and Teddy Roosevelt for safaris. A&F has 1,000-plus stores in North America (mostly in malls) and also sells via its catalog and online....

A hundred small boutiques, one small name, and a world of style, that's agnès b. The company -- named after its head designer's pseudonym -- designs and sells clothes, cosmetics, and accessories mostly for women, but also for men and children. Clothes are sold through small stores with the same name, as well as the company's own Web site....

When you're searching your closet for something stylish to wear, why not try getting your Alexon on? Alexon Group PLC is an apparel retailer, operating about 250 women's clothiers in the UK under such brands as Alex & Co., Ann Harvey, Dash, Eastex, Kaliko, and Minuet....

Banana Republic has grown from its original two-store wannabe safari outfitter to an empire in its own right, though no pith hats or fake palm trees can be found now at its stores. Instead, the well-known retailer of men's and women's mid-scale (not high-dollar, but far from discount) casual and tailored apparel has a sprawling territory of 575 stores in North American and Asia, and a Web site, through all of which it distributes its well-put-together look....

Barneys New York is no purple dinosaur, even if it did have a brush with extinction. The luxury department store chain sells designer apparel for men, women, and children; shoes; accessories; and home furnishings. It operates about 35 stores including full-size flagship shops in New York City, Beverly Hills, Boston, and Chicago; smaller Barneys New York Co-Op locations; and outlet stores....

Baugur UK, the local investment arm of acquisitive Icelandic conglomerate Baugur Group, has been busy raiding British high streets. Already a dominant force in Icelandic retail -- where Baugur Group controls about 45% of food retailing and has large holdings in the insurance, media, and real estate businesses -- the international investment firm has amassed an impressive portfolio of UK retail properties, including toy purveyor Hamleys, the Karen Millen, Oasis, and Whistles fashion chains, Goldsmiths jewelry stores, and Julian Graves health food stores and food wholesaler Booker....

Ladies who lunch love to shop at Bergdorf Goodman, a Fifth Avenue purveyor of fine women's apparel, handbags, jewelry, makeup, perfume, shoes, and tableware, as well as men's accessories, by designer labels such as Chloe, Giorgio Armani, and Marc Jacobs....

Bhs wants to prevent its customers from throwing open their closet doors and letting out big heavy sighs. Formerly British Home Stores, Bhs more than 100 stores throughout the UK. One of the high street's best-known names, it sells clothing, shoes, and accessories for men, women, and children, as well as a variety of furnishings, appliances, and accessories for the home....

Before you get engrossed in that new issue of Modern Maturity, Blair hopes you'll give some attention to its latest mailing. Through its Web site, catalogs, and letter-style pitches, Blair sells men's and women's clothing (most of its sales) to middle-aged and elderly low- to middle-income customers....

If you don't mind paying a premium for premium denim, Blue Holdings has some jeans for you. The firm designs, makes, and sells high-end fashion jeans, jackets, T-shirts, footwear, and accessories under the Antik Denim, Taverniti So Jeans, Faith Connexion, and Yanuk brands....

Bargain e-tailer Bluefly aims to fly anywhere but further into the red. The company offers excess and closeout apparel and home accessories for men, women, and teens via its Web site (Bluefly.com) at prices it claims are 30%-75% cheaper than retail. The site carries more than 50,000 styles from more than 350 brands, including Prada and Calvin Klein....

Bob's Stores sells name-brand clothing, including casual and sports apparel, and footwear at discount prices for men, women, and children. The company operates about three dozen locations in six northeastern states (primarily Connecticut and Massachusetts) that target moderate to upper-middle income shoppers....

Bossini manages a brand of casual fashion wear and accessories in the Asia/Pacific region. Products include clothing for women, men, and kids. The company operates about 950 directly owned and franchised outlets in more than 20 countries. It opened its first exclusive store in Hong Kong in 1987 -- the company is now one of the largest retail fashion chains in Hong Kong and Macao....

Boston Proper (formerly The Mark Group) publishes the women's clothing and jewelry catalog of the same name. Through its Web site and quarterly catalog, the company sells imported dresses, intimates, jeans, pants, shirts, shoes, sweaters, and swimsuits. The clothing ranges from casual wear to formal dresses....

Known for its classic -- some would say staid -- styling, Brooks Brothers has been getting men dressed for nearly two centuries. Brooks Brothers is one of America's oldest retailers, specializing in men's suits and outerwear (Abe Lincoln was wearing a Brooks Brothers suit and overcoat when he was assassinated); the company also sells women's apparel....

Christopher's Men's Stores is currently one clothing store, specializing in suits. The company sells name brands including Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, and Kenneth Cole, as well as private labels....

Cinder Block wants to help you expand your beloved concert T-shirt collection. The merchandising and licensing company got its start in 1989 on a Berkeley sidewalk where co-founder and president Jeffery Bischoff set up a card table and hawked manually printed T-shirts to students and tourists....

Citi Trends hopes to transport its customers to Trend City as quickly as possible. The urban fashion apparel and accessory chain operates about 320 stores in 20 US states focusing primarily on the African-American market. Its brand-name and private-label offerings -- which include hip-hop jeans and oversized T-shirts; men's, women's, and children's clothing; shoes; housewares; and accessories -- are sold at 20%-60% less than department and specialty stores' regular prices....