• The Wall Street Journal , Friday, September 12, 2008 8:18 AM

As a critical part of a plan to expand the Calvin Klein brand around the globe, executives at Phillips-Van Heusen are pushing to restore the label's prominence. Like others in the luxury-goods business, they are counting on the high-end label to produce a "halo" that can make a host of lower-priced goods seem desirable.

The Calvin Klein brand overall has been a growth engine for Phillips-Van Heusen since 2003, when the company acquired the business from its namesake designer. But if it can continue to add new products, executives say, annual retail sales of Calvin Klein merchandise could total $7 billion or $8 billion in five years, compared with $5.4 billion last year and $2.9 billion in 2003.

Bergdorf, Saks Fifth Avenue and other luxury retailers had stopped carrying clothing from the collection in recent years, due to late deliveries and uneven quality. Sales sagged. The label's absence from high-end stores also reinforced the impression in the minds of some consumers that the brand was largely a maker of mainstream jeans, underwear and fragrances, rather than $2,600 dresses, $4,500 coats and $8,000 gowns.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »