Schwartz and Benjamin History
Schwartz and Benjamin owned and run by the Schwartz family
for 83 years. In it’s 84th year in business the company is being
run by 3rd generation Danny Schwartz, our President and CEO.
Along side Danny his wife Barbara is the director of product
development for all brands. Steve Shapiro and Jerry Ring are
our Division Presidents, running kate spade, Juicy and Kors
and Michael Kors and Diane Von Furstenburg respectively.
Schwartz and Benjamin has also had the licenses for Anne
Klein and YSL in the past, holding each license for over 30
years.
We manufacture about 60 percent of our product in Italy, with
the balance split between Brazil, China and Spain.
Our Team
• Danny Schwartz – 3rd generation CEO
• Steve Shapiro – Group President kate spade, Juicy Couture, and
daniblack
• Jerry Ring - President Kors, Michael Kors and Diane Von
Furstenburg
• Sandi Kahn – Senior VP, Kors, Michael Kors, Diane Von
Furstenburg
• Jenn Masella – Senior VP, kate spade & Juicy Couture
• Annie Marino – VP, Juicy Couture
• Linden Schaffer – brand manager, Diane Von Furstenburg
• Mike Tamberino - account exectuive, kate spade
• Sarah Smith – account executive, Juicy Couture, Juicy Couture kids
• Ann Mc Neill – account executive, Kors, Michael Kors
• Jessica Schienle – account executive, Kors, Michael Kors
kate spade
•
while growing up in kansas city, missouri, katherine noel brosnahan, now kate spade, was both
the epitome and antithesis of the all-american girl. there was always something charmingly
familiar yet wonderfully original about kate. her fresh sense of style and singular personality reflect
a keen sense of wit, propriety, and a no-nonsense approach to life. kate has spent most of her
professional career in the accessories business.
after college in 1986, she took a job at mademoiselle magazine, leaving in 1991 with the title of
senior fashion editor/head of accessories. while working at the magazine, kate realized that the
market lacked stylish, practical handbags and so innocently began designing her own. she put
together some sketches, investigated production costs, and created a line of classically shaped
bags in satinfinished nylon, as well as interesting colors and fabrics. with her fingers crossed,
kate, along with her partner and husband, andy spade, launched "kate spade handbags" in
january of 1993.
in 1996, the council of fashion designers of america (cfda) honored kate's classic designs by
awarding her america's new fashion talent in accessories. kate was honored once again by the
cfda in 1998, as best accessory designer of the year. in 1999, kate was honored when her
handbags were exhibited at the cooper hewitt museum for the first national design triennial,
celebrating american design excellence. and for her new home collection, kate was presented
with three prestigious design awards in 2004: house beautiful's giants of design award for
tastemaker, bon appetit's american food & entertaining award for designer of the year, and elle
decor's elle decor international design award for bedding.
today
• The company was purchased by the Liz
Claiborne company last year. A new
management team and an amazing new
creative director have been put in place.
Deborah, the new creative director has amazing
talent which she will use to take kate spade’s
vision to the highest level and incorporate great
new concepts, enter in to lifestyle areas not
previously explored and continue to grow the
brand with out changing distribution.
Spring 2008
• Many words come to mind when describing the kate spade shoe
collection as well as the brand. I listed them below as I feel that
when used during the selling process, the customer really gains and
understanding of the spirit that each shoe embodies.
• Colorful
• Lively
• Energetic
• Feminine
• Unpredictable
• Spontaneous
• Light
• Fun Loving
• Ladylike
• Festive
• Rule-breaking
• Alive
• Outgoing
• Growing
Spring Trends
• Color, Ruffles, Floral, Beading, Pretty
• Color - this is critical to all of kate’s collections but this is a trend in
the footwear market today as well. Your Shoe/Accessory ad, the
Maggie embodies the color in an easy to wear way and it retails for
$295
• Feminine – pretty, your ROP ad Katie is super feminine, another one
of kate’s signatures
• Slides – Gala Too, a feminine Barbie esque slide done in two
exclusive color ways for Bloomies is sure to be a hit both from trend
and price point and is also a NYT ROP ad.
• Dresses – The katie maryjane and gala too slide will both be easy to
pair with the seasons dress trend whether belted or flowy, career or
casual.
• Belts – chain, cinched just add more flare to the ensemble, really
playing up accessories.
HOT @ - March
• Merrie Sandal - $175
Shoe/Accessory - March
• Maggie - $295
NYT ROP
• Gala Too - $260
NYT ROP
• Katie - $295
Customer Profile
• The quintessential kate client loves the
modern classics with a twist. She is
sensible but loves fashion! Her age is
unknown as it is all about an attitude and a
feeling which is traditional with flair. She
loves accessories as they rule her
wardrobe – all great out fits are centered
around shoes!
Style Tips for The Wardrobe
• Shoes – it all starts with the shoes
• Kate loves to pick something unexpected for the
feet and then work it around wardrobe basics
such as Capri pants and shirt dresses.
• She was featured on Oprah for this concept.
• If you love the shoe buy it – you will always feel
great and find something to pair it with.