The two primary sections of this book are
devoted first to the apparel & textiles industry as a
whole and then to the "Individual Data Listings"
for THE APPAREL & TEXTILES 350. If time
permits, you should begin your research in the front chapters
of this book. Also, you will find lengthy indexes in Chapter
4 and in the back of the book.
THE APPAREL & TEXTILES INDUSTRY
Glossary: A short list of automotive
industry terms.
Chapter 1: Major Trends in the Apparel
& Textiles Industry. This chapter presents an
encapsulated view of the major trends that are creating rapid
changes in the advertising and branding industry today.
Chapter 2:Apparel & Textiles Industry
Statistics. This chapter contains an overview of
industry statistics.
Chapter 3: Important Apparel &
Textiles Industry Contacts – Addresses, Telephone Numbers
and World Wide Web Sites. This chapter covers contacts
for important government agencies and industry associations.
Included are numerous web sites.
THE APPAREL & TEXTILES 350
Chapter 4: THE APPAREL & TEXTILES
350: Who They Are and How They Were Chosen. The companies
compared in this book were carefully selected from the advertising
and branding industry, primarily in the United States but
with a significant number of major foreign firms also included.
For a complete description, see THE APPAREL & TEXTILES
350 indexes in this chapter.
Individual Data Listings: Look
at one of the companies in THE APPAREL & TEXTILES 350’s
Individual Data Listings. You’ll find the following
information fields:
Company Name: The company profiles
are in alphabetical order by company name. If you don’t
find the company you are seeking, it may be a subsidiary or
division of one of the firms covered in this book. Try looking
it up in the Index by Subsidiaries, Brand Names and Selected
Affiliations in the back of the book.
Ranks:
Industry Group Code: An NAIC
code used to group companies within like segments. (See Chapter
4 for a list of codes.)
Ranks Within This Company's Industry
Group: Ranks, within this firm's segment only, for
annual sales and annual profits, with 1 being the highest
rank.
Business Activities: A grid arranged into
six major industry categories and several sub-categories.
A “Y” indicates that the firm operates within
the sub-category. A complete Index by Industry is included
in the beginning of Chapter 4.
Types of Business: A listing
of the types of business specialties conducted by the firm.
Brands/Divisions/Affiliations: Major
brand names, operating divisions or subsidiaries of the firm,
as well as major corporate affiliations - such as another
firm that owns a significant portion of the company's stock.
A complete Index by Subsidiaries, Brand Names and Selected
Affiliations is in the back of the book.
Contacts: The names and titles
of up to 27 top officers of the company are listed, including
human resources contacts.
Address: The firm's full headquarters
address, the headquarters telephone, plus toll-free and fax
numbers where available. Also provided is the World Wide Web
site address.
Financials: Annual Sales (2003
or the latest fiscal year available to the editors, plus up
to four previous years): These are stated in thousands of
dollars (add three zeros if you want the full number). This
figure represents consolidated worldwide sales from all operations.
2003 figures may be estimates or may be for only part of the
year-partial year figures are appropriately footnoted.
Annual Profits (2003 or the latest fiscal
year available to the editors, plus up to four previous years):
These are stated in thousands of dollars (add three zeros
if you want the full number). This figure represents consolidated,
after-tax net profit from all operations. 2003 figures may
be estimates or may be for only part of the year-partial year
figures are appropriately footnoted.
Stock Ticker: When available,
the unique stock market symbol used to identify this firm's
common stock for trading and tracking purposes is indicated.
Where appropriate, this field may contain "private"
or "subsidiary" rather than a ticker symbol.
Total Number of Employees: The
approximate total number of employees, worldwide, as of the
end of 2003 (or the latest data available to the editors).
Apparent Salaries/Benefits:
A "Y" in appropriate fields indicates "Yes."
Due to wide variations in the manner in which corporations
report benefits to the U.S. Government's regulatory bodies,
not all plans will have been uncovered during our effort to
research this data. Also, the availability of such plans to
employees will vary according to the qualifications that employees
must meet to become eligible. For example, some benefit plans
may be available only to salaried workers-others only to employees
who work more than 1,000 hours yearly. Benefits that are available
to employees of the main or parent company may not be available
to employees of the subsidiaries. Consequently, the reader
should use caution and conduct further investigation where
appropriate.
NOTE: Generally, employees covered by wealth-building
benefit plans do not fully own ("vest in") funds
contributed on their behalf by the employer until as many
as five years of service with that employer have passed.
Pension Plan: The firm offers
a pension plan to qualified employees. The type and generosity
of these plans vary widely from firm to firm. Caution: Some
employers refer to plans as "pension" or "retirement"
plans when they are actually 401(k) savings plans that require
a contribution by the employee. True pension plans are rarely
offered.
Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Pension plans
that do not require a contribution from the employee are infrequently
offered. However, a few companies, particularly larger employers
in high-profit-margin industries, offer defined benefit pension
plans where the employee is guaranteed to receive a set pension
benefit upon retirement. The amount of the benefit is determined
by the years of service with the company and the employee’s
salary during the later years of employment. The longer a
person works for the employer, the higher the retirement benefit.
These defined benefit plans are funded entirely by the employer.
The benefits, up to a reasonable limit, are guaranteed by
the Federal Government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
These plans are not portable—if you leave the company,
you cannot transfer your benefits into a different plan. Instead,
upon retirement you will receive the benefits that vested
during your service with the company. If your employer offers
a pension plan, it must give you a summary plan description
within 90 days of the date you join the plan. You can also
request a summary annual report of the plan, and once every
12 months you may request an individual benefit statement
accounting of your interest in the plan.
Defined Contribution Plans: These are quite
different. They do not guarantee a certain amount of pension
benefit. Instead, they set out circumstances under which the
employer will make a contribution to a plan on your behalf.
The most common example is the 401(k) savings plan. Pension
benefits are not guaranteed under these plans.
Cash Balance Pension Plans: These plans were
recently invented. These are hybrid plans—part defined
benefit and part defined contribution. Many employers have
converted their older defined benefit plans into cash balance
plans. The employer makes deposits (or credits a given amount
of money) on the employee’s behalf, usually based on
a percentage of pay. Employee accounts grow based on a predetermined
interest benchmark, such as the interest rate on Treasury
Bonds. There are some advantages to these plans, particularly
for younger workers: a) The benefits, up to a reasonable limit,
are guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
b) Benefits are portable—they can be moved to another
plan when the employee changes companies. c) Younger workers
and those who spend a shorter number of years with an employer
may receive higher benefits than they would under a traditional
defined benefit plan.
ESOP Stock Plan (Employees' Stock Ownership Plan):
This type of plan is in wide use. Typically, the plan borrows
money from a bank and uses those funds to purchase a large
block of the corporation’s stock. The corporation makes
contributions to the plan over a period of time, and the stock
purchase loan is eventually paid off. The value of the plan
grows significantly as long as the market price of the stock
holds up. Qualified employees are allocated a share of the
plan based on their length of service and their level of salary.
Under federal regulations, participants in ESOPs are allowed
to diversify their account holdings in set percentages that
rise as the employee ages and gains years of service with
the company. In this manner, not all of the employee’s
assets are tied up in the employer’s stock.
Savings Plan, 401(k): Under
this type of plan, employees make a tax-deferred deposit into
an account. In the best plans, the company makes annual matching
donations to the employees’ accounts, typically in some
proportion to deposits made by the employees themselves. A
good plan will match one-half of employee deposits of up to
6% of wages. For example, an employee earning $30,000 yearly
might deposit $1,800 (6%) into the plan. The company will
match one-half of the employee’s deposit, or $900. The
plan grows on a tax-deferred basis, similar to an IRA. A very
generous plan will match 100% of employee deposits. However,
some plans do not call for the employer to make a matching
deposit at all. Other plans call for a matching contribution
to be made at the discretion of the firm’s board of
directors. Actual terms of these plans vary widely from firm
to firm. Generally, these savings plans allow employees to
deposit as much as 15% of salary into the plan on a tax-deferred
basis. However, the portion that the company uses to calculate
its matching deposit is generally limited to a maximum of
6%. Employees should take care to diversify the holdings in
their 401(k) accounts, and most people should seek professional
guidance or investment management for their accounts.
Stock Purchase Plan: Qualified
employees may purchase the company’s common stock at
a price below its market value under a specific plan. Typically,
the employee is limited to investing a small percentage of
wages in this plan. The discount may range from 5 to 15%.
Some of these plans allow for deposits to be made through
regular monthly payroll deductions. However, new accounting
rules for corporations, along with other factors, are leading
many companies to curtail these plans—dropping the discount
allowed, cutting the maximum yearly stock purchase or otherwise
making the plans less generous or appealing.
Profit Sharing: Qualified employees
are awarded an annual amount equal to some portion of a company’s
profits. In a very generous plan, the pool of money awarded
to employees would be 15% of profits. Typically, this money
is deposited into a long-term retirement account. Caution:
Some employers refer to plans as “profit sharing”
when they are actually 401(k) savings plans. True profit sharing
plans are rarely offered.
Highest Executive Salary: The
highest executive salary paid, typically a 2003 amount (or
the latest year available to the editors) and typically paid
to the Chief Executive Officer.
Highest Executive Bonus: The
apparent bonus, if any, paid to the above person.
Second Highest Executive Salary: The
next-highest executive salary paid, typically a 2003 amount
(or the latest year available to the editors) and typically
paid to the President or Chief Operating Officer.
Second Highest Executive Bonus:
The apparent bonus, if any, paid to the above person.
Competitive Advantage: A brief
statement regarding an outstanding feature that gives the
firm an edge in the marketplace.
Other Thoughts:
Apparent Women Officers or Directors:
It is difficult to obtain this information on an
exact basis, and employers generally do not disclose the data
in a public way. However, we have indicated what our best
efforts reveal to be the apparent number of women who either
are in the posts of corporate officers or sit on the board
of directors. There is a wide variance from company to company.
Hot Spot for Advancement for Women/
Minorities:A “Y” in appropriate fields
indicates “Yes.” These are firms that appear either
to have posted a substantial number of women and/or minorities
to high posts or that appear to have a good record of going
out of their way to recruit, train, promote and retain women
or minorities. (See the Index of Hot Spots For Women and Minorities
in the back of the book.) This information may change frequently
and can be difficult to obtain and verify. Consequently, the
reader should use caution and conduct further investigation
where appropriate.
Growth Plans/ Special Features:
Listed here are observations regarding the firm's strategy,
hiring plans, plans for growth and product development, along
with general information regarding a company's business and
prospects.
Locations: A "Y"
in the appropriate field indicates "Yes."
Primary locations outside of the headquarters, categorized
by regions of the United States and by international locations.
A complete index by locations is also in the front of this
chapter.
