Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein is a global lifestyle brand that exemplifies bold, progressive ideals and a seductive aesthetic. We seek to thrill and inspire our audience while using provocative imagery and striking designs to ignite the senses.

Founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein and his business partner Barry Schwartz. We have built our reputation as a leader in American fashion through our clean aesthetic and innovative designs. Global retail sales of Calvin Klein brand products exceeded $9 billion in 2019 and were distributed in over 110 countries. Calvin Klein employs over 11,500 associates globally. We were acquired by PVH Corp. in 2003.

1970s

By 1971, Klein had added sportswear, classic blazers, and lingerie to his women’s collection.

In 1973, he received his first Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award for his 74-piece womenswear collection – the youngest recipient at that time. Klein won the award again in 1974 and 1975. By 1977, annual revenues had increased to $30 million (equivalent to $128 million in 2022), and Klein had licenses for scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses, and bedsheets. Klein and Schwartz were making $4 million each. After the company signed licenses for cosmetics, jeans, and menswear, Klein’s annual retail volume was estimated at $100 million (equivalent to $427 million in 2022). In 1978, Klein claimed sales of 200,000 pairs of his famous jeans the first week they were on the market. By 1981, Fortune figured Klein’s annual income at $8.5 million.

In the mid-1970s, he had created a designer-jeans craze by putting his name on the back pocket. Klein’s design assistant at the time, Jeffrey Banks, has claimed credit for the logo garments, stating that he had the logo from a press folder silkscreened onto the sleeve of a brown T-shirt as a present for Klein. The gift was assumed by Schwartz to be part of the upcoming line, and similar logo shirts formed the uniform for the front-of-house staff at Klein’s next catwalk show, leading to buyer demand.

In the late 1970s, the company also made attempts to set up its own fragrance and cosmetics lines, but soon withdrew from the market with big financial losses.

1980s

In the 1980s, as the designer-jeans frenzy reached its all-time high, Calvin Klein introduced a highly successful line of boxer shorts for women and a men’s underwear collection which would later gross $70 million in a single year.^{[citation needed]} The American market of men’s underwear was changed – from one where most men’s underwear was white, purchased in packs of three by a “wife, mother or girlfriend when they needed to be” to one where “the American male [cares] about the brand of something few ever see”.^[10]

Growth continued through the early eighties. The licensing program, which brought in $24,000 when it was initiated in 1974 (equivalent to $125,943 in 2020), had royalty income of $7.3 million ten years later (equivalent to $18.18 million in 2022). That year, worldwide retail sales were estimated at more than $60 million (equivalent to $1494.62 million in 2022). Klein’s clothes were sold through 12,000 stores in the United States and were available in six other countries through licensing deals, namely Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. His annual income passed $12 million (equivalent to $29.89 million in 2022).

Financial problems increased pressure from all sides. Calvin Klein and its licensing partners led to the first rumors that Calvin Klein Industries was up for sale.