Q&A

May 31 2012
9 Million Lives
Janet Hsu, new chief operating officer of Sanrio—holder of arguably the cutest license in the world, Hello Kitty—talks about the sheer volume and variety of Hello Kitty goods and reveals her plans for the cat to take a bigger leap this year into the North American infant/toddler market. By Jennifer Cattaui This cat’s got some […]
Apr 27 2012
Mad About Milly
Earnshaw’s caught up with Michelle Smith and got the skinny on the first year of her childrenswear offshoot, Milly Minis, and her role as a critic for FIT’s end-of-year fashion show. By Jennifer Cattaui Students are snipping, sewing, buttoning and embellishing up a storm when Michelle Smith, known by the fashion world as Milly, stops […]
Mar 6 2012
Continental Shift
Groupe Zannier USA General Manager, Salvador Gamito, chats about the rapidly changing childrenswear scene in Europe, Asia and North America. By Jennifer Cattaui. There’s no way Majorca-born Salvador Gamito, general manager of Groupe Zannier USA, could forget his first day on the job 12 years ago. French label IKKS had hired him as a buyer, […]
Feb 6 2012
The Dean of Tween
Ilene Oren professes her passion for the market segment that makes and breaks rules as it tries on trends that will define cool in school. When it comes to young fashion, Ilene Oren is head of the class. She began her career at Glenora Juniors, but when she had children, she decided to call it […]
Mar 8 2011
Briefly, Claesen’s
“I have wandering feet,” Kelley Fitch, partner and CEO of Claesen’s USA, says. The 43-year-old executive has been importing and distributing Claesen’s to the American market for eight years now, and with a presence in more than 300 U.S. stores, Fitch is always contemplating her next move. Fitch, who was born in Chapel Hill, NC, […]
Aug 30 2010
Fortune’s Son
It’s often said that you make your own luck. Though it’s unclear where the expression originated, one only has to look at the trajectory of United Legwear & Underwear to see its truth. Isaac Ash, who started the New York-based company 12 years ago, cut his teeth in the legwear industry while working in the […]
Aug 11 2010
Baby Steps
Keep your current customers happy while cultivating new ones. Sounds simple enough. But as any business owner will tell you, it’s a constant tightrope act. Still, it’s one that Robar is making look deceptively easy as it approaches 20 years in the baby business. Thanks to the depth of product in its mainstay collection and […]
Jun 3 2010
Fancy That
Spend time with Joan Calabrese, and it’s quickly apparent that designing feminine frocks for the special moments in a girl’s life is her passion. Calabrese has marketed her line of elegant dresswear for more than 30 years—and it all started over a fortuitous dinner at her home. Tom Marotta, then vice president of couture at […]
Apr 26 2010
Redefining Elegance
An elegant baby gift doesn’t have to be boring. At least, that’s the underlying message from Elegant Baby, a Burlington, N.C.-based vendor that can be traced back to the ’60s but has recently rebranded itself as more sexy than stodgy. Thanks in part to president and CEO Yates Hooper—the son of the founder, who came […]
Mar 1 2010
Little Me, Big Business
“When we bought the company, we thought some of the goods were undervalued and we wanted to lower the price points,” explained division president Jeff Glick. By leveraging Mamiye’s strength in sourcing, he reported that Little Me was able to decrease its retail prices by 15 to 20 percent without taking away from—and even ultimately […]

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