The preppy clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has been reporting sales increases of around 20%

Tommy Hilfiger, unique American apparel brands, has bought Apax uk-based private-equity partners (using 920m $16 billion). Apax hope to restore some bright lustre, appear in its core brand identity crisis in the north American market, hip-hop preppie, now trying to get back to its roots.
According to reports, Mr Hilfiger management personnel the best-paid fashion in the world, will stay in company chairman and chief designer design strategy and board. He picked up a piece of little more than 4% company stock before trading was announced.
First tommy Hilfiger series of menswear in 1984, the article introduces the establishment brand as the conservative line form a category Ralph lauren and perry Ellis. The company enjoys worldwide success and was floated on the New York stock exchange in 1992.
But the image of the company has experienced a rapid changes in the late 1990s, when rap star like coolio and snoop dogg to start wearing tommy Hilfiger red, white and blue logo.
Stylist deviated from his earlier template, start production loose, colourful clothing to attract his new audience. Fashionable though notorious fickle. Hip-hop star to new brands such as Sean John and Rocawear the rapper jay-z formed, leaving tommy Hilfiger in an uncomfortable no man's land; Away from the traditional audience and abandoned brand, its latest customer.
The business has lost orders to department stores in the United States and was put up for sale earlier this year.
At its peak in 2000, Tommy Hilfiger generated sales of almost $2bn. Revenue last year had fallen to $1.78bn. It has reported revenue declines in the past four quarters and losses or falling profits.
By comparison, the preppy clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has been reporting sales increases of around 20% this year while Polo Ralph Lauren is up around 23%. Michael Philips, managing partner at Apax in Europe, said there was a dislocation between the perception of Tommy Hilfiger in the US and elsewhere in the world, where it is still more of a prestige brand.