LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The
Fashion House, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board:
FHHI -
News), a leading
designer and distributor of women's dress footwear, announced today
that Oscar E. Valencia has joined The Fashion House as president of
the Bill Blass division. Additionally, Amy Fleisher has joined The
Fashion House as vice president of the Bill Blass division.
The Fashion House
recently signed a licensing agreement with Bill Blass, Ltd. to
develop and distribute footwear under two labels; Bill Blass Couture
and Blass by Bill Blass. Bill Blass Couture footwear will be
targeted at retailers who cater to customers of the line's couture
apparel offerings. Blass by Bill Blass will be a volume oriented
diffusion line that will be distributed at department stores and
specialty footwear retailers.
"The addition of Oscar Valencia and Amy Fleisher to our
management team will enable us to accelerate our already strong
sales momentum," said John Hanna, President and CEO of The Fashion
House. "We are pleased to add such seasoned industry veterans to our
Company's strong executive team. Through their proven expertise and
leadership, we look forward to cultivating key industry
relationships and unlocking new sales and distribution channel
opportunities, which we believe will drive Blass by Bill Blass
revenues in 2006 and beyond."
During his 16 years at Etienne Aigner, Valencia developed and
created the Etienne Aigner Easentials and Signature brands. He was
promoted to president in 1999, after serving as division president
for six years. Valencia was also president of Havana Joe and
executive vice president of Tommy Hilfiger, where he was responsible
for men's, women's and children's shoes.
Throughout her seven years at the May Company, Fleisher developed
the private label program for the Company's Better footwear
division, growing the division into a $125 million business. Under
Fleisher's direction the Better Footwear program expanded 65% by
establishing sales and distribution channels in Asia, Brazil and
Europe. More recently, Fleisher spent five years at Etienne Aigner,
where she worked as the vice president of the company's footwear
division.
Hanna continued, "We have built an impressive executive team to
develop and sell Bill Blass footwear. Along with Dan Amado as the
senior vice president and creative director of the Bill Blass lines
of footwear, these seasoned executives will translate the timeless
American style of the modern, sophisticated and tailored line of
clothing into what we expect to be a tremendously successful line of
footwear."
Blass by Bill Blass will launch its debut collection for fall,
2006 in February at the World Shoe Association show in Las Vegas.
Valencia and Fleisher will oversee branding and positioning of the
lines and will work closely with regional sales managers and the CEO
to launch and market the new brand and its pedigree.
Founded in 1970 by William Ralph Blass, Bill Blass designs are
known as refined and tailored. Bill Blass is noted for high-quality
and quintessentially American clothing featuring a look of sporty
sophistication and glamour. His polished, classic style has
attracted a wide audience over the last 35 years. Winner of numerous
fashion awards, Bill Blass has expanded its product lines to include
casual and men's apparel, accessories and home furnishings.
About The Fashion House
Headquartered in Los Angeles, The Fashion House, Inc. designs and
distributes designer women's footwear under license agreements with
Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta and Richard Tyler. The Company's lines
include O Oscar An Oscar de la Renta Company, Oscar by Oscar de la
Renta, Richard Tyler Couture, tyler. Richard Tyler, Bill Blass
Couture, Bill Blass Collection, Blass Sport and Blass by Bill Blass.
The Fashion House brings high-quality fashion and glamour to the
mass market with an emphasis on celebrity appeal, style, quality and
fit. Making fashion and luxury affordable, the company targets
moderate to premium-priced categories to achieve significant gross
margins. Shoes are sold in retail locations including Nordstrom,
Saks Fifth Avenue, Plaza Too, Town Shoes and fashion boutiques
nationwide. Fashion House shoes are also featured in the Victoria's
Secret and Bloomingdale's catalogues and are sold on Internet
portals including Shoes.com (http://www.shoes.com/) and
Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/).
http://www.thefashionhouseinc.com/
This news release contains "forward-looking statements". The
Company intends forward looking terminology such as "believes",
"expects", "may", "will", "should", "could", "anticipates", "plans"
or similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. All
statements in this news release that are not statements of
historical fact, including the statements that additional growth is
expected, that additional designer licenses are intended to be
obtained, that we hope to continue to grow our business by
establishing new partnerships with the fashion world's most famous
names, and we intend to expand our distribution, are forward looking
statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties which could cause the Company's actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated by the forward- looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, those described in the company's periodic reports filed
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Fashion House assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements, and does not intend to do so. This document is not
construed to be an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to
buy any securities in any jurisdiction where such an offer would be
illegal. No action is being solicited based upon this material. This
document is for the general information of potential investors,
partners and other interested parties. Opinions expressed are the
Company's current opinions as of the date appearing on this
document. No representation is made the information herein is
accurate, or reliable or complete. In fact, readers of this press
release are expressly cautioned that the information referenced
herein is incomplete because comprehensive disclosures on The
Fashion House, Inc., including audited financial statements, have
not yet been made.
Contact
Company: Investor Relations:
The Fashion House, Inc. Equity Performance Group
Jennifer Hinkle Gary Geraci
323-939-3031 617-723-2373
jhinkle@thefashionhouseinc.com gary@equityperfgp.com
