Sknl Brings In Polo Ralph Lauren Group President To Head Its Newly Acquired Hartmax In The Us

Sept. 8, 2009 - PRLog -- In another defining move, SKNL North America has brought in erstwhile group president of Polo Ralph Lauren, Doug Williams, to lead its newly-acquired Hartmax Corporation (HMX, LLC). SKNL North America announced today that it has appointed industry veteran Doug Williams as President and Chief Operating Officer of HMX. HMX is the home of iconic apparel brands such as Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx, Coppley and Bobby Jones. Williams’ appointment is effective immediately and he will be based in New York City.
Williams brings 25 years of experience as a senior Fashion and lifestyle industry executive with broad expertise in wholesale, licensing, retail, mergers and acquisitions, product sourcing and international business development.
Most notably, Williams spent 17 years with Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation. During his time there, he rose to Group President and held senior sales positions in the men’s wholesale group and leadership positions in licensing, international business development, global manufacturing, and new business segments.
In 2006, Williams established W-Diamond Ventures, a business development consultancy, focused on assisting premium brands, as well as advising the investment community on the fashion industry. His clients have seen significant improvement in their financial performance, resource management, and core operations.
“We are very happy to have Doug join us to lead the charge to re-establish HMX as a leading North American clothing company and strengthen its brands,” said Nitin Kasliwal, Chairman of HMX, LLC and Vice Chairman of SKNL, one of India’s largest textile and apparel companies.
“Doug has built a reputation for strong leadership as well as developing and executing creative strategies in challenging circumstances,” said Ajay Khaitan, CEO and Vice Chairman of HMX, LLC. “We want to preserve our tradition of ‘Made in America’ quality, offer innovation and excellence in design and manufacturing and vigorously pursue growth opportunities.  Doug will be a key player to help us get there.”
“I am thrilled to be part of a great team that will help restore Hartmarx and its family of brands to the iconic status they so deserve,” said Williams. “The news owners not only bring a commitment to long term and sustainable growth but they have committed the investment to achieve our aggressive set of objectives. There is much work to be done, but this is a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on a rich brand history and refocus all of our brands for a global audience.”
S. Kumars Nationwide Limited (SKNL), pioneers in manufacturing and distributing branded textile and ready-to-wear clothing, had recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, SKNL North America B.V. along with its operating partner have successfully acquired Hartmarx Corporation. SKNL Group, over the past few years has been consolidating its textile operations to meet the domestic requirements of the textiles and apparel sectors. It has brought in several international textile and apparel brands into the country, set up its own retail operations and is well set to become “clothiers to the nation today, the world tomorrow. With this Hartmax acquisition, the group has expanded its footprint to the western hemisphere in earnest.

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About SKNL:
SKNL is India's leading textile and apparel company and country's only textile major that operates in all product categories, - Fabrics, Apparel and Home Textiles, all fiber categories (natural, man made and blended) and caters to all socio economic segments of the Indian market. World class manufacturing facilities, a capacity of producing over 2,00,000 meters/day, 30,000 outlets across the country, popular household brands like Reid & Taylor, Belmonte, S.Kumars, Carmichael House; and strong and efficient teams that lend strength to the company's performance. The major SBUs of SKNL include Consumer Textiles, Ready-to-wear, Home Textiles, Luxury Suitings and High Value Fine Cotton.