Perry Ellis Chairman George Feldenkreis told New York Post he’d consider selling his women’s apparel business.
Known for its menswear, the Miami-based company is looking to offer its Laundry by Shelli Segal and Rafaella labels, which generated $435 million in sales last year.
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The two brands make up just 15 percent of Perry Ellis’ portfolio. The company acquired the labels over the past eight years.
“We aren’t marketing them, ” Feldenkreis told said, “but everything is for sale at a price.” Chief Financial Officer Anita Britt added that “women’s clothing is the most challenging part of the market.”
In May 2015 it was announced that George Feldenkreis will step down as the company’s chief executive officer in January 2016. His son, Oscar, will take over day-to-day operations.
According to Bloomberg, Feldenkreis is World’s Most Successful Immigrant. George Feldenkreis was born in Havana to Jewish immigrant parents from Russia, joined the exodus from Castro’s Cuba in 1961, settling in Miami.
He start as a small company specialized in school uniforms and tropical-themed shirts, in 1967, before taking over New York fashion house Perry Ellis International 32 years later, in 1999.
Feldenkreis is the founder of the Universal National Bank of Miami and is on the board of the University of Miami and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. His son Oscar is the company’s president and chief operating officer.
