LOS ANGELES — Tommy Bahama, the apparel maker inspired by the tropical lifestyle, is diving deeper into swimwear by bringing the division in-house.
The company’s partnership with Apparel Ventures Inc., which had licensed the line for the last three years, expired June 30. It hired Lynne Koplin to be director of women’s swimwear, two months after she resigned as president of Apparel Ventures.
“Nobody does what we do better than we do it, so it made sense for us to take control of the line, and with Lynne’s talent and expertise, we can make the line even bigger and better,” said Tony Margolis, president and chief executive officer.
Koplin is a 20-year veteran of the swimwear industry. Before Apparel Ventures, where she spent six years nurturing lines such as Ralph Lauren and Anne Klein, she was senior vice president of designer divisions for the Authentic Fitness division of Warnaco Group and was an executive at Cole of California.
“There aren’t a lot of companies that cater to this market with a strong design integrity, and that’s what attracted me to this opportunity,” Koplin said.
Margolis and Koplin envision growing the line’s range to include more accessories, such as cover-ups, as well as wholesale accounts. Already in 300 doors at upmarket department stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, Koplin said the line’s distribution could double and expand its specialty store reach, which accounts for 35 percent of sales.
The separates-driven collection, aimed at leisure-minded customers ages 30 to 40, wholesales from $30 to $32 and hangs with lines such as Gottex.
Koplin will head a design team for a spring 2006 collection making its debut in August in New York and shipping by Dec. 30. Tommy Bahama won’t participate at SwimShow 2006 in Miami starting July 16.
Apparel Ventures has named Howard Greller as chief design and merchandising officer.