JONES NEW YORK: FINANCIAL EVALUATION
Jones New York is the marketing name of the Jones Apparel Group, which has its corporate headquarters in Bristol, Pennsylvania (HooverÆs Online û 2147 4). All financial reports for the company are prepared under the Jones Apparel Group name, as opposed to the Jones New York name. This research develops a financial evaluation of Jones Apparel Group. Initially, however, the report presents a brief history of the company.
Jones Apparel Group originally was a subsidiary of the W. R. Grace Company. In 1975, two senior officers in the Jones Apparel Division bought the subsidiary from W. R. Grace Company and incorporated the new company as Jones Apparel Group. For approximately 10 years the new company was profitable, but it suffered net income losses from 1985 through 1987. After returning to profit in 1988, Jones Apparel Group became a publicly traded company in 1991 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Beginning in 1998, the company implemented an acquisition strategy, and the Jones Apparel Group has growth substantially over the past five years through both acquisitions and same-store sales increases (Jones Apparel Group ù Company History 1).
Today, the company operates Jones New York in its original base areas of Pennsylvania and New York. Additionally, however, the company has production, distribution, and sales office facilities for the Group and its several subsidiaries in Canada, Mexico, Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia (Jones Apparel Group ù Company History 2).
The primary focus of the financial evaluation of Jones Apparel Group is the companyÆs performance for 2000, as reported in the companyÆs annual report for that year which was released in early-2001 (Jones Apparel Group û Form 10K 1-62). For comparison purposes in some instances, however, later annual reports by the company also were consulted. The financial e...