Escada

Escada AG

Type	Public
Founded	1978, Munich, Germany
Headquarters	Munich, Germany
Industry	Retail
Products	Women's fashions, handbags, shoes, perfume, eyewear, kids fashion
Website	http://www.escada.com

Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's designer fashion. In thirty years, Escada has become a leading name in women's fashion, often worn to red carpet events by celebrities.

History

In terms of its sales and international structure, Escada is one of the world's leading luxury brands in the fashion segment. The company has a presence in about 60 different countries. Its main sales markets are North America, western and eastern Europe and Asia. The Munich-based fashion group is divided into the business units Escada and Primera.

Escada comprises the segments Fashion (Escada Collection and Escada Sport), Accessories (bags, shoes and small leather goods) and licenses (perfume, eyewear and children's fashion). The brands stand for premium materials, exclusivity, high-quality workmanship and wearing comfort as well as color and femininity.

The subsidiary Primera AG based in Münster/Westphalia comprises apriori, cavita and Laurèl – established brands occupying the medium-price segment – as well as the retail chain BiBA.

Escada was founded by Margaretha and Wolfgang Ley in 1978. The company soon stood out, with its distinctive creations featuring unusual combinations of colors and patterns, exclusive embroidery and elaborately designed knitted fashions. Escada saw a rapid upswing and continually extended its collections and its creative work. The company guarantees variety in fashion which is created individually for an extensive range of markets worldwide.

In the course of its international expansion, Escada AG went public in 1986. In 1994, the company launched the Escada Sport label, established its own accessories collection including bags and shoes and granted major licenses, collaborating with such partners as Procter & Gamble.

From June 2007 to July 2008, the CEO of Escada has been Jean-Marc Loubier, who formerly held executive posts in the Louis Vuitton Group for 16 years. The Creative Director of the Escada brand is Damiano Biella (formerly with Valentino), who, since October 2006, has been guiding the creative work in the course of the brand's modification and reorientation.

Since July 2008, Dr. Bruno Sälzer is the acting CEO with responsibilities for design, marketing, and sales. Prior to his CEO role at Escada, Dr. Bruno Sälzer served as the CEO of Hugo Boss.

Controversy over fur

On October 18, 2007, the group, "Global Network Against the Fur Industry" , which is made up of organizations such as Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade or Offensive gegen die Pelzindustrie, launched a campaign against Escada, in the form of a day of action, in hopes of getting Escada to stop selling fur. According to their website, on October 18, there were 40 actions against Escada in 14 countries. On October 6, 2007, Escada headquarters were vandalized by the Animal Liberation Front. Since that date the campaign against Escada continues with regular pickets in front of Escada-outlets worldwide