. for the film studio see warner bros. warnaco group inc former type public traded as nyse wrc industry textiles clothing and luxury goods fate acquired by pvh in 2013 founded 501 seventh avenue new york city new york united states . 1 1874 2 founder ira de ver warner lucien c. warner defunct 2013 headquarters 501 seventh ave new york city new york united states 10018 area served worldwide key people charles perrin non executive chairman of the board joseph gromek president ceo director helen mccluskey chief operating officer lawrence rutkowski cfo executive vice president frank tworecke president sportswear group martha olson group president underwear and swimwear 3 4 revenue us 2.51 billion fy 2011 5 operating income us 181.5 million fy 2011 5 net income us 127.5 million fy 2011 5 number of employees 7 136 ye 2011 5 parent phillips van heusen divisions sportswear group calvin klein jeans chaps intimate apparel group calvin klein underwear olga olga s christina warner s swimwear group calvin klein swimwear speedo distribution calvin klein retail stores speedousa.com calvinkleinjeans.com cku.com website pvh.com the warnaco group inc. was an american textile clothing corporation which designed sourced marketed licensed and distributed a wide range of underwear sportswear and swimwear worldwide . its products were sold under several brand names including calvin klein speedo chaps warner s and olga . on 31 october 2012 the company announced that it would be acquired by pvh for 2.8 billion in cash and stock . 6 the deal that will give the pvh more control of the calvin klein clothing brand as it will unite calvin klein formal underwear jeans and sportswear lines . it was acquired by pvh in feb 2013 . 7 contents 1 history 1.1 dr. warner s health corsets 1.2 the warner brothers corset co. 1.3 depression era 1.4 abc and ipo 1.5 warnaco 1.6 the wachner years 1.7 a new beginning 2 controversies and criticisms 2.1 bridgeport strike of 1915 2.2 made in the u.s.a. 2.3 sec investigation 2.4 calvin klein et al. vs. the warnaco group et al. 2.5 red ink and golden parachute 3 current licenses 3.1 owned trademarks 3.2 trademarks licensed in perpetuity 3.3 trademarks licensed for a term 3.4 notes 4 see also 5 references 6 further reading 7 external links history edit lucien warner 1889 . dr. warner s coraline health corset dr. warner s health corsets edit in the late 19th century dr. lucien warner a prominent physician gave up his cortlandville ny practice to begin a new career on the medical lecturing circuit specializing in women s health issues . dr. warner lectured about the harmful effects of the rigid steel boned corsets of the time . after seeing how little influence his lectures had on women s attitudes towards fashion he returned to his new york home and began a more aggressive approach to fighting the ills caused by the corset . 8 in 1873 he designed a corset that provided both the shape desired by women and the flexibility required to allow some movement and reduce injuries caused by previous designs . the next year lucien warner and his brother dr. ira de ver warner gave up their medical practices and founded warner brothers corset manufacturers . 9 dr. warner s coraline health corsets as they were marketed 10 were made up of two pieces of cloth which were laced or clasped together . these revolutionary undergarments also featured shoulder straps and more flexible boning and lateral bust supports 11 made of coraline a product of the fibers of the mexican ixtle plant . 12 13 by 1876 the popularity of this new more flexible design had grown in popularity so much so that the company moved its manufacturing operations to bridgeport ct where approximately 1 200 people were employed to produce approximately 6 000 corsets daily . 14 in 1883 harper s bazaar advertised the four most popular corsets in america as dr. warner s models 15 the brothers claimed patents and trademarks on health corset and they had international manufacturing . 16 the success of the warners designs had made the brothers millionaires and in 1894 they retired and turned control of the company over to de ver s son d.h. and the warner brothers partnership was changed to a corporation . the warner brothers corset co. edit the turn of the century saw even greater success for the company in the hands of the founders sons . new products included the rust proof corset and combination corset and hose supporter . by 1913 sales reached 7 million and profits averaged 700 000 annually 17 two years later the warner brothers corset co. paid 1 500 for mary phelps jacob s patent for the brassiere a move which helped boost revenues to 12.6 million by 1920 . 17 the jazz age and flapper movement of the 1920s saw the desire for less restrictive fashions . women had a more care free attitude toward life and ditched the corset and pantaloons in favor of breast binding bandeaus and step in panties . 18 this was a difficult time for the company . sales through the decade declined and efforts made by the company to adapt to these changing times were met with little success . depression era edit the great depression of the 1930s was difficult on the clothing industry and warner was no exception to this financial suffering . even as the boyish figure of the previous decade s flappers fell out of style and curves made a return to fashion warner struggled . by 1932 the company had lost more than 1 million . 17 the company s troubles were only made worse by the personal deterioration of ceo d. h. warner who was known as a depraved womanizer . 17 after his wife died in 1931 d.h. continued to finance his debauchery with company profits and drink to excess before dying in 1934 at the age of 66 . control of the company was handed to his son in law john field . 17 with warner s abc alphabet bras you have the advantage of original skilled designing that insures the best of fit to every customer a b c or d. abc and ipo edit with the corset all but extinct by the mid 1930s the company s new leadership focused on developing new products . in 1937 the company that revolutionized corsetry revolutionized the brassiere by assigning letters to various cup sizes . 19 the abc alphabet bra set the standard for bra sizing that is still used today . by the early 1940s the company was profitable again bringing in 1 million by 1947 . 17 sales of bras girdles and the cross promotion of the merry widow line of corselets with the 1952 lana turner movie of the same name led to record profits . 17 a partnership between dupont and warners lead to the 1959 invention of lycra which allowed for new designs in shapewear and more snug fitting bras . 20 the late 1950s also saw warner brothers diversify its product lineup to include menswear and accessories as well as sportswear for both men and women . distribution was expanded by sales in large chain department stores such as jc penney and sears . the company also expanded production opening manufacturing facilities in south america and europe . in 1960 warner brothers company purchased major american shirt manufacturer c.f. hathaway strengthening the company s foothold in the sportswear market . warner brothers went public in 1961 and was soon generating revenues in excess of 100 million . 17 in 1966 it acquired another large clothing maker the white stag manufacturing company . 21 warnaco edit the warner brothers company changed its name to warnaco inc. in 1968 and continued to grow its business exponentially through various mergers and acquisitions throughout the 1970s . by the middle of the decade warnaco had become a multi national clothing conglomerate with almost 20 divisions . despite the company s diverse portfolio however warnaco was struggling to turn a profit . recognizing the potential failure field handed management of the company over to james walker and philip lamoureux . walker was named ceo in 1977 . 22 23 lamoureux and walker turned the company around quickly and in 1982 lamoureux left the company . a year later walker died unexpectedly . 17 that year brought in 28.3 million . 17 however some of the cost cutting measures implemented by lamoureux and walker including cutbacks in research and in advertising hurt the company more than helping it . in 1986 after being away from the company for nine years 24 former lingerie division president linda j. wachner engineered a 550 million hostile takeover 25 wachner had previously risen through the ranks at max factor making the declining cosmetics company profitable again within just two years . 24 she wasted no time at warnaco and right away went to work streamlining the company s fifteen divisions into just two categories menswear and underwear . the wachner years edit in 1990 wachner formed a new corporation authentic fitness corp. for the purpose of separating warnaco s activewear lines including speedo and white stag ski clothing . wachner s intention was to transform speedo from swimwear label to retail concept . 26 authentic fitness went public in june 1992 and opened its first speedo authentic retail store five months later 26 in 1993 authentic fitness had a licensing deal with oscar de la renta ltd. and had acquired swimwear labels cole catalina and anne cole each from bankruptcies . that same year wachner secured a sponsorship deal for the 1996 summer olympics in atlanta ga. 26 by 1991 warnaco s lingerie division had license agreements with valentino ungaro scaasi bob mackie victoria s secret and fruit of the loom . the menswear division produced shirts sweaters neckties and other accessories under names including christian dior hathaway chaps by ralph lauren and jack nicklaus . at the end of 1991 the company produced 195.4 million in gross profits and linda wachner was named business woman of the year by fortune magazine . 27 the remainder of the decade saw wachner take her company on a buying spree acquiring designer labels calvin klein underwear body slimmers purchased from nancy ganz wife of mitchell s. steir abs by allan schwartz as well as private label sleepwear manufacturers gjm group french lingerie company lejaby euralis . 28 warnaco also acquired the license for calvin klein jeans and calvin klein retail stores through its takeover of designer holdings inc. 29 the license for calvin klein children s clothing was purchased from commerce clothing 30 warnaco closed out the 1990s by selling off its underperforming hathaway label and reacquiring authentic fitness . the company s success peaked in 1998 with 1.95 billion in revenue . 17 soon after however sales dropped rapidly and saddled with debt from all the recent acquisitions and mergers in 2000 the company lost 200 million . 31 in 2001 warnaco filed for chapter 11 protection and wachner was fired . a new beginning edit on 4 february 2003 warnaco emerged from bankruptcy . as part of its restructuring the company sold its white stag trademark to wal mart and later decided to exit the designer swimwear market and focus on strengthening its speedo products . the company sold off ocean pacific to iconix brand group after just three years of ownership . 32 also sold were catalina anne cole and cole of california brands . this netted the company approximately 25 million . 33 in 2008 the company also ceased operations under the michael kors and nautica labels citing a collective 1.7 million in losses from the two brands . 33 in further efforts to boost its swimwear line speedo renewed its contract with 8 time olympic gold medalist michael phelps extending his endorsement through the next summer games . 34 warnaco provides