netrashetty
Netra Shetty
Liz Claiborne, Inc. (NYSE: LIZ)is a fashion company founded in 1976 in New York City that designs and markets a wide range of women's and men's apparel, accessories and fragrance products. In 2006, the company generated sales of nearly $5 billion.[2] The company sells directly to customers throughout the world through 399 specialty retail formats, 625 concessions, 336 outlet and 13 e-commerce sites. Products marketed to men are labeled without the founder's first name, leaving the gender-neutral "Claiborne." The company's brands are available at more than 30,000 different retail locations throughout the world. As of 2006, Liz Claiborne employed more than 17,000 people worldwide and was ranked 440 in the Fortune 500 list.[3] In the film The Corporation a $178 Liz Claiborne jacket, made in El Salvador, was said to realise 74 cents to the worker for every jacket made.
In 2007, Isaac Mizrahi ended a lucrative, years-long deal with Target to become the designer of Liz Claiborne New York, the revamped women's Liz Claiborne line, which was released in Spring 2009. Mizrahi had designed hundreds of successful shoes, women's clothes and bridal wear, and household items for Target.
Recent Events, Trends, and Issues
The Defense Logistics Agency completed the sale of aluminum metal from the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) in 1998. On April 24, the sale of 323 metric tons exhausted the inventory of aluminum metal held by the NDS and completed the 2-year sales program of 57,000 tons of aluminum metal.
Domestic primary aluminum production increased 3 percent in 1998 compared with 1997. Domestic smelters continued to operate at about 88 percent of engineered or rated capacity. Although there were significant changes in the ownership or operating status of several domestic smelters, overall domestic production capacity remained essentially unchanged. World production also increased 3 percent in 1998. Aluminum demand continued to be strong in the United States, and demand in Europe, although tempered by the Asian economic crisis, remained relatively strong. The Asian aluminum markets, however, reflected the economic and financial crises in that area. Indications that the economic crisis in Asia may be easing a bit suggest that world aluminum demand will improve. Aluminum demand in the United States is expected to remain relatively strong, and demand in western Europe, though weaker, is expected to continue to be positive. World production is expected to continue to increase as smelter capacities increase. The two greenfield smelter projects under construction in Canada and Mozambique should come on-stream in the next couple of years. Additional projects are being considered, and so in the near term, metal supply should be sufficient to meet overall world demand. Demand is expected to continue to grow, with the major growth area continuing to be the domestic and foreign transportation industries.
Aluminum Usage Categories
The aluminum mining industry has seen strong growth. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that the number of firms in aluminum production in the U.S. doubled in the five year period from 1997 through 2002, although it raised productivity at the same time by decreasing workers employed by almost 17% (see chart below).
At the same time, the value of aluminum industry shipments had slipped in the five year period, to slightly less than US $5.5 billion annually (see chart below). That number has increased significantly since that time.
The growth in aluminum production has been especially high in the past 10 years. It is estimated that production of aluminum exceeded 32 million tons in 2006.
Estimated world production since World War II
Year Estimated Aluminum production
(in million tons annually)
1950 1.5
1960 4.9
1970 10.1
1980 15.0
1990 19.5
2000 25.0
2007 32.0
Aluminum demand is expected to rise approximately 3 to 4% annually. The core growth in production is expected to be in countries with less expensive access to power. Despite the enormous growth in Chinese demand for aluminum, it is not expected that the country will increase production radically as the cost of energy within their country is seen as too high. China, however, was the largest producer of aluminum in 2005, with an almost 20% market share.
Recent aluminum production estimates for key geographies
Geography Production (12 month moving average)
(in thousand metric tons)
1996 2000 2004 2007
North America 460 510 465 450
Europe 490 610 685 700
All other regions 520 605 755 850
Twenty years ago, American, Canadian and European firms dominated most of the aluminum market. In fact, they likely accounted for more than 50% of production at the time. Currently, these producers account for less than 25% of the total as production has shifted more towards emerging markets countries with access to cheaper power sources. Some major firms expect the demand for aluminum to remain high and are planning major expansion. Rusal for example, continues to buy up local power companies and plans to increase capacity by 60% in the next 5 to 8 years.
Industry Definitions
Alloy - homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties.
Corrosion - deterioration of essential properties in a material due to reactions with its surroundings.
Ductility - the mechanical property of being capable of sustaining large plastic deformations due to tensile stress without fracture (in metals, such as being drawn into a wire).
Non-magnetic – not attracted to magnetic fields.
Industry Players
Rusal
Headquartered in Russia
Merger of Sual Group, OAO Rusal and assets of Glencore AG
Revenues of US $8.6 billion in 2006
Alcoa
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Revenues of $31.5 billion in 2006
Net Income of $2.2 billion in 2006
Norsk Hydro
4th largest aluminum producer worldwide
Major producer of oil and gas in Norway
43% owned by the Norwegian government
Produces over 1.6 million tons of aluminum annually
Rio Tinto
Headquartered in the UK
Revenues of US $22 billion in 2006
Market capitalization of US $97 billion
33% profit margin
Bought, for $38 billion rival, Alcan
Alcan
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada
Revenues of US $25 billion in 2006
Purchased by Rio Tinto for US $38 billion in late 2007
In 2007, Isaac Mizrahi ended a lucrative, years-long deal with Target to become the designer of Liz Claiborne New York, the revamped women's Liz Claiborne line, which was released in Spring 2009. Mizrahi had designed hundreds of successful shoes, women's clothes and bridal wear, and household items for Target.
Recent Events, Trends, and Issues
The Defense Logistics Agency completed the sale of aluminum metal from the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) in 1998. On April 24, the sale of 323 metric tons exhausted the inventory of aluminum metal held by the NDS and completed the 2-year sales program of 57,000 tons of aluminum metal.
Domestic primary aluminum production increased 3 percent in 1998 compared with 1997. Domestic smelters continued to operate at about 88 percent of engineered or rated capacity. Although there were significant changes in the ownership or operating status of several domestic smelters, overall domestic production capacity remained essentially unchanged. World production also increased 3 percent in 1998. Aluminum demand continued to be strong in the United States, and demand in Europe, although tempered by the Asian economic crisis, remained relatively strong. The Asian aluminum markets, however, reflected the economic and financial crises in that area. Indications that the economic crisis in Asia may be easing a bit suggest that world aluminum demand will improve. Aluminum demand in the United States is expected to remain relatively strong, and demand in western Europe, though weaker, is expected to continue to be positive. World production is expected to continue to increase as smelter capacities increase. The two greenfield smelter projects under construction in Canada and Mozambique should come on-stream in the next couple of years. Additional projects are being considered, and so in the near term, metal supply should be sufficient to meet overall world demand. Demand is expected to continue to grow, with the major growth area continuing to be the domestic and foreign transportation industries.
Aluminum Usage Categories
The aluminum mining industry has seen strong growth. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that the number of firms in aluminum production in the U.S. doubled in the five year period from 1997 through 2002, although it raised productivity at the same time by decreasing workers employed by almost 17% (see chart below).
At the same time, the value of aluminum industry shipments had slipped in the five year period, to slightly less than US $5.5 billion annually (see chart below). That number has increased significantly since that time.
The growth in aluminum production has been especially high in the past 10 years. It is estimated that production of aluminum exceeded 32 million tons in 2006.
Estimated world production since World War II
Year Estimated Aluminum production
(in million tons annually)
1950 1.5
1960 4.9
1970 10.1
1980 15.0
1990 19.5
2000 25.0
2007 32.0
Aluminum demand is expected to rise approximately 3 to 4% annually. The core growth in production is expected to be in countries with less expensive access to power. Despite the enormous growth in Chinese demand for aluminum, it is not expected that the country will increase production radically as the cost of energy within their country is seen as too high. China, however, was the largest producer of aluminum in 2005, with an almost 20% market share.
Recent aluminum production estimates for key geographies
Geography Production (12 month moving average)
(in thousand metric tons)
1996 2000 2004 2007
North America 460 510 465 450
Europe 490 610 685 700
All other regions 520 605 755 850
Twenty years ago, American, Canadian and European firms dominated most of the aluminum market. In fact, they likely accounted for more than 50% of production at the time. Currently, these producers account for less than 25% of the total as production has shifted more towards emerging markets countries with access to cheaper power sources. Some major firms expect the demand for aluminum to remain high and are planning major expansion. Rusal for example, continues to buy up local power companies and plans to increase capacity by 60% in the next 5 to 8 years.
Industry Definitions
Alloy - homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties.
Corrosion - deterioration of essential properties in a material due to reactions with its surroundings.
Ductility - the mechanical property of being capable of sustaining large plastic deformations due to tensile stress without fracture (in metals, such as being drawn into a wire).
Non-magnetic – not attracted to magnetic fields.
Industry Players
Rusal
Headquartered in Russia
Merger of Sual Group, OAO Rusal and assets of Glencore AG
Revenues of US $8.6 billion in 2006
Alcoa
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Revenues of $31.5 billion in 2006
Net Income of $2.2 billion in 2006
Norsk Hydro
4th largest aluminum producer worldwide
Major producer of oil and gas in Norway
43% owned by the Norwegian government
Produces over 1.6 million tons of aluminum annually
Rio Tinto
Headquartered in the UK
Revenues of US $22 billion in 2006
Market capitalization of US $97 billion
33% profit margin
Bought, for $38 billion rival, Alcan
Alcan
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada
Revenues of US $25 billion in 2006
Purchased by Rio Tinto for US $38 billion in late 2007
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