Mac & Jac, a fashion-forward brand toward men and women, is mainly found in department stores like Dillard's, Macy's and Marshall Field's. The company does have two US stores, in Bellevue (WA) Square near Seattle, and Third Street Promenade, in Santa Monica, CA, as well as about 40 units under a joint-venture agreement in China.

"Mac & Jac is well-positioned for significant organic growth through the opportunity for expanded distribution in the US department store and specialty store channels in addition to further penetration within its existing account base," said Paul Charron, Liz Claiborne's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. "We also are encouraged by the opportunity to expand specialty retail, which is in the early stages of development, as well as international opportunities through additional distribution and further growth in their Asian joint venture."

Mac & Jac's sales last year were about $40 million. The company was founded in 1985 by Eric and Lani Karls, who will continue to lead the company.

Liz Claiborne has steadily grown its specialty-retail division throughout the last few years, which includes such names as Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand Jeans and Sigrid Olsen. The company's specialty-store division operates about 700 units, and executives plan to open 125 to 135 more every year for the next four years. Liz Claiborne is also in a $366-million bid to acquire the $170-store chain J. Jill.