"We plan to roll out in excess of 100 new specialty retailstores in 2006, and we expect this pace of store openings tocontinue," Karen Murray, a Liz Claiborne group president, toldthose attending the Credit Suisse Consumer & Retail Conference."We are aiming to own and operate up to 1,400 specialty retailstores over time."

Michael Scarpa, SVP and CFO of the company, noted that LizClaiborne has grown significantly through 12 acquisitions over thepast seven years and will continue to look for additionalacquisitions as a venue for expansion. "Growth through smartacquisitions remains an important part of our our strategy," Scarpacommented. He said a key to the strategy has been integrating thebrands into the Liz Claiborne portfolio "without losing theircharacter" so that each brand remains unique.

As Murray pointed out, the growth has led to increasing sales,such as the 5%-increase in 2005 to $4.85 billion. About 61% of thatcomes from wholesale apparel, but retail sales were up in 2005 andnow represent 25% of total revenue. "We are working to drive thatrevenue higher," Murray told the crowd.