WHAT VINTAGE ARE YOU?™
The Heart And Soul of Fossil
The heart and soul of the FOSSIL brand – its people,
products and culture – is about a unique kind of
inspired creativity. Representing the concept of
accessible cool, Fossil’s identity is anchored in
vintage authentic style mixed with a creative spirit
and a sense of humor that extends into all its
product offerings, graphics and one-of-a-kind,
trademark collectible tins. Fossil creates modern
yet vintage products for everyone, a simple yet
compelling idea reflected in the Company's tagline,
What Vintage Are You?™
Founded in 1984, Fossil was the first American brand
to bring value and style to the watch category
transforming the concept of timekeeping from the
merely functional to chic and stylish must-haves for
the wrist. Since then, Fossil has always been in the
avant-garde, whether in terms of technology, the
choice of materials or design. Fossil offers an
extensive line of watches under its proprietary
FOSSIL®, RELIC®, MW®, MW MICHELE®, MOBILEWEAR™ and
ZODIAC® brands and, pursuant to license agreements,
under some of the most prestigious brands in the
world, including ADIDAS®, BURBERRY®, CALLAWAY GOLF®,
COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR®, DIESEL®, DKNY®, EMPORIO
ARMANI®, MICHAEL MICHAEL KORS® and MARC® by MARC
JACOBS. In the early 1990's, Fossil expanded its
core business, launching a line of accessory
products including handbags, belts, small leather
goods and sunglasses under the FOSSIL and RELIC
brands. The Company also owns or licenses
proprietary technology for certain of its watch
products, including its BIG TIC® technology
developed in 1998 and the patent-pending combination
automatic/quartz movement called TWIST. Fossil also
offers jewelry under the FOSSIL, DIESEL and EMPORIO
ARMANI brands and in 2000 introduced FOSSIL Jeans
wear targeted towards youthful consumers. In 2002
Fossil created a proprietary technology brand
ABACUS®, targeted for distribution in the
electronics channel.
Design
Fossil's in-house team of renowned designers
constantly study and draw inspiration from emerging
lifestyle and fashion trends to bring customers the
most innovative and unique products worldwide while
ensuring consistency with the Company's existing
product offerings and the themes and images that it
associates with its products. For its licensed
brands, Fossil works with the respective licensor's
design team. In certain instances, Fossil believes
that innovations in design details for the Company's
watches and details and treatments in its other
accessories have allowed it to achieve significant
improvements in consumer acceptance of its products
with only minor increases in manufacturing costs.
Fossil believes that the substantial experience of
its design staff will assist in maintaining its
current leadership position in watch design and in
expanding the scope of its product offerings.
In 2006, Fossil accomplished two firsts. After more
than seventeen years of transforming the very
concept of packaging with its signature watch tins,
Fossil announced in June, Tinspiration, the Fossil
design contest, inviting designers from around the
United States to develop artwork for the brand's
famous watch tin packaging. Over 250 submissions
were posted to the fossil.com website and after the
final voting was tallied, a winner was announced in
November. The main prize was the winner's and the
second, third and fourth place finishers designs to
be produced on a limited edition run of Fossil watch
tins summer of 2007. Additional prizes were also
given. The contest was wonderfully successful that
Fossil will announce another design contest later
this year.
Also, as part of its celebration of their unique tin
history, Fossil published a coffee-table book
anthology showcasing hundreds of its most creative
and unique tin designs from the past 17 years. The
Fossil tin has delivered a fun, irreverent and
vintage brand message to millions of consumers
worldwide for over 17 years.
These iconic boxes are nearly as popular as the
watches they hold and are regularly collected and
traded throughout the world at flea markets, antique
shops, and on eBay. With one of the most celebrated
graphic design teams in the world and hundreds of
awards to their credit, Fossil continues to set the
highest standard for creative excellence.
Domestic Business
Domestically, the Company sells its products in
retail locations in the United States through a
diversified distribution network that includes
department store doors and specialty retail
locations. Department store doors include stores
such as Nieman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom,
Federated Department Stores and Dillard's,
as-well-as stores such as JCPenney, Kohl's and
Sears. In addition, Fossil sells certain private
label products through mass-market stores such as
Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart. The specialty retail
locations sell a mix of Fossil's proprietary and
licensed brands. Fossil also sells its products in
the United Stated through a network of 113
Company-owned stores, with 53 retail stores located
in premier retail sites and 60 outlet stores located
in major outlet malls. The Company also offers
selected FOSSIL and licensed brand products at its
website, www.fossil.com and ABACUS brand products at
its website www.abacuswatches.com.
International Business
Internationally, Fossil's products are sold to
department stores and specialty retail stores in
over 90 countries worldwide through Company-owned
foreign sales subsidiaries and through a network of
approximately 60 independent distributors. The
Company's products can be found in the Asia Pacific
region, Europe, South and Central America, the
Caribbean, Canada, Mexico and the Middle East.
Fossil's products are offered on cruise ships and in
23 international Company-owned FOSSIL retail stores.
Additionally, the Company's products are sold
through independently owned FOSSIL retail stores and
kiosks in certain international markets.
Swiss Business
In 2001, Fossil completed the acquisition of three
separate companies located in Bienne, Switzerland.
Through this acquisition, the Company obtained the
design, sourcing and production capabilities
necessary to manufacture Fossil's entrée into the
Swiss business, allowing it to market to an
important consumer segment with unique tastes for
Swiss made designs. Another important facet of this
business is Fossil's ability to leverage the Swiss
infrastructure with key licensing relationships
including the Burberry license. The Swiss Division,
Montres Antima SA, handles the design,
manufacturing, distribution, and merchandising of
Burberry timepieces.
Fossil has become one of the most innovative
companies in the world market and continues to
reinforce its initial philosophy of constantly
pushing the boundaries of design, innovation and
technology all symbolized by its products and its
people. WHAT VINTAGE ARE YOU?™, that is the heart
and soul of Fossil.
About Fossil
Fossil is a design, development, marketing and
distribution company that specializes in consumer
products predicated on fashion and value. The
company's principal offerings include an extensive
line of fashion watches sold under the company's
proprietary and licensed brands. The company also
offers complementary lines of small leather goods,
belts, handbags, sunglasses, jewelry and apparel.
The company's products are sold in department stores
and specialty retail stores in over 90 countries
around the world, in addition to the company's
e-commerce website. Certain product, press release
and SEC filing information concerning the Company is
available at the website. |