Randa Accessories

Randa Accessories

File:Randa Logo sm.jpg Logo of the company
Type	Private Company
Founded	1910
Products	belts, wallets, neckwear, neckties, luggage, casual bags, backpacks, briefcases, jewelry, slippers, hats, gloves, scarves
Number of employees	4,500+
Website	www.randa.net

Randa Accessories is a manufacturer, distributor and marketer of belts, wallets, neckwear, neckties, luggage, casual bags, backpacks, jewelry, briefcases, and other leather goods. The founder's family had been in the neckwear business since 1910 and the current company was incorporated in 1935, and now has a worldwide clientele.

Randa is a privately owned company. 2014 sales exceeded $625 million.

Randa global offices

The company employs over 4,700 people worldwide.

• Randa has 20 offices in 12 countries.
• Randa Accessories’ US Offices are located in New York City, NY; Chicago, IL; Bloomfield, NJ; New Orleans, LA; Taunton, MA; and Reno, NV. In January 2013 Randa Accessories consolidated its New York City offices into a new headquarters at 417 Fifth Avenue.
• Randa International offices are located in Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, the United Kingdom, Italy, South Africa, Australia and China.
• Randa Accessories has sourcing facilities located in Shanghai, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province and Como, Italy; Guatemala City, Guatemala
• North American distribution facilities are located in New Orleans, LA; Taunton, MA; Reno, NV and Mississauga, Ontario.

Licensed brands

Randa produces and distributes products under license from many brands including: Levi's, Dockers, Pacific Trail, Tommy Bahama, Hathaway, Pierre Balmain, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Jeff Banks, Cole Haan, Jones New York, Geoffrey Beene, Billy London, Pierre Cardin, Nautica, Ben Sherman, Chaps, Liz Claiborne, Jonathan Adler, Marc Ecko, Levis, Arrow, Columbia Sportswear Company, Dickies, Diane Von Furstenberg, Thomas Pink, Weatherproof, Timberland, Anne Klein, Guess!, Champion, Ryan Seacrest, and C9.

Proprietary brands

Primarily a licensed brand company, Randa also owns and markets several brands including Trafalgar Luxury Goods, Swank, Travel Gear, Countess Mara, and Wembley. Randa Accessories partnered with Ryan Seacrest to create the "Ryan Seacrest Distinction" brand for apparel and accessories Wall Street Journal, Feb 11, 2014, http://ryanseacrestdistinction.com/.

Randa Divisions

• Randa Accessories
• Randa Neckwear & Jewelry
• Randa Belts and Furnishings
• Randa Wallets and Seasonal Accessories (headwear, footwear, gifts)
• Randa Luggage & Travel
• Trafalgar Leather Company
• MCG: Market Connect Group
• Randa Logistics
• Ransal Australia
• Humphreys Accessories (now called Randa Leather Goods)
• Badanco Luggage (now called Randa Luggage)
• Wemco/Wembley Neckwear (now part of Randa Neckwear)
• Wembley Apparel (Randa South Africa)
• Randa International (Como, Italy)
• Countess Mara Neckwear (now part of Randa Neckwear)
• Woodstock Neckwear (now part of Randa UK, and Randa Scotland)
• Forsythe Neckwear (now part of Randa Canada)
• Swank, Inc.
• Accesorios Globales S.A. (dba Tata Leather Factory)- a Randa Affiliate
• Equator S.A. - a Randa Accessories Affiliate

History and timeline

Randa Accessories began as the Spiegel Neckwear company in 1910 and has experienced dramatic growth.

• 1910, Spiegel family enters the neckwear business from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, NY
• 1935, Randa Neckwear is founded by Rosenberg and Apakater
• 1965, Herbert Spiegel acquires Randa Neckwear
• 1985, Established Randa International, S.r.L., Design Center - Como, Italy
• 1993, Acquired Woodstock Neckwear Ltd. London, UK
• 1995, Acquired Randa Canada (formerly Forsythe Neckwear) Mississauga, Ontario
• 1997, Acquired WEMCO - New Orleans, LA
• 1998, Acquired Countess Mara - New York City, NY
• 1999, Established Randa Shanghai -Shanghai, China
• 2001, Acquired Humphreys Accessories- Chicago, IL
• 2002, Established Randa Shanghai - Shengzhou, China
• 2002, Established MCG: Market Connect Group - Chalfont, PA
• 2002, Established Ransal - Melbourne, Australia
• 2002, Established Randa UK, Ltd. -London, UK
• 2003, Acquired Trafalgar Company - Norwalk, CT
• 2005, Established Wembley (Pty) Ltd. - Johannesburg, South Africa
• 2006, Established Humphreys Far East- Xiamen, China
• 2007, Acquired Badanco Luggage - Totowa, NJ
• 2007, Partners in Progress Award April 2008 (Ontario, Canada)
• 2008, Established Randa Luggage, UK- London, UK
• 2008, Partner of the Year award August 2008 (New York, NY)
• 2009, Established Randa Logistics, Reno, Nevada.
• 2009, Named one of New Orleans "best places to work"
• 2010, Established Randa Luggage Headquarters in Bloomfield, New Jersey
• 2010, Randa Accessories celebrates its 100th anniversary
• 2010, Mayor Richard M. Daley and the City of Chicago issue a proclamation honoring Randa's 100th anniversary
• 2010, MCG Headquarters moved to new facilities in Bloomfield, NJ
• 2011, Randa Accessories opens new facility in Rosemont, IL
• 2012, Trafalgar Leather Goods 40th Anniversary New York City, NY
• 2012, Randa signs Jonathan Adler license for neckwear
• 2012, Randa to acquire Swank, Inc.
• 2012, Randa completes its acquisition of Swank on May 17, 2012
• 2012, Randa makes strategic and financial investment in Accesorios Globales S.A. (Tata)
• 2013, Randa Accessories consolidated its New York City offices into a new headquarters at 417 Fifth Avenue.
• 2013, Randa makes strategic and financial investment in Equator S.A. opening two additional offices in South Africa
• 2013, Randa announces $25 million investment in infrastructure
• 2014, Randa opens a new 530,000 sq. ft. logistics center in Reno, Nevada
• 2014, Randa partners with Ryan Seacrest to create the Ryan Seacrest Distinction brand for apparel & accessories.
• 2015, "Randa Logistics Center receives LEED Gold Certification at Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center." [1]
• 2015, Randa rebrands itself as "Randa: Leading With Accessories."
• 2015, Randa opens "Belt Lab" to grow worldwide market by 30%. http://randa-imagine.blogspot.com/2015/06/randa-to-stimulate-30-growth-in-belt.html

Design

Randa design centers are located in Como, Italy; New York City, USA;London, England; Chicago, USA; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Cape Town, South Africa and Shanghai, China. The company maintains extensive archives of patterns, materials, hardware, and finished products.

Marketing

Randa develops advertising, packaging, point of sale materials, e-commerce and web sites (12 sites as of December 2014), video production, public relations and other marketing materials in-house via a centralized marketing and creative services department. The marketing department also identifies new channels of distribution and consumer segments, and creates go-to-market strategies and tactics for new and existing brands via in-store and omni-channel best practices. Randa Marketing also identifies brand and channel opportunities via in-depth market analysis, develops or repositions brands - Ryan Seacrest Distinction, Wembley, Countess Mara - creates in-store architecture, fixtures, web sites, social media campaigns and other marketing materials.

Customers

Randa provides products to many department and specialty stores worldwide, including Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Macy's, JC Penney, Kohl's, Walmart, Myer, John Lewis, River Island, Harrods, Edgars, Myer, Next, The Bay, Liverpool, El Palacio de Hierro, Galeries Lafayette, and El Corte Inglés.

Randa also sells its products via direct to consumer channels including QVC, Amazon.com, JCP.com, Kohls.com, Macys.com, TrafalgarStore.com, Nordstrom.com, Zappos.com, eBags.com.

Distribution and logistics

Randa Accessories has over 1 million square feet of modern distribution space located near global transportation hubs; including New Orleans, New York City, Reno, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Johannesburg, and Toronto. Together these facilities have capacity to ship more than 75 million units and 1 million consumer direct shipments, annually. In 2013 and 2014 the company announced investments of $25 million in its logistic's infrastructure.WWD

Manufacturing

Randa Accessories' partner Accesorios Globales S.A. (dba: TATA) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of men's leather belts. Tata was founded in 1985 to export Guatemalan leather goods and has evolved into a major manufacturer of dress and casual belts. In 2012, Randa Accessories increased its equity position in Equator, SA; including investment in a Durban, South Africa belt factory.

Swank, Inc.

Swank was founded in 1897 and is engaged in the importation, sale and distribution of men's and women's belts and men's leather accessories, suspenders, and jewelry. Swank distributes its products to retail outlets throughout the United States and in numerous foreign countries. These products are distributed under the names "Kenneth Cole", "Tommy Hilfiger", "Nautica", "Geoffrey Beene", "Guess?", "Tumi", "Buffalo David Bitton", "Chaps", "Pierre Cardin", "US Polo Association", and "Swank". Swank also distributes men's jewelry and leather items to retailers under private labels.

Swank, Inc. (formerly publicly traded as "SNKI") was acquired by Randa Accessories on May 17, 2012 and taken private.

In-store merchandising - MCG: Market Connect Group

Originally servicing Randa's internal requirements for in-store merchandising, Randa purchased MCG in 2002. Today MCG: Market Connect Group MCGConnect.com, is America's largest merchandise services company servicing department stores, mid-tier stores and home stores. MCG provides in-store demonstrations, replenishment, training, brand ambassadors, market intelligence, and other essential in-store merchandising services.

MCG has spent greater than 3 million hours of in-store service with America's leading retailers - over 1 million hours at Macy's, JC Penney and Kohl's alone. MCG has a nationwide network of 4,000 in-store merchandising workers and uses the latest technology to deliver 24/7 scheduling and reporting.

HFN, the journal of the housewares industry, reported that MCG conducted over 20,000 in-store demonstrations in 2013; helping Keurig sell America's #1 single serve coffee maker.

Trafalgar Men's Accessories

Trafalgar was founded in 1972 in Norwalk, Connecticut as a luxury manufacturer of men's belts and suspenders. Randa acquired Trafalgar in 2003.

Trafalgar is the largest producer of silk braces and suspenders, with over 100 unique patterns sold through more than 1,000 points of sale. Trafalgar Limited Edition Braces are woven by third generation weavers in France on manually operated looms to create patterns that are too complicated and delicate for machine production.

Many original patterns were designed by Albert Thurston. In 1820, five years before Nelson's Column was built (to celebrate his life and death on 21 October 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar) braces and suspenders were first made and sold by Albert Thurston from his emporium at 27 Panton Street, Haymarket, London.

Trafalgar is also a leading producer of exotic leather products.

External links

• Randa.net