Chanel

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  Known for classic coutures like "the little black dress" and famed fragrance Chanel No. 5, Chanel has been a haute name in fashion and cosmetics for decades. It also creates watches and jewelry and has a single license -- for eyewear with Luxottica. Founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel opened her first boutique in 1913, touting designs known for simplicity. Coco died in 1971, and Chanel's style stagnated for years until Karl Lagerfeld took over the designs and revived the label by tapping a younger market. It has about 100 boutiques worldwide. Controlled by chairman Alain Wertheimer's family, Chanel also owns Eres and Paraffection, which bought iconic Robert Goossens in 2005.
  
  Paris-based Robert Goossens (now run by his son Patrick) created Coco Chanel's popular Byzantine-style crosses. Paraffection also owns A. Michel (hats), Desrues (buttons), Lemarie (feathers and flowers), Lesage (embroidery), and Massaro (shoes).
  
  In recent years Chanel chief Maureen Chiquet has been reassembling top management at the company. Longtime sales and marketing executives Bob Taylor (with 12 years) and Jean Hoehn Zimmerman (with a 27-year career) were purged as part of the firm's streamlining effort. In late 2006 Chiquet was appointed as Chanel's global CEO, reporting directly to Wertheimer in New York. Succeeding her as president and COO of Chanel, Inc., was John Galantic, who joined the fashion house from Coty where he was president of Coty Beauty U.S., the firm's mass market arm.

Coach

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Madonna and J-Lo have a Juicy secret. Both are known to wear the ubiquitous Juicy Couture track suit. The Juicy Couture company, formed by two So-Cal scenesters and formerly known as Travis Jeans, makes women's T-shirts and other casual attire with a glamorous flair -- claiming that women want to be comfortable and feel gorgeous. Since its formation, the apparel firm has expanded into swimwear, beachwear, watches, children's and infants' wear, fragrances, and footwear. Juicy Couture brand clothes are distributed through its own stores, as well as through specialty and high-end department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman. The firm was acquired by Liz Claiborne in early 2003.

Through licensing agreements Juicy has squeezed new items into its product lineup. In 2004 the firm signed a licensing deal for swimwear and beachwear lines. In 2005 it expanded its lines to include woven and wool items and fur-accented outerwear. The fall collection ranged wildly between $18 and $585 for wholesale prices. High-end accessories, such as exotic bags using Louisiana alligator, are also part of the firm's product launch. Also that year Juicy inked a deal with high-end watchmaker Movado to make and market a collection of Juicy Couture- and Couture Couture-branded watches.

It also added footwear to the Juicy lineup in 2006 with 70 styles, from ballet flats to cowboy boots, through a licensing deal with Schwartz & Benjamin, a New York shoe distributor. Through a manufacturing, marketing, and distribution deal inked with Tawil Associates in mid-2006 Juicy Couture offers children's apparel for newborns, infants, and 0-24 months. The collection, named Juicy Couture Baby, debuted in October. In August Juicy launched its first fragrance, which it expects to ring up as much as $75 million at retail its first year globally.

The company is headed to China through an agreement with Lane Crawford Joyce Group for exclusive distribution rights there and in other Asian markets. The deal calls for the opening of 36 Juicy Couture stores in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Overall the company has plans to open some 20 stores worldwide each year going forward.

Juicy Couture has been busy on the retail front. It bowed an uptown location on Manhattan's Upper East Side in October 2006 and will use that site as its design concept for future openings.

Co-founder Gela Nash-Taylor is married to Duran Duran bassist John Taylor.