This article is from page 63 of the 2008-08-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 63 JPG
THE latest financial results from a Shannon company show that even the sales of women’s lingerie is not immune from the economic down- neheee
US-owned multi-national, Maiden- form describes itself as a producer of women’s ‘intimate apparel’ and re- sults for its Shannon operation show that profits have dropped by over €350,000 in 2007.
Maidenform International Ltd re- corded profits of €2,989,000 last year – down by €352,000 on the €3,341,000 recorded in 2000.
Profits were also hit by the weak- ness of the US dollar with foreign exchange losses increasing from €33,000 in 2006 to €246,000 last year.
Turnover rose from €11.9 million to €12.8 million in 2007 while cost of sales increased from €5.8 million to €6.6 million.
Accumulated profits of €5.4 mil- lion were recorded.
Staff costs of €1.2 million were re- corded for the 33 people employed at the firm’s base on the Shannon Free Zone.
A statement accompanying the ac- counts, states that “both the level of business and year end financial posi- tion were considered satisfactory.
The risk to future business are those inherent to a global intimate apparel company and including cur- rency fluctuations, market volatility and the reliability of product deliv- Clu Loe
“The company is primarily en- gaged in the distribution of intimate
apparel throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
“The directors expect that the present level of business will be sustained for the foreseeable future and it is their intention to continue to develop the current activities of the oe) anh ey: beh ae
The history of Maidenform began at Enid Frocks, a small dress shop in New York City owned and operated by Enid Bissett.
A Russian seamstress at Enid’s shop, Ida Rosenthal decided with Enid that the fit and appearance of their custom-made dresses would be enhanced if improvements were made to the style bras then in vogue. They called their bras “Maidenform”, in contrast to the “Boyish Form” brand then in vogue.