United States: Quaker Fabric Reports alteration to its five year, senior secured credit facility

QUAKER FABRIC CORPORATION announced an amendment to its five year, senior secured credit facility.

"We have reached agreement with our lenders on certain changes to our loan documents. These changes, including certain changes in the financial covenants in the documents, are intended to continue to provide the company with access to the capital resources needed to support its business operations and ongoing restructuring and repositioning initiatives," commented Larry A. Liebenow, Quaker's President and CEO.

Quaker also announced the retention of Alvarez & Marsal Securities, LLC (A&M), a part of Alvarez & Marsal, LLC, a New York-based global professional services firm, to advise the company in connection with a proposed refinancing, the proceeds of which would be used to provide the company with additional working capital and to repay all or a portion of the company's existing indebtedness under its senior secured credit facility.

"We remain grateful for the ongoing support of our workforce, our suppliers and our customers, as we continue to pursue our business development objectives," Mr. Liebenow added.

Quaker officials noted that the company would be making a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later this week with respect to this most recent amendment to its loan documents and its retention of A&M.

Quaker Fabric Corporation is a leading manufacturer of woven upholstery fabrics for furniture markets in the United States and abroad, and the largest producer of Jacquard upholstery fabric in the world.

SOURCE: QUAKER FABRIC CORPORATION

United States : Zumiez Inc comparable store sales progress 18.2% for four-week period

Zumiez Inc a leading specialty retailer of action sports related apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories, announced that total net sales for the four-week period ended May 27, 2006 increased 39.5 percent to $15.0 million, compared to $10.7 million for the four-week period ended May 28, 2005.

The company's comparable store sales increased 18.2 percent for the four-week period, versus a comparable store sales increase of 10.2 percent in the year ago period.

To hear the Zumiez prerecorded May sales message, please dial (877) 519-4471 or (973) 341-3080, followed by the conference identification number #6130350.

Zumiez is a leading specialty retailer of action sports related apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories. Our stores cater to young men and women between ages 12-24, focusing on skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, motocross and BMX. We currently operate 182 stores, which are primarily located in shopping malls and our web site address is www.zumiez.com.

Courtesy : Zumiez Inc

Pratt Fashion Show a preview of industry’s creative designers

Pratt Institute will introduce a year’s worth of creative work by the talented students in Pratt’s Fashion Design Department at the annual Pratt Fashion Show on Wednesday, May 10.
Pratt honored designer Diane von Furstenberg at this year’s show at The Manhattan Center, located at 311 West 34th Street. The event was free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Doors opened at 4:30 p.m.

Pratt hosted a private party in honor of von Furstenberg immediately following the show from 7-9 p.m. at the Hudson Hotel, located at 356 West 58th Street in Manhattan. Attendance at the after party was limited to fashion industry professionals, special guests, and press.

The Pratt Fashion Show featured the students’ best designs, pre-selected by a panel of fashion industry critics, across several categories of apparel including women’s, men’s, children’s, evening, bridal, sportswear, lingerie, lounge, resort, and costume design.

“The Pratt Fashion Show promises to showcase designs that define the direction of the fashion industry’s future,” says Rosie DePasquale, chair of the Pratt Fashion Design Department.
“The students have been working relentlessly to ensure that the work on stage illustrates the talent and drive they embrace as young, fresh designers. The support of an icon such as Diane von Furstenberg provides a tremendous amount of inspiration to the students and reminds them of what can be achieved with dedication to the art of fashion design.”

Von Furstenberg received the first Pratt Institute Fashion Icon Award during the show in recognition of her status as one of the most influential designers in the world. Her collections are sold in the most exclusive retail stores in more than 50 countries, and her designs are sought and worn by style makers, celebrities, and chic women worldwide.

In 2005, von Furstenberg received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley will present the Pratt Institute Fashion Icon Award to von Furstenberg and will introduce a short video featuring the highlights of her remarkable career.

Talley initially joined Vogue in 1983 as fashion news director and also served as creative director. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his weekly segment called “Vogue’s Talley” on Metro TV’s “Full Frontal Fashion.”

The Pratt Fashion Design Department is part of the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute and is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the country. Applications have increased nearly 50 percent over the last five years making the program the most popular among undergraduate applicants to Pratt Institute.

Art and Design College ‘Pratt’ offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the schools of architecture, art and design, information and library science, and liberal arts and sciences. Pratt is located on 25 landscaped acres in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn and has a Manhattan campus in a large, newly renovated building on West 14th Street.

Courtesy : Pratt institute

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