China is the second latest economy in the world, every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse!); but who's got the time?!  A weekly potpourri of ten reads that will make you look like a keen China observer during any conversation about China. This week: 3M, booze trademark wars, Lee's dark side, Oreo pandas, eBay returns, fashion week, iPhone hookers and more… Continue reading...

It's mid-price jeans that may be on the cutting edge of an economic recovery that, at the moment, is meager at best. On Monday, an ad campaign (take a peek above) will break for Lee Premium Select, a line of men's jeans that will sell for around $42 a pair. That price point is between basic jeans and designer jeans.

The time seems to be right for mid-price jeans, as shoppers search for quality products that represent value. Lee Premium Select joins other mid-price jeans in the category, including Dickies, 1969 (sold by Gap), and Levi's.

The celeb endorsing the new Lee Premium Select line is Mike Rowe, who has been a veritable commercial powerhouse lately. Rowe, star of the Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs television show, is the spokesperson in a series of ads for Ford. He also pitches Caterpillar, W. W. Grainger, and Motorola.Continue reading...

The sale of Tommy Hilfiger, a leading premium fashion brand, may occur within weeks, reports the New York Post. The likely buyer? None other than Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), which already owns an impressive stable of fashion brands, including Arrow, Bass, Calvin Klein, Izod, and Van Heusen.

Tommy Hilfiger went from a public to a private company in 2006 when it was purchased by equity firm Apax Partners. Of course, that was before the global economic meltdown pummeled retail brands.Continue reading...

French fashion designer Christian Audigier has designed for a wide range of brands, including Lee, Naf Naf, Liberto, and Kookai. He is famously the creative force behind love them/hate them brand juggernauts Von Dutch and Ed Hardy.

Audigier has also collaborated on a brand of wine and champagne and a nightclub in a Las Vegas Casino. He understands the power of branding probably as well as any designer or marketer. That is why his latest move is so entertaining.

In the Las Vegas Sun, Robin Leach (Yes, that Robin Leach!) writes that Christian Audigier is "going to make the ultimate fashion statement here this week with the revelation that he’s here to launch a no name, no logo and no brand line. One of the flashiest men on the planet is going flash free!"Continue reading...