On November 15, 2018, it was reported, blue jean giant Levi Strauss & Co is planning an extra-large public offering that would value the company at $5 billion, sources told CNBC. Levi's announced its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth for Q3 last month, and CNBC reports that the denim maker is hoping to raise between $500 and $800 million in the intervening months before a projected Q1 2019 IPO led by Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan .
On November 15, 2018, it was reported, after little more than two years in the job, Victoria's Secret CEO Jan Singer is set to depart, according to several news reports. Neither Victoria's Secret nor L Brands has responded to Retail Dive's requests for comment. Singer had previously been CEO of Spanx and a Nike executive. She took over at Victoria's Secret in September 2016 after the abrupt departure of longtime brand chief Sharen Turney. Her appointment had been announced a few months before amid a set of other drastic changes like dropping swimwear sales and the brand's print catalog, as well as a broad organizational restructuring. In August, Victoria's Secret owner L Brands said that Denise Landman, CEO of Victoria's Secret's PINK brand, is retiring at the end of the year after nearly 20 years at L Brands.
On November 14, 2018, it was reported, after more than 30 years with the company, Zev Fredman has been named president, Glideaway Bed Carriage Mfg. Co., a producer of a wide range of sleep products. Fredman's appointment leads a number of key organizational changes the veteran sleep products manufacturer has recently made, as it looks ahead to future growth. Having served as president for the past 15 years, Carmi Fredman will transition to the role of vice president, and his primary focus will be on sales strategy. Elan Fredman, controller for the past two years, will assume the role of chief financial officer.
On November 14, 2018, it was reported, Upholstery manufacturer Washington Furniture resumed production Oct. 23, less than a month after a September fire that consumed a warehouse and damaged production lines. Lyle Harris, CEO of Washington Furniture parent company Behold Home, told Furniture Today that production has reached pre-fire levels. In addition to seven lines currently running in a 225,000-square-foot onsite facility that had been used for warehousing, the Behold Home factory in Smithville, Miss., also has added a line to support Washington Furniture production. Plans call to expand the Smithville plant to accommodate production growth for both Behold Home and Washington Furniture. For warehousing, Washington Furniture right now is leasing a 125,000-square-foot facility owned by Washington Furniture founder Gerald Washington and an additional 75,000 square feet of warehouse space in Tupelo, with an option for more space as needed. In addition to new corporate offices, Washington soon will begin construction of a 400,000-square-foot warehouse on the footprint of the building that was destroyed in the original fire. In addition to new production and warehouse facilities, Washington is upgrading its fire prevention and security systems to provide round-the-clock protection. Harris said Washington had been on a strong growth track before the fire, but that customers and employees had shown excellent support. "We're back equal to pre-fire capacity, but since we lost our finished product inventory, we've been working overtime and Saturdays," he added. The fire on Sept. 26 destroyed a finished goods warehouse, and a re-ignition the following day damaged 350,000 square feet of production space. The fire, which investigators determined was
