Hebrew daily “Yediot Ahronot” reports that Gottex Models Ltd. founder Lea Gottlieb, 85, is making a comeback. Eight years after selling Gottex to Africa-Israel Investments (TASE: AFIL), Gottlieb is founding a new company to compete against Gottex, with the end of the cooling-off period stipulated in the contract. The brand name for the new company will be "Lea Gottlieb".
The new company will be a joint venture with Macro Clothing, a subsidiary of Tefron (NYSE: TFR). Tefron will be responsible for the marketing. New Hamashbir Lazarchan will have exclusive rights to the models in Israel. The new venture is expected to have $3 million in sales in its first year, mostly in Spain and the US.
The sale of Gottex to Africa-Israel, controlled by chairman Lev Leviev, created an impression of an idyllic relationship between Leviev and Gottlieb, who continued to own 20% of Gottex. The relationship rapidly deteriorated into bitter strife that ended when Gottlieb sold her Gottex shares. When her daughter, Judith Gottlieb died two years ago, she asked her mother to continue to make new clothes, develop and renew.
In an interview with "Yediot Ahronot's" weekend supplement to be published tomorrow, Lea Gottlieb relates how she initially offered to market models through Gottex, but was refused. "I lost the two most important things in my life," she says. "My daughter Judith, and my life's work - Gottex. They now want to sell Gottex. I wish I could buy it back, but we're talking about a sum I cannot afford."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on April 7, 2005