Calvin Klein Cosmetics Corp

Between love and madness, apparently, lies a merger. Minnetonka Corp., a Minnesota-based maker of cosmetics and fragrances such as Calvin Klein's Obsession, said Sunday that it is being sold in a two-part deal for $376.2 million, or $22.86 per share. In the first part of the deal, Minnetonka's fragrance marketing group--which sells such brands as Vitabath, Claire Burke and La Costa Spa--and its medical products divisions will be sold to Tsumura International Inc. for about $70 million.

Calvin Klein, the edgy American designer known for racy ads and $70 jeans, is looking for a buyer or partner for his New York-based fashion company. Klein wants to expand his $2.5-billion empire in accessories, beauty products, men's wear, active sportswear and home furnishings. The privately owned company also wants to open more retail stores. The company said it had hired Lazard Freres & Co.

Calvin Klein's decision Monday to pull advertising criticized as "kiddie porn" isn't likely to hurt sales of a brand known for pushing the borders of sex in advertising. In fact, some retailing consultants have declared Calvin Klein a big winner as a result of the controversy over a series of ads featuring scantily clad teen-age models in provocative poses. "Once again Klein has scored a grand slam home run," said Alan Millstein, editor and publisher of the Fashion Network Report in New York.

The Justice Department has decided not to prosecute fashion designer Calvin Klein in connection with a series of jeans ads showing young models in suggestive poses. The department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section "independently verified that minors were not used as models in the particular photographs that raised questions," Deputy Assistant Atty. Gen. Kevin V. Di Gregory wrote Klein's lawyer on Wednesday.

The shoemaker Nike Inc. nosed out fragrance maker Calvin Klein as the sponsor of the most popular print advertising campaign of 1990, according to a consumer survey. Nike moved up from fourth place in the 1989 survey, while Calvin Klein fell from the top spot for the first time in four years, according to results in the survey released Sunday by the research firm Video Storyboard Tests Inc.

New Calvin Klein Ad Draws Heat: The advertisement appearing on the back covers of the November Esquire and the December Playboy show a muscular 20-year-old man clad only in briefs, his legs spread wide to show off his crotch. "This is nothing more than pornography," said Donald Wildmon, leader of the American Family Assn., which protested previous ads for jeans bearing the New York designer's name that showed teen-age models in provocative poses.

Calvin Klein, the edgy American designer known for racy ads and $70 jeans, is looking for a buyer or partner for his New York-based fashion company. Klein wants to expand his $2.5-billion empire in accessories, beauty products, men's wear, active sportswear and home furnishings. The privately owned company also wants to open more retail stores. The company said it had hired Lazard Freres & Co.

The Justice Department has decided not to prosecute fashion designer Calvin Klein in connection with a series of jeans ads showing young models in suggestive poses. The department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section "independently verified that minors were not used as models in the particular photographs that raised questions," Deputy Assistant Atty. Gen. Kevin V. Di Gregory wrote Klein's lawyer on Wednesday.

New Calvin Klein Ad Draws Heat: The advertisement appearing on the back covers of the November Esquire and the December Playboy show a muscular 20-year-old man clad only in briefs, his legs spread wide to show off his crotch. "This is nothing more than pornography," said Donald Wildmon, leader of the American Family Assn., which protested previous ads for jeans bearing the New York designer's name that showed teen-age models in provocative poses.

Calvin Klein's decision Monday to pull advertising criticized as "kiddie porn" isn't likely to hurt sales of a brand known for pushing the borders of sex in advertising. In fact, some retailing consultants have declared Calvin Klein a big winner as a result of the controversy over a series of ads featuring scantily clad teen-age models in provocative poses. "Once again Klein has scored a grand slam home run," said Alan Millstein, editor and publisher of the Fashion Network Report in New York.

The shoemaker Nike Inc. nosed out fragrance maker Calvin Klein as the sponsor of the most popular print advertising campaign of 1990, according to a consumer survey. Nike moved up from fourth place in the 1989 survey, while Calvin Klein fell from the top spot for the first time in four years, according to results in the survey released Sunday by the research firm Video Storyboard Tests Inc.

Between love and madness, apparently, lies a merger. Minnetonka Corp., a Minnesota-based maker of cosmetics and fragrances such as Calvin Klein's Obsession, said Sunday that it is being sold in a two-part deal for $376.2 million, or $22.86 per share. In the first part of the deal, Minnetonka's fragrance marketing group--which sells such brands as Vitabath, Claire Burke and La Costa Spa--and its medical products divisions will be sold to Tsumura International Inc. for about $70 million.