St John Knits Company

Executives of St. John Knits Inc. have been accused in a lawsuit of using improper accounting maneuvers to shore up the Irvine company's bottom line while it was under pressure to meet Wall Street analysts' expectations. The suit was filed this week by Amen Wardy Jr., who is claiming wrongful termination. Wardy was fired recently as head of a loss-ridden St. John's subsidiary.

St. John Knits Inc. executives used improper accounting maneuvers to shore up the Irvine apparel maker's bottom line while it was under pressure to meet Wall Street analysts' expectations, according to a lawsuit filed late Monday. The wrongful-termination suit was filed by Amen Wardy Jr., who was fired last month as chief executive of St. John's unprofitable Amen Wardy Home Stores subsidiary. Wardy charged that the home stores unit was reduced to a "sacrificial lamb," and that St.

Hips first, the models stalked the runway, prompting appreciative smiles and intermittent applause from wide-eyed admirers. For buyers, St. John Knits Inc.'s spring line presented a heady array of options, from trim business suits and shimmering slip dresses to billowing evening wear and even a swimsuit. Throughout the Sept. 1 fashion show, one thing was perfectly clear: St. John knows how to dazzle. But the production was not seamless.

St. John Knits, struggling to fix problems in its high-end apparel and home-store lines, said Thursday that third-quarter profit rose 2% as sales surged more than 20%. The results were in line with the Irvine company's warning last month that profits and sales would be below analysts' expectations, news that triggered a 30% plunge in St. John's shares. On Thursday, St. John lost an additional 2.4%, to $17.63, a 52-week low as the overall stock market moved dramatically lower.

St. John Knits Inc. said it fired Amen Wardy Jr., chief executive of the four-store Amen Wardy home-furnishings chain, which has lost money since it opened about a year ago. Wardy, the son of a well-known Southern California designer, was succeeded by David Frankel, an executive vice president at Irvine-based St. John as of Aug. 31, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. St. John owns 51% of the Amen Wardy chain.

Upscale clothier St. John Knits warned Tuesday that its earnings will fall short of analysts' expectations for the second consecutive quarter. St. John blamed the disappointing numbers on excess inventory at retail boutiques that forced markdowns in the merchandise. The company also said it continued to be plagued by "production labor inefficiencies." The company did not elaborate, and executives were not available to comment.

St. John Knits Inc., maker of upscale women's clothing, said Thursday that its board has approved a one-year extension of the company's employment agreement with Chief Executive Robert Gray. Earlier, Gray had hinted that he would pass the chief executive's title to daughter Kelly Gray this year. Kelly, 31, is the company's president.

The detail-oriented executive who runs St. John Knits was scouring the clothing racks at South Coast Plaza, and what he found was not pretty. Well, pretty, maybe, but not perfect. Amid the racks of stylish and immaculate St. John apparel, sought by well-heeled women from Barbara Walters to Hillary Clinton, were garments with crooked pockets and loose buttons. In a move that exemplifies a company obsessed with perfection, Chief Executive Bob Gray quickly dispatched St.

Executives at St. John Knits saw modest increases in their pay in 1997 as the company's profits soared, but its stock price slumped. In its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Irvine-based maker of upscale women's apparel reported that the pay of co-founder, chairman and chief executive Robert E. Gray rose 3.3% last year, to $1.56 million. Co-founder and chief designer Marie Gray earned $419,457, a 5.