1 Maidenform Inc. loves to be intimate with its customers, but not with the rest of the public.
2 The 67-year-old maker of brassieres, panties, and lingerie enjoys one of the best-known brand images, but its financial profile is closely guarded by members of the founding family. 'There are very few companies that can boast of such a close-knit group,' says Robert A. Brawer, 52 years old, recently named president, succeeding Beatrice Coleman, his mother-in-law, who remains chairman. 'We are a vanishing breed,' he muses.
3 Mrs. Coleman, 73, who declined to be interviewed, is the Maidenform strategist.
4 Sales have tripled during her 21-year tenure to about $200 million in 1988.
5 Maidenform says it is very profitable but declines to provide specifics.
6 The company sells image.
7 Its current ad campaign, on which Maidenform has spent more than $15 million since fall 1987, doesn't even show its underwear products, but rather men like Christopher Reeve, star of the 'Superman' movies, talking about their lingerie turn-ons.
8 The Maidenform name 'is part of American pop culture,' says Joan Sinopoli, account supervisor of the campaign by Levine, Huntley, Schmidt & Beaver, a New York ad firm.
9 Maidenform generated such memorable campaigns as 'I dreamed I . . . in my Maidenform bra,' and 'The Maidenform woman.
10 You never know where she'll turn up.'
11 'Capitalizing on the brand is key,' says Mr. Brawer, whose immediate plans include further international expansion and getting better control of distribution outside the U.S.
12 'The intimate apparel industry is perceived to be a growth industry and clearly {Maidenform} is a force to be reckoned with,' says David S. Leibowitz, a special situations analyst at American Securities Corp. in New York.
13 Although working women are 'forced to wear the uniform of the day, to retain their femininity they are buying better quality, more upscale intimate apparel,' he said.
14 Although Mr. Brawer's appointment as president was long expected, the move on Sept. 25 precipitated the resignation of Alan Lesk as senior vice president of sales and merchandising.
15 Three days later, Mr. Lesk was named president and chief executive officer of Olga Co., a competing intimate apparel division of Warnaco Inc. Warnaco also owns Warners, another major intimate apparel maker.
16 Mr. Lesk couldn't be reached to comment.
17 But Maidenform officials say that after spending 24 years at Maidenform, Mr. Lesk, 48, made it clear he wanted the top job. 'If you want the presidency of the company, this isn't the firm to work for,' says James Mogan, 45, who was named senior vice president of sales, assuming some of the responsibilities of Mr. Lesk.
18 The company downplayed the loss of Mr. Lesk and split his merchandising responsibilities among a committee of four people. 'My style is less informal,' Mr. Brawer says.
19 Top officers insist Maidenform's greatest strength is its family ownership. 'You can't go anywhere in this company and find an organizational chart,' one delights. 'It is fun competing as a private company,' Mr. Brawer says. 'You can think long range.'
20 Other major players in intimate apparel apparently feel the same way.
21 Warnaco was taken private by Spectrum Group in 1986 for about $487 million.
22 And last year, Playtex Holdings Inc. went private for about $680 million.
23 It was then split into Playtex Apparel Inc., the intimate apparel division, and Playtex Family Products Corp., which makes tampons, hair-care items and other products.
24 Publicly traded VF Corp., which owns Vanity Fair, and Sara Lee Corp., which owns Bali Co., are also strong forces in intimate apparel.
25 Buy-out offers for Maidenform aren't infrequent, says Executive Vice President David C. Masket, but they aren't taken very seriously.
26 When he gets calls, 'I don't even have to consult' with Mrs. Coleman, Mr. Masket says.
27 The company could command a good price in the market. 'Over the past three and a half years, apparel companies, many of whom have strong brand names, have been bought at about 60% of sales,' says Deborah Bronston, Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. apparel analyst.
28 Mr. Brawer, along with Mrs. Coleman and her daughter, Elizabeth, an attorney who is vice chairman, are the family members involved in the operations of Maidenform, which employs about 5,000.
29 Mr. Brawer's wife, Catherine, and Robert Stroup, Elizabeth's husband, round out the five-member board.
30 Each has an equal vote at the monthly meetings. 'We are all very amiable,' Mr. Brawer says.
31 Executives say Mrs. Coleman is very involved in the day-to-day operations, especially product development.
32 In the late 1960s she designed a lightweight stretch bra that boosted sales.
33 Her father, William Rosenthal, designed the then-dress making company's first bra in the 1920s, which he said gave women a 'maiden form' compared with the 'boyish form' they got from the 'flat bandages' used for support at the time.
34 While Mr. Rosenthal introduced new undergarment designs, his wife, Ida, concentrated on sales and other financial matters.
35 The name Maidenform was coined by a third business partner, Enid Bissett.
36 The company has 14 plants and distribution facilities in the U.S., Puerto Rico, other parts of the Caribbean and Ireland.
37 Maidenform products are mainly sold at department stores, but the company has quietly opened a retail store of its own in Omaha, Neb., and has 24 factory outlets, with plans to add more.
38 Before joining Maidenform in 1972, Mr. Brawer, who holds a doctoral degree in English from the University of Chicago, taught at the University of Wisconsin.
39 As a senior vice president, he has headed the company's designer lingerie division, Oscar de la Renta, since its inception in 1988.
40 To maintain exclusivity of that designer line, it isn't labeled with the Maidenform name.
41 While the company has always been family-run, Mr. Brawer isn't the first person to marry into the family and subsequently head Maidenform.
42 Mrs. Coleman's husband, Joseph, a physician, succeeded Mrs. Rosenthal as president and served in that post until his death in 1968.

The 67 - year - old maker of brassieres , panties , and lingerie enjoys one of the best - known brand images , but its financial profile is closely guarded by members of the founding family . " There are very few companies that can boast of such a close - knit group , " says Robert A . Brawer , 52 years old , recently named president , succeeding Beatrice Coleman , his mother - in - law , who remains chairman . " We are a vanishing breed , " he muses .
vanishing breed , "
What is he referring to when hes says vanishing breed?