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Pastimes : Georgia Bard's Corner -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Matt Brown who wrote (5872)	5/31/1999 10:49:00 PM
From: Ga Bard	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9440

I like the way you are deliberate with the DD Fatt. I follow your thread. :-) GB

To: Matt Brown who wrote (5872)	5/31/1999 10:52:00 PM
From: Ga Bard	Respond to of 9440

INTERVIEW - Signal CEO sees turnaround (SIA is laying on the floor and 5.3M in the float) Trading 1 times earnings. NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - After several unprofitable years, Signal Apparel Co. Inc. is shooting for profitability next year after cutting more than 90 percent of its work force over the past two years, Chief Executive Officer Thomas McFall said. Signal, the New York-based supplier of sportswear and swimwear, has exited the business of making clothing. It will now focus on marketing clothes, after selling off businesses and closing enough plants to shrink its workforce to 200 employees from 3,000. The company, which has not had a profitable year for more than 10 years, has cut $12 million to $14 million of annual costs as it changed to a sourcing company from a manufacturing company. The company, which has licenses to market clothing with Disney characters and under the BUM Equipment lines, shrank from 3,000 employees to 200 employees over the past 18 months as it sold or closed divisions. ''It is virtually impossible to stay profitable by manufacturing domestically,'' McFall said in an interview on Friday. ''I think the entire industry has gone into the sourcing business,'' McFall said. ''We're not blazing new territory. ... Signal apparel has just been beyond the curve.'' Signal is focusing on casual apparel and is staying away from the unpredictability of fashion wear, McFall said. ''We can have a hot product today and it is not a hot product tomorrow,'' he said about the fashion business. McFall said the company is looking to make acquisitions, like its acquisition of Tahiti Apparel this year, to achieve profitability. In the first quarter, the company reported a loss of $3.6 million, including charges, on sales of $33.4 million. Signal Apparel's first quarter loss last year totaled $3.8 million on sales of $11.6 million. The benefit from Signal Apparel's past losses is that it could reduce its tax bill for up to 15 years. Signal Apparel's pre-tax income is the same as its net income and McFall expects the company's income to be ''sheltered quite far into the future.''