1
 Maidenform Inc. loves to be intimate with its customers, but not with the rest of the public.
5128
span

2
 The 67-year-old maker of brassieres, panties, and lingerie enjoys one of the best-known brand images,
5001
Contrast

3
 but its financial profile is closely guarded by members of the founding family.
5001
Contrast

4
 There are very few companies
5005
span

5
 that can boast of such a close-knit group,
4
elaboration-object-attribute-e

6
 says Robert A. Brawer, 52 years old,
5003
span

7
 recently named president,
6
elaboration-object-attribute-e

8
 succeeding Beatrice Coleman, his mother-in-law,
5002
span

9
 who remains chairman.
8
elaboration-object-attribute-e

10
 We are a vanishing breed,
5007
span

11
 he muses.
10
attribution

12
 Mrs. Coleman, 73,
5009
span

13
 who declined to be interviewed,
12
elaboration-additional-e

14
 is the Maidenform strategist.
5010
Same-Unit

15
 Sales have tripled during her 21-year tenure to about $200 million in 1988.
5013
span

16
 Maidenform says
17
attribution

17
 it is very profitable
5011
span

18
 but declines to provide specifics.
5011
antithesis

19
 The company sells image.
5020
span

20
 Its current ad campaign,
5018
span

21
 on which Maidenform has spent more than $15 million since fall 1987,
20
elaboration-additional-e

22
 doesn't even show its underwear products, but rather men like Christopher Reeve, star of the Superman movies,
5017
span

23
 talking about their lingerie turn-ons.
22
elaboration-object-attribute-e

24
 The Maidenform name is part of American pop culture,
5021
span

25
 says Joan Sinopoli, account supervisor of the campaign by Levine, Huntley, Schmidt & Beaver, a New York ad firm.
24
attribution

26
 Maidenform generated such memorable campaigns as I dreamed 
27
attribution

27
I . . . in my Maidenform bra,
5022
span

28
 and The Maidenform woman.
5025
span

29
 You never know 
30
attribution

30
where she'll turn up.
5024
span

31
 Capitalizing on the brand is key,
5029
span

32
 says Mr. Brawer,
5028
span

33
 whose immediate plans include further international expansion and getting better control of distribution outside the U.S.
32
elaboration-object-attribute-e

34
 The intimate apparel industry is perceived to be a growth industry
5031
circumstance

35
 and clearly {Maidenform} is a force 
5031
span

36
to be reckoned with, 
35
elaboration-object-attribute-e

37
says David S. Leibowitz, a special situations analyst at American Securities Corp. in New York.
5032
attribution

38
 Although working women are forced to wear the uniform of the day,
5034
span

39
 to retain their femininity 
38
purpose

40
they are buying better quality, more upscale intimate apparel,
5035
span

41
 he said.
5035
attribution

42
 Although Mr. Brawer's appointment as president was long expected,
43
concession

43
 the move on Sept. 25 precipitated the resignation of Alan Lesk as senior vice president of sales and merchandising.
5040
span

44
 Three days later, Mr. Lesk was named president and chief executive officer of Olga Co., a competing intimate apparel division of Warnaco Inc.
5041
span

45
 Warnaco also owns Warners, another major intimate apparel maker.
44
elaboration-additional

46
 Mr. Lesk couldn't be reached to comment.
5042
elaboration-additional

47
 But Maidenform officials say
5046
attribution

48
 that
5046
Same-Unit

49
 after spending 24 years at Maidenform,
5044
circumstance-e

50
 Mr. Lesk, 48, made it clear
51
attribution

51
 he wanted the top job.
5044
span

52
 If you want the presidency of the company,
5051
condition

53
 this isn't the firm
5051
span

54
 to work for,
53
elaboration-object-attribute-e

55
 says James Mogan, 45,
5050
span

56
 who was named senior vice president of sales,
5049
span

57
 assuming some of the responsibilities of Mr. Lesk.
56
elaboration-additional-e

58
 The company downplayed the loss of Mr. Lesk
5054
List

59
 and split his merchandising responsibilities among a committee of four people.
5054
List

60
 My style is less informal,
5056
span

61
 Mr. Brawer says.
60
attribution

62
 Top officers insist
63
attribution

63
 Maidenform's greatest strength is its family ownership.
5059
span

64
 You can't go anywhere in this company 
65
circumstance

65
and find an organizational chart,
5060
span

66
 one delights.
5060
attribution

67
 It is fun competing as a private company,
5063
span

68
 Mr. Brawer says.
67
attribution

69
 You can think long range.
5063
reason

70
 Other major players in intimate apparel apparently feel the same way.
5072
span

71
 Warnaco was taken private by Spectrum Group in 1986 for about $487 million.
5071
List

72
 And last year, Playtex Holdings Inc. went private for about $680 million.
5069
span

73
 It was then split into Playtex Apparel Inc., the intimate apparel division, and Playtex Family Products Corp.,
5065
span

74
 which makes tampons, hair-care items and other products.
73
elaboration-additional-e

75
 Publicly traded VF Corp.,
5066
span

76
 which owns Vanity Fair,
75
elaboration-object-attribute-e

77
 and Sara Lee Corp.,
5067
span

78
 which owns Bali Co.,
77
elaboration-object-attribute-e

79
 are also strong forces in intimate apparel.
5070
Same-Unit

80
 Buy-out offers for Maidenform aren't infrequent,
5075
span

81
 says Executive Vice President David C. Masket,
80
attribution

82
 but they aren't taken very seriously.
5076
span

83
 When he gets calls,
84
circumstance

84
 I don't even have to consult with Mrs. Coleman,
5077
span

85
 Mr. Masket says.
5077
attribution

86
 The company could command a good price in the market.
5083
span

87
 Over the past three and a half years, apparel companies,
5080
span

88
 many of whom have strong brand names,
87
elaboration-object-attribute-e

89
 have been bought at about 60% of sales,
5081
Same-Unit

90
 says Deborah Bronston, Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. apparel analyst.
5081
attribution

91
 Mr. Brawer, along with Mrs. Coleman and her daughter, Elizabeth, an attorney 
5088
span

92
who is vice chairman,
91
elaboration-additional-e

93
 are the family members
5087
span

94
 involved in the operations of Maidenform,
5086
span

95
 which employs about 5,000.
94
elaboration-additional-e

96
 Mr. Brawer's wife, Catherine, and Robert Stroup, Elizabeth's husband, round out the five-member board.
5089
elaboration-additional

97
 Each has an equal vote at the monthly meetings.
5090
elaboration-additional

98
 We are all very amiable,
5092
span

99
 Mr. Brawer says.
98
attribution

100
 Executives say 
101
attribution

101
Mrs. Coleman is very involved in the day-to-day operations, especially product development.
5094
span

102
 In the late 1960s she designed a lightweight stretch bra
5096
span

103
 that boosted sales.
102
elaboration-object-attribute-e

104
 Her father, William Rosenthal, designed the then-dress making company's first bra in the 1920s,
5102
span

105
 which 
5099
span

106
he said
105
attribution-e

107
 gave women a maiden form
5103
span

108
 compared with the boyish form
5098
span

109
 they got from the flat bandages
5097
span

110
 used for support at the time.
109
elaboration-object-attribute-e

111
 While Mr. Rosenthal introduced new undergarment designs,
5104
span

112
 his wife, Ida, concentrated on sales and other financial matters.
111
comparison

113
 The name Maidenform was coined by a third business partner, Enid Bissett.
5105
List

114
 The company has 14 plants and distribution facilities in the U.S., Puerto Rico, other parts of the Caribbean and Ireland.
5113
List

115
 Maidenform products are mainly sold at department stores,
5112
span

116
 but the company has quietly opened a retail store of its own in Omaha, Neb.
5111
List

117
, and has 24 factory outlets, with plans
5110
span

118
 to add more.
117
elaboration-object-attribute-e

119
 Before joining Maidenform in 1972,
5116
temporal-before

120
 Mr. Brawer,
5115
span

121
 who holds a doctoral degree in English from the University of Chicago,
120
elaboration-additional-e

122
 taught at the University of Wisconsin.
5116
Same-Unit

123
 As a senior vice president, he has headed the company's designer lingerie division, Oscar de la Renta, since its inception in 1988.
5119
span

124
 To maintain exclusivity of that designer line,
125
purpose

125
 it isn't labeled with the Maidenform name.
5118
span

126
 While the company has always been family-run,
5122
circumstance

127
 Mr. Brawer isn't the first person
5122
span

128
 to marry into the family 
5121
Sequence

129
and subsequently head Maidenform.
5121
Sequence

130
 Mrs. Coleman's husband, Joseph, a physician, succeeded Mrs. Rosenthal as president
5124
List

131
 and served in that post until his death in 1968.
5124
List

5001
multinuc
5016
span

5002
span
5003
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5003
span
5004
span

5004
span
5005
attribution

5005
span
5006
span

5006
span
5008
span

5007
span
5006
elaboration-additional

5008
span
5015
span

5009
span
5010
Same-Unit

5010
multinuc
5014
span

5011
span
5012
span

5012
span
15
elaboration-additional

5013
span
5010
elaboration-additional

5014
span
5008
elaboration-additional

5015
span
5001
elaboration-additional

5016
span
5039
span

5017
span
5019
Same-Unit

5018
span
5019
Same-Unit

5019
multinuc
19
example

5020
span
5027
span

5021
span
5026
span

5022
span
5023
Same-Unit

5023
multinuc
5021
elaboration-additional

5024
span
28
elaboration-additional

5025
span
5023
Same-Unit

5026
span
5020
elaboration-additional

5027
span
5030
span

5028
span
31
attribution

5029
span
5027
elaboration-additional

5030
span
5038
span

5031
span
5032
span

5032
span
5033
span

5033
span
5037
span

5034
span
40
antithesis

5035
span
5036
span

5036
span
5033
elaboration-additional

5037
span
5030
elaboration-additional

5038
span
5016
elaboration-additional

5039
span
5109
span

5040
span
5041
temporal-after

5041
span
5042
span

5042
span
5043
span

5043
span
5048
span

5044
span
5045
span

5045
span
5046
Same-Unit

5046
multinuc
5047
span

5047
span
5043
explanation-argumentative

5048
span
5057
antithesis

5049
span
55
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5050
span
5052
attribution

5051
span
5052
span

5052
span
5053
span

5053
span
5055
span

5054
multinuc
5053
elaboration-additional

5055
span
5057
span

5056
span
5055
elaboration-additional

5057
span
5058
span

5058
span
5108
span

5059
span
5062
span

5060
span
5061
span

5061
span
5059
elaboration-additional

5062
span
5074
span

5063
span
5064
span

5064
span
5073
span

5065
span
72
temporal-before

5066
span
5070
Same-Unit

5067
span
5070
Same-Unit

5068
span



5069
span
5071
List

5070
multinuc
5071
List

5071
multinuc
70
example

5072
span
5064
comparison

5073
span
5062
elaboration-additional

5074
span
5085
span

5075
span
82
antithesis

5076
span
5079
span

5077
span
5078
span

5078
span
5076
evidence

5079
span
5084
span

5080
span
5081
Same-Unit

5081
multinuc
5082
span

5082
span
86
evidence

5083
span
5079
otherwise

5084
span
5074
elaboration-additional

5085
span
5107
span

5086
span
93
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5087
span
5089
Same-Unit

5088
span
5089
Same-Unit

5089
multinuc
5090
span

5090
span
5091
span

5091
span
5093
span

5092
span
5091
elaboration-additional

5093
span
5095
span

5094
span
5093
elaboration-set-member

5095
span
5106
span

5096
span
5105
List

5097
span
108
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5098
span
107
comparison

5099
span
5100
Same-Unit

5100
multinuc
104
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5101
span



5102
span
5105
List

5103
span
5100
Same-Unit

5104
span
5105
List

5105
multinuc
5095
background

5106
span
5085
elaboration-additional

5107
span
5058
explanation-argumentative

5108
span
5039
elaboration-additional

5109
span
5114
span

5110
span
5111
List

5111
multinuc
115
elaboration-additional

5112
span
5113
List

5113
multinuc
5109
elaboration-additional

5114
span
5127
span

5115
span
5116
Same-Unit

5116
multinuc
5117
span

5117
span
5120
span

5118
span
123
elaboration-additional

5119
span
5117
elaboration-additional

5120
span
5126
span

5121
multinuc
127
elaboration-object-attribute-e

5122
span
5123
span

5123
span
5125
span

5124
multinuc
5123
example

5125
span
5120
elaboration-additional

5126
span
5114
background

5127
span
1
summary-n

5128
span



