Post-purchase, layoffs occur at Scott Kay

New York—Manufacturer Frederick Goldman Inc. confirmed Tuesday that it has laid off a number of employees of Scott Kay Inc., the brand it acquired in February following the untimely death of founder and designer Scott Kay late last year.

Frederick Goldman Chief Marketing Office Robin Ettinger said the plan from the start when they acquired Scott Kay was for Frederick Goldman to eventually assume all production and manufacturing for the brand and “what is taking place (right now) is just the steps in that direction.”

She said the layoffs happened at the end of last week, though neither she nor Chairman and CEO Jonathan Goldman would say how many people were let go or what roles they had. Ettinger also wouldn’t comment on whether or not there would be more layoffs at the company.

She said that the design, sales, merchandising and marketing of the Scott Kay brand would continue to function as a separate entity, though where they will work is not entirely clear.

A source close to the situation and a posting on LoopNet, an online commercial real estate listing site, indicate that Scott Kay’s Teaneck, N.J. headquarters are for sale, but Frederick Goldman would neither comment on it nor confirm if it plans to move all Scott Kay employees to its offices in New York. Ettinger did note, however, that Frederick Goldman does not own the Scott Kay facilities in Teaneck.

SK66, the brand’s 5,000-square-foot showroom and appointment-only store in Teaneck, was not acquired by Frederick Goldman.

As layoffs are occurring on the manufacturing side at Scott Kay, Frederick Goldman has added people in sales positions and Ettinger said they are looking to hire more people for both sales and marketing in the future.

Among those confirmed as remaining on board with Scott Kay are Chief Merchandising Officer Susan Chandler and Tiffany Kay, the daughter of the late designer who’s now selling the brand on QVC.

Scott Kay is currently being run by Adam Gurian, executive vice president of global sales and merchandising at Frederick Goldman, as former CEO David Minster was out at the time of the acquisition.