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                                  EXHIBIT 99
                          FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Written and oral statements provided by the Company from time to time may
contain certain forward looking information, as that term is defined by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act") and in releases
made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The cautionary
statements which follow are being made pursuant to the provisions of the Act and
with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of
the Act. While the Company believes that the assumptions underlying such forward
looking information are reasonable based on present conditions, forward looking
statements made by the Company are not guarantees of future performance and
actual results may differ materially from those in the forward looking
statements as a result of various factors. Accordingly, the Company has
identified important factors which could cause the Company's actual financial
results to differ materially from any such results which might be projected,
forecasted or estimated by the Company in written or oral forward looking
statements:

 .    The overall retail economy in the United States could affect retailers'
     expectations of future apparel product sales. A more pessimistic evaluation
     compared to 1998 could adversely affect both the advance order and in-stock
     product lines marketed by the Company. The Company's sales and earnings
     could be adversely impacted to the extent that the financial strength of
     its existing or new retail customers worsens.

 .    The Company's largest customer represented approximately 16% of
     consolidated sales in fiscal 1998. The Company's second largest customer in
     1998 represented approximately 9% of consolidated sales. The Company
     believes it maintains an excellent business relationship with these
     customers and sales volume for 1999 is anticipated to approximate recent
     historical levels. However, an unanticipated decline in sales with the
     Company's largest customers would adversely affect profitability as it
     would be difficult to immediately replace this business with new customers
     or increase volume with other existing customers.

 .    Substantially all of the Company's men's and women's sportswear, men's
     dress furnishings, women's career wear and a portion of its tailored suits,
     sportcoats and slack production are manufactured utilizing independent
     contractors, mostly located outside of the United States. The percentage of
     product manufactured or assembled outside of the United States is
     increasing. The Company is dependent upon the contractors' ability to
     deliver such products on a timely basis. Labor, delivery, or transportation
     difficulties regarding contractor sourced products which result in delays
     not readily controllable by the Company could negatively affect operating
     profits. Also, unanticipated political or economic disruptions in these
     countries and/or currency fluctuations could adversely impact overall
     Company profitability.

 .    Continuation of the trend towards more casual dressing in the workplace
     could reduce the demand for the Company's tailored clothing products,
     especially for tailored suits. While

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     the Company markets several sportswear and casual product lines, consumer
     receptiveness to the Company's casual and sportswear products may be less
     than anticipated.

 .    Sales derived from products which utilize licensed brand names represent an
     important current component of the Company's overall revenue and
     profitability. The Company also serves as a licensing agent for several of
     its principal licensors. While the Company believes the relationships with
     its principal licensors to be favorable and the termination of any single
     licensing agreement would not have a material adverse effect on its
     business taken as a whole, the long-term prospects of the Company assume
     the continuation of a significant percentage of existing licensing
     arrangements and ongoing consumer acceptance of the products sold under
     these licensed brands.

 .    The conditions in the moderate priced tailored clothing product category
     remain intensely competitive. To address these conditions, the Company has
     been, among other things, reducing overall product costs, including
     increased off-shore sourcing and introducing new brands with higher gross
     margin potential, and placing less emphasis on brands which do not have the
     potential of achieving acceptable profit margins. While gross margin
     enhancement programs produced some beneficial impact in 1998, the overall
     operating profit contribution remains low. If these efforts do not meet
     with consumer acceptance, sales and profitability could be adversely
     affected.

 .    The Company competes with numerous manufacturers and distributors of
     apparel products, both foreign and domestic. Currency valuation changes
     versus the U.S. dollar arising from the economic difficulties experienced
     in many of the Asian economies during 1998 has, among other things, reduced
     the cost of products imported into the United States from these countries.
     The Company sources only a limited percentage of products from Asia
     (principally certain golf products and women's styles). The Company's
     ability to generate sufficient margins from products not sourced from Asia
     (such as suits, sportcoats, tailored and casual slacks) could be adversely
     affected to the extent that competitors can source these products from Asia
     at lower costs in sufficient quantities at comparable quality levels.

 .    Fabric purchases from the Company's largest supplier approximated one-third
     of the total fabric requirements in fiscal 1998. As is customary in the
     industry, there are no long-term contracts with fabric suppliers. The
     Company believes that there are alternative sources of supply available to
     satisfy its raw material requirements. However, a prolonged, unanticipated
     disruption of scheduled deliveries from this or other suppliers would
     adversely affect production scheduling and ultimately the Company's ability
     to meet customer delivery dates.

 .    The Company is addressing Year 2000 issues for its computer systems,
     operations systems, microprocessors and other significant computer-based
     devices and applications. The Company has had under review the
     comprehensive upgrading, consolidation and integration of its principal
     management information systems utilized in the operation
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     of its businesses ("Project") along with a review of non-Project systems
     and compatibility with various third party systems on which the Company
     relies.

     During 1997, the Company commenced the Project, which encompasses
     substantial enhancements to the Company's existing hardware configurations
     and software applications related to its sales, manufacturing, distribution
     and accounting operations. A significant portion of the new system
     enhancements will emanate from purchased software for which written
     representation has been received from the application vendors that such
     software is Year 2000 compliant. In this context, Year 2000 compliance is
     being addressed, whether relating to new systems that comprise a part of
     the Project or with respect to existing management information systems that
     may continue to be used beyond January 1, 2000. Although it was initially
     expected that the new systems and software included in the Project would
     substantially address Year 2000 issues, the Company and its consultant
     currently assess that existing systems for the most part will continue in
     operation beyond January 1, 2000. Efforts are currently underway to
     upgrade, enhance and test these existing systems and software requirements,
     including compatability with the various third-party applications. To date,
     the Company has commenced its systems upgrade at two operating units and no
     Year 2000 defects have been noted. As stated, the Company initially
     intended that the new systems and software included in the Project would be
     substantially operational by the end of 1999, in order to address year 2000
     compliance. The Company is, therefore, currently implementing its primary
     contingency plan, which includes testing, upgrading and remediating when
     necessary its existing systems and software, a process which is expected to
     be completed by August 1999.

     The Company has also established formal communications with significant
     suppliers and customers to determine the extent to which the Company is
     vulnerable to those third parties' failure to remediate their own Year 2000
     issues. Additionally, the Company has identified the critical systems
     provided by other third party service providers (e.g., financial
     institutions and utilities suppliers). While the Company must necessarily
     rely to some extent on the representations of these third parties and their
     statements or certifications of compliance to certain government agencies
     regarding Year 2000 capabilities, the Company is also in various stages of
     Year 2000 testing and implementation of the systems and/or upgrades
     provided by third parties.

     The Company recognizes that issues related to Year 2000 remediation
     constitute a known uncertainty and the importance of ensuring its
     operations will not be adversely affected by Year 2000 issues. Its
     procedures are anticipated to be effective to identify and manage the risks
     associated with Year 2000 compliance. However, there can be no assurance
     that the process can be completed as described above or that the
     remediation process will be fully effective. The failure to identify and
     remediate the Company's systems or the failure of key third parties who do
     business with the Company or governmental agencies to timely remediate
     their systems that interface with the Company's systems could result

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     in system failures or errors or business interruptions, which could have a
     material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations and
     financial condition.

 .    During 1998, the Company's variable rate debt (based on the Prime or LIBOR
     rates in effect from time to time) averaged approximately $98 million under
     its Revolving Credit Facility. The Company anticipates that such variable
     borrowings will be comparable during 1999 at rates averaging approximately
     7%. An unexpected increase in total borrowings and/or in the borrowing
     rates under the Revolving Credit Facility would adversely affect
     profitability.

 .    The Company is not aware of and has assumed no significant adverse impact
     of pending or threatened litigation matters.

 .    The Company acquired the trademarks and wholesale apparel business of
     Pussers, Ltd. in November 1998, and in December 1998, acquired the capital
     stock of Coppley, Noyes and Randall, a leading Canadian manufacturer and
     marketer of men's tailored clothing and other apparel. If the results of
     operations of these businesses do not achieve the levels anticipated, the
     Company's profitability could be adversely affected. The Company has
     assumed that no other acquisitions will occur during the remainder of 1999.

The above noted review of factors pursuant to the Act should not be construed as
exhaustive or as any admission regarding the adequacy of disclosures made by the
Company.