SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2015

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE A — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

A summary of the significant accounting policies consistently applied in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements follows:

   1.   Business Activity and Principles of Consolidation

As used in these financial statements, the term “Company” or “G-III” refers to G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. and its subsidiaries. The Company designs, manufactures and markets an extensive range of apparel, including outerwear, dresses, sportswear, swimwear, women’s suits and women’s performance wear, as well as footwear, luggage and women’s handbags, small leather goods, and cold weather accessories. The Company also operates retail stores.

The Company consolidates the accounts of all its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Vilebrequin International SA (“Vilebrequin”), a Swiss corporation, reports results on a calendar year basis rather than on the January 31 fiscal year basis used by the Company. Accordingly, the results of Vilebrequin are and will be included in the financial statements for the year ended or ending closest to the Company’s fiscal year. For example, with respect to the Company’s results for the year ended January 31, 2015, the results of Vilebrequin are included for their year ended December 31, 2014.

Certain reclassifications have been made to the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income for the prior year period to present that information on a basis consistent with the current year.

   2.   Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with a maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

   3.   Revenue Recognition

Goods are shipped to retailers in accordance with specific customer orders. The Company recognizes wholesale sales when the risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the customer, determined by the Company to be when title to the merchandise passes to the customer.

In addition, the Company acts as an agent in brokering sales between customers and overseas factories. On these transactions, the Company also recognizes commission fee income on sales that are financed by and shipped directly to the customers. Title to goods shipped by overseas vendors transfers to customers when the goods have been delivered to the customer. The Company also recognizes commission income upon the completion of the delivery by its vendors to the customer.

The Company recognizes retail sales upon customer receipt of the merchandise, generally at the point of sale. The Company’s sales are recorded net of applicable sales taxes.

Both wholesale revenues and retail store revenues are shown net of returns, discounts and other allowances.

   4.   Returns and Allowances

The Company reserves against known chargebacks, as well as for an estimate of potential future deductions and returns by customers. The Company establishes these reserves for returns and allowances based on current and historical information and trends. Allowances are established for trade discounts, markdowns, customer advertising agreements and operational chargebacks. Estimated costs associated with allowable deductions for customer advertising expenses are reflected as selling, general and administrative expenses. Estimated costs associated with trade discounts and markdowns, and reserves for returns are reflected as a reduction of net sales. All of these reserves are part of the allowances netted against accounts receivable.

The Company estimates an allowance for doubtful accounts based on the creditworthiness of its customers as well as general economic conditions. Consequently, an adverse change in those factors could affect the Company’s estimate. The Company writes off uncollectible trade receivables once collection efforts have been exhausted.

   5.   Inventories

Wholesale inventories are stated at the lower of cost (determined by the first-in, first-out method) or market which comprises a significant portion of the Company’s inventory. Retail inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market as determined by the retail inventory method. Vilebrequin inventories are stated at the lower of cost (determined by the weighted average method) or market.

   6.   Goodwill and Other Intangibles

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations accounted for under the purchase method of accounting. Goodwill and certain intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives are not amortized, but are subject to annual impairment tests using a test combining a discounted cash flow approach and a market approach. Other intangibles with determinable lives, including license agreements, trademarks, customer lists and non-compete agreements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets (currently ranging from 3 to 15 years). Impairment losses, if any, on intangible assets with finite lives are recorded when indicators of impairment are present and the discounted cash flows estimated to be derived from those assets are less than the assets’ carrying amounts.

   7.   Depreciation and Amortization

Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation and amortization are computed by the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the life of the lease or the useful life of the improvement, whichever is shorter.

   8.   Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 360, Property, Plant and Equipment, the Company annually evaluates the carrying value of its long-lived assets to determine whether changes have occurred that would suggest that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable based on the estimated future undiscounted cash flows of the businesses to which the assets relate. Any impairment loss would be equal to the amount by which the carrying value of the assets exceeded its fair value.

  9.    Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes and uncertain tax positions in accordance with ASC Topic 740 – Income Taxes. ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a return, as well as guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties and financial statement reporting disclosures.

Deferred income taxes reflect the tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes.

  10.  Net Income Per Common Share

Basic net income per common share has been computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period. Diluted net income per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and potential dilutive common shares, consisting of unvested restricted stock awards and stock options outstanding during the period. Approximately 80,000 and 182,000 shares for the years ended January 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, have been excluded from the diluted net income per share calculation as they relate to equity based awards that vest based on performance conditions and for which the vesting conditions have not been met at the end of the period. There were no shares excluded from the diluted net income per share calculation for the year ended January 31, 2013. The Company issued 310,018, 319,648 and 337,825 shares of common stock in connection with the exercise or vesting of equity awards during the years ended January 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

A reconciliation between basic and diluted net income per share is as follows:

	Year Ended January 31,
	2015		2014		2013
	(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Net income attributable to G-III	$	110,361	$	77,360	$	56,875
Basic net income per share:
Basic common shares		21,649		20,323		20,006
Basic net income per share	$	5.10	$	3.81	$	2.84
Diluted net income per share:
Basic common shares		21,649		20,323		20,006
Stock options and restricted stock awards		563		541		274
Diluted common shares		22,212		20,864		20,280
Diluted net income per share	$	4.97	$	3.71	$	2.80

11.    Equity Award Compensation

ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation, requires all share-based payments to employees, including grants of restricted stock awards and employee stock options, to be recognized as compensation expense over the service period (generally the vesting period) based on their fair values. The impact of forfeitures that may occur prior to vesting is estimated and considered in the amount recognized. Restricted stock awards generally vest over a four or five year period and certain awards also include market price conditions that provide for the award to vest only after the average closing price of the Company’s stock trades above a predetermined market level. In addition, certain awards have performance conditions that require the satisfaction of an earnings after taxes or net income per diluted share performance target. All awards are expensed on a straight line basis other than awards with market and/or performance conditions, which are expensed under the requisite acceleration method.

It is the Company’s policy to grant stock options through the issuance of new shares at prices not less than the fair market value on the date of the grant. Option terms, vesting and exercise periods vary, except that the term of an option may not exceed ten years.

 12.   Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold includes the expenses incurred to acquire, produce and prepare inventory for sale, including product costs, warehouse staff wages, freight in, import costs, packaging materials, the cost of operating the overseas offices and royalty expense. The gross margins may not be directly comparable to those of the Company’s competitors, as income statement classifications of certain expenses may vary by company.

 13.   Shipping and Handling Costs

Shipping and handling costs for wholesale operations consist of warehouse facility costs, third party warehousing, freight out costs, and warehouse supervisory wages and are included in selling, general and administrative expense. Wholesale shipping and handling costs included in selling, general and administrative expenses were $62.4 million, $54.8 million and $50.7 million for the years ended January 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

 14.   Advertising Costs

The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred and includes these costs in selling, general and administrative expense. Advertising paid as a percentage of sales under license agreements are expensed in the period in which the sales occur or are accrued to meet guaranteed minimum requirements under license agreements. Advertising expense was $71.5 million, $62.3 million and $54.1 million for the years ended January 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Prepaid advertising, which represents advance payments to licensors for minimum guaranteed payments for advertising under the Company’s licensing agreements, was $5.8 million and $5.9 million at January 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

15.    Use of Estimates

In preparing financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

   16. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amount of the Company’s variable rate debt approximates the fair value, as interest rates change with the market rates. Furthermore, the carrying value of all other financial instruments potentially subject to valuation risk (principally consisting of cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable) also approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of their maturity.

The promissory notes issued in connection with the acquisition of Vilebrequin were valued using the current market interest rate at the time of acquisition. These notes were repurchased by the Company during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015. In addition, the annual calculation of contingent consideration recorded in connection with the acquisition of Vilebrequin reflects current market conditions. The fair values of both the promissory notes and the contingent consideration would be considered Level 3 valuations in the fair value hierarchy. See Note L – Other Income for more details on the adjustment of the contingent consideration during fiscal 2015.

 17.   Foreign Currency Translation

The financial statements of subsidiaries outside the United States are measured using local currency as the functional currency. Assets and liabilities are translated at the rates of exchange at the balance sheet date. Income and expense items are translated at average monthly rates of exchange. Gains and losses from foreign currency transactions of these subsidiaries are included in net earnings.

 18.   Effects of Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In April 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-08, “Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360) — Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity” (ASU 2014-08). This ASU changes the threshold for reporting discontinued operations and adds new disclosures. The new guidance defines a discontinued operation as a disposal of a component or group of components that is disposed of or is classified as held for sale and “represents a strategic shift that has (or will have) a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results.” For disposals of individually significant components that do not qualify as discontinued operations, the Company must disclose pre-tax earnings of the disposed component. This guidance is effective for all disposals (or classifications as held for sale) of components of an entity that occur within annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted, but only for disposals (or classifications as held for sale) that have not been reported in financial statements previously issued or available for issuance. The Company adopted this guidance early and applied it to the sale of its interest in the joint venture (See Note L – Other Income).

In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-12, “Compensation — Stock Compensation: Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period” (ASU 2014-12). This ASU provides for explicit guidance on how to account for awards with performance targets that affect vesting and could be achieved after the requisite service period. A performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after an employee’s requisite service period shall be accounted for as a performance condition. As such, the performance target shall not be reflected in estimating the fair value of the award at the grant date. Compensation cost shall be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the periods for which the requisite service already has been rendered. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-01, “Extraordinary and Unusual Items (Subtopic 225-20): Simplifying Income Statement Presentation by Eliminating the Concept of Extraordinary Items”. This guidance no longer requires or allows the disclosure of extraordinary items, net of tax, in the income statement after income from continuing operations. The guidance is effective for the reporting period ending April 30, 2016. The Company does not currently have any extraordinary items presented in its income statements. However, this guidance will eliminate the need to further assess whether unusual and infrequently occurring transactions qualify as an extraordinary item in the future.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02, “Consolidation (Topic 810) — Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis”. The update primarily amends the criteria used to evaluate whether certain variable interest entities should be consolidated. The update also modifies the criteria used to determine whether partnerships and similar entities are variable interest entities. The update is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 with early adoption permitted, including in the interim periods. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this update on its consolidated financial statements.