BUSTER BROWN SALE WON'T HURT VA. PLANTS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 12, 1993                   TAG: 9302120287
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
BUSTER BROWN SALE WON'T HURT VA. PLANTS
Gerber Products Co. of Fremont, Mich., has completed sale of its Buster Brown Apparel Inc. division to a management and investment group.
The new owner said Thursday the $100 million sale will not affect operations of its five Southwest Virginia plants making childrens' apparel.
Gerber has owned Chattanooga, Tenn-based Buster Brown for 10 years. The company, with $150 million to $160 million in sales in the past fiscal year, no longer was a strategic fit for Gerber, said Al Piergallini, chairman.
Buster Brown has 1,300 employees at plants in Marion, Chilhowie, Lebanon, Coeburn and Duffield. Most of the recent expansion has been in Virginia, said Kent Robinson, Buster Brown's chairman. - Staff report

Earnings . . .

\ ITT Corp., New York operator of a night-vision products plant and a gallium arsenide technology center in Roanoke County, said Thursday it had a fourth-quarter loss of $617 million, or $4.74 per share, compared to net income of $165 million, or $1.20 per share, in the restated 1991 quarter. Sales and revenues were $5.7 billion, compared to $5.4 billion in 1991.
For the year, ITT posted a loss of $885 million, or $6.90 per share, compared to restated net income of $749 million, or $5.49 per share, in 1991. Sales and revenues were $21.7 billion, compared to $20.4 billion in 1991.
\ Rowe Furniture Corp.'s net shipments for the first quarter ended Feb. 28 are expected to approximate $20 million, compared to $16.7 million in the 1992 period, Gerald M. Birnbach, chairman and president, said Thursday. Shipments in the furniture industry correspond to sales for most corporations. Earnings per share are expected to be 18 cents to 20 cents compared to a loss of 1 cent per share in the 1992 quarter. Earnings per share for the quarter reflect a 3-for-2 stock split paid on Jan. 15.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB