The Business Records are divided into two subseries: Subseries 2.1: JBI, Inc., 1979-1996 and Subseries 2.2: Champion Jogbra, 1988-1999. The materials document the transition of a small, privately-owned company, Jogbra, Inc., (renamed JBI, Inc.) to its purchase by Playtex Apparel, Inc. and subsequent purchase by the Sara Lee Corporation. Throughout these corporate transitions, Miller continued to serve as president and became CEO of the Champion Jogbra Division of Sara Lee in 1994.
The JBI, Inc. materials consist of position descriptions for employees, correspondence, business plans and appraisals, strategy-related documents, sales and accounting information, agreements, and transition documents for Playtex Apparel, Inc. Many of the documents throughout this subseries are annotated by Miller.
The employee materials consist of personnel policies, retirement plans, profit sharing, and stock options for employees at Playtex, Inc. The position descriptions are for Vice President for Sales and Senior Vice President of Sales. These documents provide good insight into the duties and responsibilities for senior management at a small company.
The JBI Executive Team Building materials reflect a 1989 assessment of Miller's managerial style. The assessment, conducted by Human Factors Advance Technology Group, provides a comparative analysis and key assessment findings(Co-Worker Feedback Report and Management Skills Report) based on a self-assessment by Miller and her co-workers.
The JBI Business Appraisal of 1986 details the fair market value of the company and contains several useful "appendices" about the company's financial health. The agreement and purchase of JBI by Playtex as well Sara Lee's acquisition of Playtex is well documented here. The JBI Representative/Dealer Book provides a good overview of the company and is a "how to" for retailers selling the JBI product line. Books include sales data, forms, procedures, advertising samples, and fabric swatches. Similar information can be found in the JBI, Inc. Representative Manual of 1993. Most of the financial data is in the form of spreadsheets that provide actual and projected sales data. The annual operating plans provide key information about the company including mission statements, objectives, strategies, marketing, selling, and financial statements. For example, the annual operating plan for 1993-1994 also includes media-related plans on how best to market the product line.
The Champion Jogbra materials contain business and annual operating plans (budgets), marketing strategies, presentation documents, financial materials (sales data), proposals, and product literature, such as catalogs. Many of the documents are heavily annotated by Miller. One proposal of note is that which targets female teens. In 1996, Champion Jogbra identified young females, ages 12-15, as an emerging market for sports bras and other sports wear. The report, conducted by the Zandhl group provided Champion with the marketing guidelines to develop a "teen" strategy for product positioning. Other studies include a 1997 website evaluation to establish priorities. Additional employee performance-related materials can be found in the Champion Jogbra performance reviews for fiscal 1996. These documents outline the corporate executive performance review, review instruction packet, and forms for the employee to complete.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Jogbra, Inc. Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
