APPAREL & COSMETICS
Times Staff and Wire Reports
Reebok to Sell Avia Subsidiary: The athletic shoe and apparel company said it wants to focus on its core brands. Stoughton, Mass.-based Reebok International Ltd. said it would take an after-tax charge of $34 million for the fourth quarter of 1995 from the sale. Reebok’s move comes after a year of disappointing financial results, caused in part by low sales of its Reebok and Avia brands in the U.S. “Avia is a wonderful niche brand, but it’s competing against Reebok,” Reebok spokeswoman Kate Burnham said. Reebok acquired Avia in 1987. Reebok has about 5,000 employees, and Avia has about 200, most in Portland, Ore.
