OTHER NEWS - Aug. 9, 1996

Guess Stumbles Down Wall Street Runway: The Los Angeles-based maker of high-fashion sportswear made an inauspicious entrance in the stock market. Its initial public offering opened flat on the New York Stock Exchange, highlighting the overall malaise in the market for new issues and aggravated by Guess Inc.’s recent labor difficulties. Guess sold nearly 17% of its stock to underwriters late Wednesday. The offering had been delayed twice previously, and Guess had to reduce the sale to 7 million shares from 9.2 million as originally planned. The company trimmed the price to $18 a share from original estimates of $21 to $23. On Thursday, it began trading under the symbol GES. It remained stuck at $18 a share despite heavy volume.