Are we the only ones that got a chuckle out of Jones Apparel Group's (JNY) announcement this morning that it is changing its name to The Jones Group Inc. ?

Yeah...we get it -- JNY sells more than just apparel. It also has 9 West, Stewart Weitzman, etc... But the reality is that apparel still accounts for 98% of segment EBIT.

Wouldn't this move have made more sense when JNY owned Barney's? (even then it would have been odd).

Doesn't the Board have more pressinig things to do than changing the company's name?

Isn't it ironic that this happens just as the apparel environment is hitting  a wall?

We're not suggesting that they think a name tweak will change their fortunes. But quite frankly, while we always like to provide a conclusion and appropriate context in our research, in this instance we don't have a clue as to what these guys are thinking.

Bizarre.