Kate Spade has won numerous awards throughout her career. In 1996 the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Kate "America's New Fashion Talent in Accessories" for her classic designs. In 1998, CFDA once again honored her for "Best Accessory Designer of the Year". Kate Spade's home collection won her three design awards in 2004, including, House Beautiful's "Giants of Design Award for Tastemaker", Bon Appetit's "American Food and Entertaining Award for Designer of the Year", and Elle Decor's "Elle Decor International Design Award for Bedding".
In 1996, Kate Spade opened its first shop in New York City's SoHo. In 1998, Kate Spade opened its doors in Boston, in 2000, Chicago, San Francisco, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Manhasset, Long Island. In the spring of 2003, one more store opened in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. From there, a wave of boutiques opened in 2004, in Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, Scottsdale, Dallas, and Boca Raton. The last boutiques that were opened were in Las Vegas, Palo Alto, and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In 2004, Kate went international and opened a store in Aoyama, Japan.
Kate currently has 25 Kate Spade boutiques around the world: 16 in the United States, 5 in Japan, 3 in Hong Kong, and 1 in the Philippines.In 2004, Women's Wear Daily reported that Kate Spade had sales of $125 million. It was predicted that in fiscal 2005, sales could reach and surpass $200 million. The Neiman Marcus Group Inc., which formerly owned Kate Spade, sold it to Liz Claiborne for $125 million in November 2006.
