McTague added there are plans to improve all three of the worst performing brands for spring 2009. Isaac Mizrahi will relaunch the flagship Liz Claiborne brand, John Bartlett will do the same for Claiborne men's, and Villager will be discontinued and replaced by Dana Buchman, which Claiborne has licensed exclusively to Kohl's.

Claiborne also has significant sourcing changes on the horizon, and McComb said an announcement should be forthcoming in the next month. The vendor has already moved some of its sourcing out of China into Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia, and is considering Jordan and Egypt.

"I have not been happy with the degree to which sourcing has been integrated in the brands and the degree to which we drive our competitive advantage," McComb said. "We will be taking a substantive approach to integrating sourcing with design, merchandising, and merchandise planning and allocation."

Analyst Jennifer Black, of the firm that bears her name, thinks the revisions are realistic. "Unless we go into a depression, this could be a turnaround story," Black said. "The big question is if this is a 2009 story or a 2010 story."

Black said she was encouraged by Juicy's "extraordinary growth and potential" (even proposing Juicy could open special stores for its new intimates line), Kate Spade's prime segment given the current economic situation, and Lucky's plan to add more fashion denim and tops. On the partnered brands side, Black said, "I'm dying to see the Isaac Mizrahi line. In the meantime I have no expectations for the Liz brand."

But Brad Stephens, a retail analyst for Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., said he was wary about the store rollout plan for Lucky, which entails 20 to 25 full-priced stores and 15 to 20 outlets this year, after the brand's stores have experienced negative comps. He was also concerned that the strategy for Kate Spade of opening 12 outlets to six full-priced stores could hurt the brand image. Plus, Mexx also continues to underperform.

Claiborne's stock closed Tuesday at $18.75, up 38 cents.