If someone you know, probably a pubescent teen, live in clothing by Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and Lucky Brand Jeans they should know they won’t be finding them in Macy’s anymore. Liz Claiborne and Macy’s are on the outs.

Liz Claiborne’s decision to develop a new product line for J. C. Penney had infuriated Macy’s chief executive, Terry J. Lundgren, company officials said. Executives expected small cuts in Macy’s orders for fall — punishment, in their eyes, for cheating on their biggest client — but what arrived “shocked us,” said the new chief executive of Liz Claiborne, William L. McComb.

Macy’s slashed orders for the Liz Claiborne brand by millions of dollars. “You have lost your most-favored-nation status” at Macy’s, Mr. Lundgren told executives at the clothing company, according to people who witnessed the conversations.

The impact was disastrous. Liz Claiborne’s first-quarter earnings plunged 65 percent and Wall Street pummeled the stock, knocking it down more than 17 percent, to $37 from $45.
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