The American Basketball Association (ABA) has signed a letter of intent with International Apparel Group, Inc. for the creation of ABA Apparel, LLC.
ABA Apparel will have the exclusive rights for the development of ABA on- and off-court team apparel and retail merchandise. ABA Apparel is designed to enable the league to maximize its profitability in an area that has been extremely successful for other professional sports leagues including retail sales of licensed apparel. It should also allow the league to create uniformity, consistency and create the potential for revenue sharing with its member teams.
The ABA anticipates that an estimated 60 plus teams will be playing in the US, Canada and Mexico for the 2007-2008 season and it expects the league to grow to its target of 100 teams over the next 4-5 years.
“We are very pleased to be able to form this partnership with IAG,” stated Joe Newman, ABA CEO. “Because of the size of the league and our expansion into Mexico and Canada, we have been approached by many apparel companies. IAG is an outstanding company. Their design team is extraordinary, they understand our league and its objectives, they have tremendous reach into the retail market and they are very knowledgeable about the sports apparel industry. We are really looking forward to working with them to maximize the potential that this extraordinary opportunity provides for the league and its teams.”
International Apparel Group, Inc. (IAG) is a division of Total Luxury Group, Inc. The company has implemented a successful and growing, full-service private label design and production program, serving recognizable names like Converse, Randy Moss Clothing, as well as official licensed apparel and jerseys for the NIFL, and other professional sports leagues.
Janon Costley, IAG President stated, “I am extremely excited about the potential of this relationship. We have witnessed the rapid expansion of the ABA over the last several years. By analyzing the league and its target audience, we feel that we have put together a good strategy that will appeal to the league, the teams, the fans and the average consumer that will allow ABA Apparel to succeed at a league level and in various retail categories.”
Costley continued, “We started our first company several years ago by focusing on sports apparel. Since that time we have developed products in many different apparel categories for company owned brands and for companies such as Converse, Inc. We feel that the ABA partnership brings us full circle by allowing us to utilize these experiences to assist in building an apparel brand for the ABA.”
