Cherokee Inc. entered into an exclusive agreement in the U.S. with JEM Sportswear for men’s and boy’s knit tops for its Sideout brand. JEM Sportswear, based in San Fernando, CA, currently has 35 active licensing deals with Disney, Hasbro, Fox, Summit and Live Nation, among others.
Robert Margolis, Chairman & CEO of Cherokee Inc., said, “Many lifestyle brands have entered into exclusive relationships with specific retailers creating a void in branded lifestyle merchandise for many middle market retailers that do not have the economies of scale to manufacture their own licensed lifestyle product. We believe Sideout’s California lifestyle heritage, with retail sales having peaked at over $100 million dollars annually, can help fill this void. We are planning to partner with premier wholesale manufacturers that are capable of supporting the needs of these retailers.”
Jeff Marine, Chairman & CEO, JEM Sportswear, said, “The Sideout brand has a clean and marketable lifestyle heritage. We look forward to collaborating with Cherokee to build on this heritage.”
Jay Kester, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Cherokee Inc., said, “We are pleased to partner with JEM and look forward to expanding our network by complementing the JEM license with other premier manufacturers in specific categories including sportswear, activewear, swimwear, and other available categories. We look forward to having product in the market by spring/summer 2010.”
