B.U.M. Equipment, the California lifestyle brand popular in the 80’s and 90’s, will be relaunched this fall as part of a celebration of its 30th anniversary.
B.U.M. Equipment LLC will launch its re-entry into the manufacturing business under the guidance of Stephen Wayne, chairman and CEO of B.U.M. Equipment LLC. The line will debut with four pieces of the collection a Retro, Vintage, Authentic and Fashion component in Young Men’s as a Unisex Line.
Wayne, who is best known for his successes of licensing legendary brands such as B.U.M. Equipment, Bugle Boy, Sasson Jeans, and Andrew Fezza, decided to enlist his five kids to begin to overhaul and reinvent the brand starting with the website.
“The launch of this collection is perfectly timed for consumers hungry for a retro brand that embodies laid-back casual California Lifestyle and so far celebrities showing off their favorite Bums have already proven that to us,” said Wayne. Just as the launch plans were set in motion late last summer, the internet lit up with pictures of Rihanna coming out of a recording session with Drake wearing a vintage B.U.M. Equipment sweatshirt.
Wayne went on to say “It was as if the light went on I started to get calls from dozens of interested parties.” First, Wayne signed a deal with Foundry Brands, one of London’s most fashion forward licensing companies to handle the brand in the U.K . Second, Bum Vintage products were selected to be used in the launch of Ashton Kutscher’s new comedy series “The Ranch”. Late last year, Urban Outfitters approached Bum to see if we were interested in launching an exclusive collection of B.U.M Equipment at Urban Outfitters. “And so the balls were set in motion”’ said Wayne.
Since then B.U.M. has signed an exclusive license for Infants and Toddlers Apparel to be made by New York based Land N Sea Inc. Baby B.U.M. products will ship for fall. Expected sales for first year will be in excess of $ 1,000,000. Robbie Sobel Chairman of Land N Sea said “Bum is the perfect vehicle for our Baby Products and the incorporation of Baby B.U.M. was perfect fit. We also will be offering an older Boys capsule of products for Holiday as well.”
As recently as the early 2000’s B.U.M. Equipment was recognized as one of the top 100 brands and one of the top 10 contemporary brands by WWD. The rebirth of this 80’s/ 90’s brand happens as retailers are hotly pursuing the infusion of retro brands into their matrixes.
B.U.M. Equipment shot a new advertising campaign earlier this month to coordinate with the Fall launch, which will debut at the MLB All Star Game in July. Currently, B.U.M licenses its products in the USA and a number of countries internationally. B.U.M. Equipment LLC owns and operates the brand throughout the world with the exception of a very few countries. Wayne has plans for a number of new licenses to round out the product assortment including accessories and ultimately to find a licensee to take over the junior and young men’s collections as well.
For more information, visit http://www.bumequipment.com.