Hat World, Inc., a subsidiary of Genesco Inc., has acquired Brand Athletics, Inc., a team dealer, custom screen printer and embroidery operator based in Tigard, OR in the metropolitan Portland area.
Brand Athletics will become part of Hat World’s LIDS Team Sports division.
Founded as a niche shopping mall-based retailer of baseball-style caps, Hat World, Inc. expanded into the team dealer wholesale business with the acquisition of Impact Sports in 2008 and Great Plains Sports in 2009. The division was renamed LIDS Team Sports earlier this year.
The Brand Athletics acquisition includes the corporate office, distribution center, production assets, and nine-state sales territory of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
“The Brand Athletics acquisition further indicates our intent to grow the LIDS brand through the team dealer channel,” said Hat World, Inc. President Kenneth J. Kocher. “We are excited about LIDS Team Sports addition of the West region of the U.S. to our successful existing national sales force.”
“Like our other strategic acquisitions, the Brand Athletics business model has proven to be successful with considerable growth potential, and we are excited to add the Brand Athletics team to the family of LIDS brands,” said LIDS Team Sports President Clyde Roenbeck. “With sales representation now covering more than half of the U.S., we remain steadfast in our goal to lead the effort of bringing cohesion in the highly fragmented team dealer industry. We will continue to do so by offering the very best products and placing the highest priority on customer service.”
“Brand Athletics is excited to join forces with such an entrepreneurial success story like Hat World, Inc. and be associated with the well-known LIDS brand,” said Matt Geske, Brand Athletics Operations Director. We look forward to this next growth phase and to being a part of something very powerful and special in the team dealer business.”
