Iconix Brand's three core sports brands Starter, OP (Ocean Pacific) and Danskin Now are growing nicely at Wal-Mart despite an overhaul of the giant discounter's merchandising team.
“We're pretty encouraged about our positioning at Wal-Mart,” said Neil Cole, ICON’s chairman, president and CEO, on a third-quarter conference call, noting that he has held numerous discussions with the new merchants. “We're pretty encouraged that we have three great brands that kind of work into their fashion ‘basic,’ which is we're selling a lot of socks and underwear in the key categories that Wal-Mart is focusing on.”
He said Iconix is having some of its best sell-throughs ever with OP for fall, with particular success in the men's area. He was also “encouraged” to hear that Wal-Mart is planning on discontinuing some of its other fashion brands but OP is not one of them.
Among other sports/fashion brands, Zoo York has been re-launched in the mid-tier channel and sales, especially at JC Penney, are exceeding expectations. Ecko and Rocawear had been underperforming in a challenging urban fashion market but were in line with “very conservative” plans for the quarter.
Overall, Iconix's revenues largely from licensing income – climbed 63.2% to $96.9 million in the third quarter, reflecting a full quarter of revenue from both Peanuts and Ecko as well as a “healthy performance” across its overall portfolio. Earnings increased 55.6% to approximately $31.8 million, or 37 cents a share. Other Iconix brands include Candie's, Bongo, Mudd, Badgley Mischka, Material Girl, London Fog and Rampage.
