In an interview with the New York Post, Lids’ CEO Tom Ripley said the retailer plans to reduce its mix of caps tied to professional and collegiate teams to half of sales from 75 percent within two years in favor of fashionable headwear.
The fashion mix will is expected to include exclusive merchandise from rappers, country stars and individual athletes via licensing deals. Those deals include a limited-edition exclusive to launch in August from rapper Meek Mill, who has made an investment in Lids.
Other non-team items include hats featuring Nike, Adidas and Champion logos, as well as other brands.
“The growth of our business is in this fashion space,” said Ripley told The Post exclusively. “We are going after the fashion customer and that’s women and non-sports consumers.”
The report also noted that Lids plans to add another 40 stores between July 26 and October 1. It has 1,277.
