Lids announced a partnership with Designer Brands Inc. to open fan apparel in-store shops inside 45 DSW and The Shoe Company locations throughout Canada. The locations include stores in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
These shop-in-shop formats will range from headwear displays to mini shops that include licensed jerseys. Lids already has 130 storefronts in Canada.
“At Lids, we’re always looking for new ways to bring our unparalleled assortment of licensed sports apparel and headwear to more customers,” said Lawrence Berger, co-founder and partner at Ames Watson and Chairman of FanzzLids Holdings which is the owner of Lids. “Designer Brands offers a one-stop shop for footwear and accessory needs and we’re looking forward to complementing that with Lids’ diverse offerings to better serve Canadian customers.”
Product will primarily include licensed headwear and jerseys, with an emphasis on gear representing Canadian sports teams including the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Raptors, and the Blue Jays. The partnership also includes online sales with Lids products available on each store’s respective website moving forward.
“We are thrilled to partner with Lids on the roll-out of store-in-store boutiques offering licensed sports merchandise to local fan communities across the country,” said Mary Turner, president of Designer Brands Operations in Canada. “We believe that Lids’ merchandise provides great synergies with our growing athletics assortments while allowing us to tap into a younger customer demographic.”
The announcement with Designer Brands follows a breakout year for Lids that saw the company add 70 stores during the COVID pandemic and cement an international expansion agreement with the NBA. Lids continues to be the largest headwear retailer in North America. Beyond hats, Lids is the largest brick & mortar retailer of licensed sports product in North America.
The first in-store shop-in-shop concept between Lids and Designer Brands will launch on May 15 with its online assortment.
Photo courtesy Retail Brew, Francis Scialabba
