Marika, the women’s active wear company, signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Laila Ali, one of the most recognizable female athletes and champions of health and fitness in the world. Specific details of the deal were not disclosed, but includes Ali serving as the label’s spokesperson across all marketing platforms. Ads will run in women’s, fashion, lifestyle, and fitness magazines and on websites beginning in Spring 2012. She will play a prominent role in Marika’s global retail and advertising campaigns.
The youngest daughter of Veronica Porsche Anderson, and of the legendary Muhammad Ali, Laila is a strong, intelligent, woman, daughter and wife. While she was undoubtedly a major draw in professional women’s athletics for years, as she is known for her undefeated record in boxing, Lalia continues to focus her attention to an overall healthy lifestyle and renders her fitness expertise to the field on a daily basis. She is currently the President of the Women’s Sport Foundation, and can be seen on the new ABC show, Everyday Health, which focuses on people who have overcome or are overcoming health related issues and are paying it forward to assist others in similar positions of need.
Laila represents Marika’s target customers, age 25-50. She successfully maintains a strong balance in her life by remaining an influential voice in the women’s athletics arena, while juggling the duties of a working mother yet keeping her family life the priority.
“We have always, as a brand, been known for delivering an uplifting mix of athletic basics and feminine lifestyle active-wear to women that are looking to maintain a healthy balance in their lives. Laila is a natural fit to come on board as she personifies today’s on-the-go, well rounded woman. It is without question that Ali will help us to enhance our consumer products strategy as we continue to revolutionize the industry with new product launches in 2012. We are ecstatic to begin our partnership with such a world class athlete and huge personality!,” explains Frank Zarabi, CEO and Owner FAM BRANDS/Marika.
Laila said, “As a former world champion boxer, I always look for high performance gear to wear during my intense workouts. However, as a working mother of two it’s now equally important for me to have functional workout wear that is also stylish in my wardrobe. This way, I can go from the gym to picking up the kids, without hesitation. This is why I’m so excited to be working with Marika, as they design for the modern woman juggling the demands of motherhood, work, household and her own personal being. What I wear certainly needs to be versatile so that I can accomplish all of my daily activities and perform at my best!”
Commerce, CA-based Marika, a FAM Brands company, was founded in 1982 and has became one of the category’s top United States manufacturers. Last year it introduced the successful shape-enhancing Marika Miracles line, which features a ground-breaking slimming ELAST-TIGHT fabric that incorporates formerly patent-pending design and technologies which are now APPROVED PATENTS. The Marika Magic sub-brand , which provides all the ELASTA-TIGHT benefits in a stretch cotton fabric at a more affordable price point was more recently launched.
