Starter is reportedly negotiating on-field licensing deals with the Fox Sports-controlled USFL and the Arena Football League as part of a comeback.
Carl Banks, president of G-III’s sports division, told Bloomberg that the deals would add to existing licensing deals with the NFL, MLB, NBA, several college programs, and an NHL collection set for release this fall. They come as Starter’s sales have increased, up 20 percent so far this year.
Banks said Starter, owned by Iconix Brand Group, Inc. and licensed to G-III Apparel Group, Ltd., is exploring alliances with European football teams for the first time.
Starter will also tap its “time capsule” of retro styles from its heyday in the nineties to support limited-edition releases. During an event at the MLB flagship store in Manhattan at Rockefeller Center in late July, Starter re-released its iconic Bronx Bubble jacket. The launch was timed with the ongoing 50th anniversary of hip hop and tied to the Mets/Yankees “Subway Series.”
“I thought no better piece than this Starter bomber than to bring back to help celebrate the anniversary of Hip-Hop,” Banks said at the event. “Some of hip-hop’s greatest pioneers wore this jacket.”
Photo courtesy Starter
