Stride Rite Corp. has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Hip-Hop Mogul Damon Dash, CEO of Rocawear clothing and Roc-a-fella records, for the distribution of men's, women's and children's footwear under the PRO-Keds brand. The line will be introduced at the MAGIC trade show in Las Vegas in August 2004, and will be available at retail in January 2005.
The PRO-Keds brand, which sits with Tommy Hilfiger Footwear in Richie Woodworths group at SRR, has been in incubation for the last couple of years and has seen some very limited boutique success. Woodworth thinks licensing the brand to Dash makes sense since “PRO-Keds has historical roots in the Urban Market.” He said integrating the Pro-Keds brand under Dashs umbrella when “music is challenging sports as the key promotional vehicle” in the sneaker market is a “terrific opportunity.”
