Tefron announced a licensing agreement with X-Technology Swiss Research & Development AG (“XTS”) in which Tefron has been granted exclusive rights to manufacture, market and distribute XTS sportswear brands in North America. XTS, which is highly respected for its R&D services to select industries, revolutionized the field of functional sports clothing in Europe during the past 15 years with its innovative, award-winning brands X-BIONIC and X-SOCKS.
According to the agreement, XTS appoints Tefron to be the manufacturer and exclusive distributor of its sportswear and socks in North America and gives Tefron limited license to use its intellectual property to manufacture the products. Tefron assumes responsibility for all sales and distribution operations including advertising, marketing and promotion of products under the trademarks of XTS and will be responsible for managing and training sales representatives and training retailers. The agreement leaves open the possibility for future manufacture of other XTS products by Tefron.
Commenting on the agreement, Tefron CEO Amit Meridor, said: “We are very pleased that XTS has chosen Tefron to build its remarkable brand of technologically advanced, high-performance sportswear in North America. This agreement is a breakthrough achievement for Tefron based on our success, particularly in the past two years, in establishing efficient world-class manufacturing capabilities and a reputation for strong global marketing and distribution.”
Meridor also pointed out that the agreement enables Tefron to considerably advance its position in the sportswear industry going forward. “First,” said Mr. Meridor, “Tefron will be expanding its range of athletic wear into areas of increasing global popularity including bicycling, skiing, running, and trekking, and we will be manufacturing and distributing in these sports segments for both the professional and amateur markets. Second, I believe there are important synergies between the knowledge XTS has developed and Tefron's extensive technological base which, through our work in this agreement, will give Tefron major advantages over other companies in our sector in developing new and even more advanced technologies.”
XTS CEO, Professor Bodo W. Lambertz said, “Like XTS, we find Tefron to be among the most technologically advanced companies in the apparel industry. We, therefore, chose Tefron because they have the sophistication in their manufacturing to produce our unique sportswear products and because they have established a reputation for innovative athletic wear that we believe will best serve to develop the North American market for our X-BIONIC and X-SOCKS brands. It is my personal belief that only the companies capable of developing unique and complex technologies in our sector, such as XTS and Tefron, will be able to create for themselves a significant competitive advantage in the long run.”
