Van Heusen Corporation entered into a licensing agreement with Harbor Footwear Group, Ltd. to market mens, womens, and childrens footwear for the Bass brand, including the Weejun and Sunjun brands, world-wide.
Under the agreement, the 130-year old Bass brand will continue to be sold in better department stores and independent retailers throughout the U.S., as well as through distributors in over 30 countries around the world. Harbor, which has licensed the rights to design, source and market Bass footwear worldwide on a wholesale basis, will assume the current Bass business in February 2007 and will launch its first collection at the June FFANY Show in New York. PVH will continue to operate its Bass outlet retail stores, which sell apparel and accessories, as well as footwear.
“We are thrilled to partner with Harbor Footwear, one of the leaders in the footwear industry,” said Allen Sirkin, President and Chief Operating Officer of PVH. “We are confident that they share our vision for the future of the Bass brand and will build on its history as one of the most recognizable and successful brands of footwear.”
Dennis S. Lazar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harbor Footwear Group stated that “Harbor will capitalize on its strengths of product design and sourcing to offer footwear of exceptional quality and value to consumers under the Bass brand. We believe the combination of PVHs marketing strength and Harbors product capabilities ensure a bright future for this great brand.”
