VF Imagewear, Inc. announced that it has extended its strategic licensing agreements with both Major League Baseball Properties and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The agreements follow February's announcement of the purchase of Majestic Athletic, the leading global provider of authentic sports licensed apparel and branded uniforms for Major League Baseball.
VF Imagewear said both agreements solidify the global apparel licensing rights that were held separately by Majestic Athletic and VF Imagewear prior to the transaction announced earlier this year. Specifically, the agreements cover authentic, replica and fanwear products for all size ranges, both genders and distribution channels. The license agreement with MLBPA runs through 2012, while the agreements with MLB Properties were extended through 2014.
Ed Doran, President of VF Imagewear, Inc., stated, “The Majestic acquisition effectively opened exclusive channels of retail distribution by combining Imagewear's extensive fanwear capabilities with Majestic's unique expertise in authentic, replica and player products. These landmark agreements solidify extremely successful partnerships and provide the continuity required to grow these businesses for all parties. We have experienced a tremendous working relationship in the past with both of these strategic partners, and are excited about our futures together.”
“Major League Baseball and VF Imagewear have developed a successful business partnership, so it is a great pleasure to announce this multi-year extension,” said Howard Smith, Senior Vice President, Licensing, Major League Baseball Properties. “With its recent acquisition of Majestic Athletic, VF has strategically positioned itself to continue to provide MLB, our Clubs and our fans with the highest quality licensed products and the high level of customer service that we have come to expect.”
Richard White, General Manager of Licensing for the Major League Baseball Players Association, stated, “The purchase of Majestic Athletic greatly enhances VF's ability to fully meet the significant demand for baseball licensed apparel across all channels of distribution. We're especially excited that VF's resources, including Majestic's committed staff, will focus much of their efforts on bringing the power of Major League baseball players to all aspects of apparel in new and creative ways.”
