Sep. 8, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ: CHKE), a leading licensor and global brand management company, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement in the U.S. with JEM Sportswear for men’s and boy’s knit tops for its Sideout brand. JEM Sportswear, with over 38 years of experience, is a powerful force in the industry and is known for its commitment to product design, quality and speed to market.
Robert Margolis, Chairman & CEO of Cherokee Inc., said, “Many lifestyle brands have entered into exclusive relationships with specific retailers creating a void in branded lifestyle merchandise for many middle market retailers that do not have the economies of scale to manufacture their own licensed lifestyle product. We believe Sideout’s California lifestyle heritage, with retail sales having peaked at over $100 million dollars annually, can help fill this void. We are planning to partner with premier wholesale manufacturers that are capable of supporting the needs of these retailers.”
Jeff Marine, Chairman & CEO, JEM Sportswear, said, “The Sideout brand has a clean and marketable lifestyle heritage. We look forward to collaborating with Cherokee to build on this heritage.”
Jay Kester, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Cherokee Inc., said, “We are pleased to partner with JEM and look forward to expanding our network by complementing the JEM license with other premier manufacturers in specific categories including sportswear, activewear, swimwear, and other available categories. We look forward to having product in the market by spring/summer 2010.”
About Cherokee Inc.
Cherokee Inc., based in Van Nuys, is a marketer, licensor and manager of a variety of brands it owns (Cherokee, Sideout, Carole Little and others) and represents. Currently, Cherokee has licensing agreements in a number of categories, including family apparel, fashion accessories and footwear, as well as home furnishings and recreational products. Premier clients for the Cherokee brand around the world include Target Stores (U.S.), Tesco (U.K., Ireland and certain Central European countries), Zellers (Canada), Pick ‘n Pay (South Africa), Grupo Pão de Acucar (Brazil), S.A.C.I. Falabella (Chile and Peru), Arvind Mills (India), Shufersal LTD. (Israel), Comercial Mexicana (Mexico) and Eroski (Spain). Premier clients for Cherokee’s other brands include the TJX Companies (U.S., Canada and Europe) for the Carole Little brands, and Shanghai Bolderway (China) for the Sideout Brand. Cherokee also placed the Norma Kamali brand with Wal-Mart.
About JEM Sportswear
JEM Sportswear has been in business 38 years and is based in San Fernando, CA. In the last eight years JEM has built a reputation as a go-to company for entertainment companies wanting to marry their characters and brands with fashion and quality.
