W&E; Today provides retailers and manufacturers with education and ideas that provoke innovation in the Western and English markets.
Issue link: http://wetoday.epubxp.com/i/235944
INDUSTRY NEWS A CROWDED COOP joins the herd to provide quality leather dog leashes and collars, for your customers whose canines deserve Justin Brands' best … and don't they all? Relatively new to the Western market, the company is still developing its product line; however, it will be selling dog collars and leashes made with authentic Justin boot leather, even incorporating some of the boots' stitching patterns. "A Crowded Coop is excited and honored to be able to leverage the legacy of the Justin Boots brand for an assortment of dogrelated accessories and toys," says Brandy Tanner, A Crowded Coop partner. "Applying their leather heritage with a 'Made in the USA' strategy means that the Justin Brands' quality and integrity will be available to pet lovers everywhere." T RU FRAGRANCE is launching the Justins Brands' fragrance franchise with Justin Boots, to ofer men's and women's fragrances. "We're excited to be able to help build the Justin Brands' fragrance franchise," says Mark Saviski vice president of Tru Fragrance, "and look forward to a long and rewarding partnership with a company whose brands are truly iconic in the Western lifestle market. R ODEO KING HATS will ofer both straw and domestically crafted wool and fur felt hats, branded with the venerable Tony Lama name. "Cowboy hats and boots are symbolic of the true American cowboy," says Stuart Alboum, president of Alboum Hat Co., "and to be able to partner with such an iconic brand as Tony Lama is a perfect ft. In keeping with the traditions and reputations of Tony Lama, we look forward to manufacturing fne quality hats for the working cowboy." Lankes says the licensees began shipping products in September 2013, with the bulk of products going out in October. Both selection and volume will increase in 2014. "Thus far, our retailers' response has been great, and our sales force has been wonderful — they're our heroes, honestly," Lankes says. "They've stepped up and have taken this project on with gusto and enthusiasm. And the reaction from our retailers, as far as the quality of the product, the value, the selection has been so positive." For the January Denver Market, Justin Brands will have an exclusive licensee showroom, MR 3325, to showcase the new partners' products. "It will be wonderful to have the partners' products right there where everyone can see the new things we're ofering," Lankes says. Lankes further says that this is the most licensees Justin Brands has ever partnered with simultaneously, and although it's been a challenging endeavor, the outcome has far exceeded their expectations. 32 Western & English Today "One thing I really like to tell our licensees is that we're not interested in coming in and personally designing ball caps or socks or pet products," Lankes explains. "We would like to have some input, but we gather that input from what we're seeing in the marketplace. And we make sure that we address any gaps." Porter jests that Justin didn't have a clue what was new or hip in socks. "Let me tell you," she laughs, "we let Catawba take care of that." Porter, who's been with Justin Brands since 2008, started her career with the company right out of college. "One of my major projects was to inregrate our new accessory products on our B2B site," Porter explains. "This website enables our retailers to go online and place orders for their stores. It's actually very simple. So adding these new partners to the site was one of the easiest ways to get them used to ordering through Justin. This way, the retailer doesn't have to make four or fve diferent phone calls — they simply order from our B2B portal." Porter admits that overseeing the engineering of the portal was a hefty project, but she was well prepared for the challenge. "It's defnitely an ongoing task," Porter says. "But on the other hand, it's a lot of fun and is very rewarding from start to fnish. Our licensees are incredibly capable and have partnerships with mega brands. Catawba Sox, for example, sells to Pearl Izumi and Brooks; Paramount Apparel is a licensee for True Religion, Greg Norman and Perry Ellis; and U.S. Continental is partnered with To Me, Coach, Michael Kors and Uggs. They're just incredibly capable companies and experts in what they do." Lankes adds that when they were searching for new partners, they stepped out of their comfort zone and sought companies that were accustomed to working with large brands and had the infrastructure to support the business. "We knew we needed people who could jump in and make this happen within a few months," Lankes says. "And they all did! These partners will take us to a whole new level." — Alana Harrison Amy Porter (left) and Lisa Lankes display some of the new licensees' original products. Retailers can place orders and communicate with the new partners via Justin Brands' B2B portal at b2b.justinbrands.com.