California Apparel News

First the Los Angeles–centric William Rast label hit Canada last year and was in all of the Hudson’s Bay department stores.

Now it is headed to Europe, where it will be in stores in Germany, Switzerland, England and Italy.

Starting in March, the Spring 2014 collection will be carried by Appelrath-Cupper and Gorgens-Gruppe in Germany, Manor in Switzerland, and USC in England as well as online sites Yoox in Italy and Zalindo in Germany. More stores will be launched this fall.

Plans are also in the works to extend the brand to Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

William Rast was founded in 2005 by singer/actor Justin Timberlake and his childhood friend Trace Ayala. The brand is now owned by Sequential Brands Group, which has its executive offices in Los Angeles and business offices in New York.

In late 2011, Sequential Brands exclusively licensed the William Rast label to JCPenney. But with the mid-tier department store facing a number of retail missteps and a revolving door of executives, the exclusive-licensing agreement was changed in December 2013.

Instead of ending on Jan. 30, 2016, the licensing agreement now expires on June 30, 2014, and will no longer be exclusive. That gives Sequential Brands the right to take its William Rast brand and enter into other licensing agreements with other parties.

“We’re excited to reintroduce the new William Rast collection internationally, especially with such premium European retailers,” Ayala said in a statement. “As much as the collection has evolved, the look and feel has stayed true to our Tennessee roots and continues to offer a fresh, modern approach to Americana fashion that we’re confident the European market will embrace.”

The collection includes men’s and women’s sportswear, denim and outerwear, as well as men’s bags, belts and small leather goods.

William Rast started when Sequential Brands used to be called People’s Liberation, which was launched by Danny Guez in 2003 as a denim-centric clothing company.

Over the years it has evolved, and, through a reverse merger in 2012, it became Sequential Brands Group, which is a brand-licensing company. Brands the company owns and licenses include People’s Liberation, DVS, Heelys, Caribbean Joe, Ellen Tracy, Revo and The Franklin Mint.

On Feb 27, Sequential Brands announced its revenues and earnings for the full year ending Dec. 31, 2013, were $22.7 million with a net loss of $18 million. In 2012, its annual revenues were $5.3 million with a net loss of $9.1 million. The company predicts that revenues in 2014 will total $28 million to $30 million.