MANUFACTURING
Cherokee Signs Deal to Create Footwear for Everyday California Brand
There will be no flip-flopping on this deal.
Cherokee Global Brands—whose labels include Cherokee, Carole Little, Tony Hawk and Sideout—has signed a deal with Saliluz to create a collection of men’s and women’s casual footwear and flip-flops under Cherokee’s Everyday California label.
The shoes and sandals will be sold at Flip Flop Shops, a mall-based chain that Cherokee acquired last year for $12 million.
The new collection will debut for the Spring 2017 season and be co-developed by Flip Flop Shops and Cobian, which is the parent company of Saliluz and a respected casualwear shoe brand sold at Flip Flop Shops.
“We acquired Flip Flop Shops last fall with plans to identify and pursue innovative licensing opportunities that synergize our portfolio. The Everyday California footwear collection created by Cobian will be the first of many partnerships that leverage our brand assets and relationships with respected category leaders,” said Howard Siegel, president and chief operating officer of Cherokee Global Brands, based in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Flip Flop Shops were started in 2004 and carry an assortment of casualwear styles made by OluKai, Sanuk, Havaianas, Roxy and Quiksilver. They operate under a franchise model launched in 2008. The chain now operates 250 stores in the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Middle East.
Cherokee, a publicly listed company traded on the NASDAQ, went through a tough time last year when its main licensee in Canada, Target Canada, closed all 133 stores after declaring bankruptcy in that country. It has been looking for new ways to bolster sales.
For fiscal 2016, Cherokee had net income of $8.43 million on $34.65 million in revenues compared with net income of $9.82 million on $35 million in revenues the previous year.
