The Schottenstein Stores Corp. group's deal to acquire
Starter for $46M "is expected to boost" Logo Athletic's
sales "by as much as half and stabilize its 400-person [IN]
workforce," according to Norm Heikens of the INDIANAPOLIS
STAR-NEWS. Logo Athletic CEO Tom Shine, whose group's bid
"prevailed over" those from Sears and other retailers, said,
"We got our biggest competitor and got their brand name.
Now all we have to do is execute." Shine said that his
company first "considered" buying Starter last year, but
decided to wait after investment adviser McDonald & Co.
"predicted it would go bankrupt." The new ownership group,
which also includes Sol Werdiger of OuterStuff Ltd., Franco
Apparel Group and Boston investment fund Parthenon Capital,
"will form a separate company based in Indianapolis to
license the Starter name to the partners and other
interested firms." Logo will license Starter for adult
clothing, OuterStuff will license products for boys ages 6-
20 and Franco will license apparel for infants. The deal is
expected to add $40-100M annually to Logo sales by the end
of 2000. Shine noted that after this deal, "further
acquisitions are unlikely" for Logo (STAR-NEWS, 7/16).
