Life's A Beach: Russell Athletic Inks Three-Year Deal With AVP

By Terry Lefton, Editor-at-Large

Russell Athletic is the newest business partner of the AVP as part of a hybrid licensing/sponsorship deal. The three-year deal replaces an arrangement under which Nautica had the rights since ‘02 to use AVP marks in promotions and advertising while the AVP did its own on-site apparel program with some help from title sponsor Crocs. Event Merchandising Inc. will handle on-site and online distribution of the new Russell AVP merchandise. "We'll have a wider range of merchandise and we hope Russell will help us build a program combining performance and lifestyle that we can then take to [off-site] retail,” said AVP Commissioner Leonard Armato. Exactly what AVP sponsorship inventory Russell will get under the deal is still being determined, Armato said. The Crocs AVP Tour begins in Panama City, Florida, on March 27.

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