American Sporting Goods Adds And 1 To Growing Brand Roster
By Terry Lefton, Editor-At-Large
Irvine, California-based American Sporting Goods (ASG) has added another sneaker nameplate to its stable of athletic footwear brands with the purchase of basketball apparel and footwear company And 1. Terms could not be learned. And 1 CEO Seth Berger will now report to ASG President & CEO Kevin Wulff.
HIP-HOP HOORAY: ASG’s offerings include its homegrown Turntec brand. Also, in ‘94, the company expanded into the hiking market with the introduction of Nevados. In ‘96, ASG purchased the Avia brand from Reebok, and in ‘99, it purchased the Ryka, Yukon and Apex brands of footwear. And 1 gives ASG a basketball/hip hop offering. Wulff in a statement said the acquisition “is a perfect strategic fit for our company. It complements our multi-brand business model by providing strength to areas within ASG that need it, such as the very large consumer group of teen boys and young adult basketball enthusiasts and our underdeveloped international and apparel business.”
NOISE MAKER: Founded on the back of “Trash Talking” T-shirts, 12-year-old And 1 made some noise in the ‘90s by slicing off a piece of Nike’s dominance in the basketball market. It signed high-profile NBAers like Stephon Marbury, and exploited the mix of sports and entertainment early, with its Mix Tape Tour and TV show on ESPN, which helped popularize street basketball. But while it built a strong brand, especially in the face of competition from Nike, its biggest problem was that it was never known for its footwear. “Their best product was a slip on (the ‘toochillin’ shoe offering) and if you are a basketball company, you have to have a performance reputation on the court,” said Bruce Blanke, a partner in five Athlete’s Foot stores in the New York/New Jersey area.
BUYERS’ MARKET: Industry sources said that adidas, and more recently, Skechers, had also looked at buying And 1. The And 1 deal continues a recent trend of consolidation in athletic footwear and apparel space, which has included Nike purchasing Converse and Russell Athletic purchasing Brooks.
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