Meek Mill recently became a co-owner of Lids, and will release a limited-edition exclusive hat line in AugustGETTY IMAGES
Lids is launching a "new business strategy to capitalize on a growing trend" by targeting rappers, country music stars and individual athletes for "licensing deals for exclusive merchandise," according to Lisa Fickenscher of the N.Y. POST. The new caps "will make up half of the store’s merchandise within two years." Lids yesterday announced rapper Meek Mill had "become a co-owner" of the company and will release a "limited-edition exclusive hat line for its store in August." Meanwhile, Chance The Rapper this week is "dropping an exclusive hat featuring his signature Number 3 logo." The move is "part of a larger shift that will see the company’s current core products -- focused on logos of professional and collegiate teams -- shrink" to 50% of the 28 million hats Lids sells annually. The celebrity-exclusive items "will only be available in Lids stores as the company tries to drive more traffic to its bricks and mortar locations" (N.Y. POST, 6/27). BUSINESS INSIDER's John Lynch notes Meek Mill is joining the Lids ownership group "by way of his close connection" with Fanatics Founder & Exec Chair Michael Rubin. Fanatics is a minority owner of the retail chain (BUSINESSINSIDER.com, 6/27).
