Iconix Brand Group is an American brand management company that licenses brands to retailers and manufacturers primarily in the

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

, and apparel accessory industries. Its brands are available in such stores as Kohl's, Kmart, Sears, Macy's, Nordstrom, Target and

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

History and operations

The company began as Candie's, Inc., whose brand it purchased in 1993. The Bongo brand was purchased in 1998. The Badgley Mischka brand was purchased in 2004. The Joe Boxer and Rampage brands were acquired on July 22, 2005, and September 15, 2005, respectively. In 2006, the company acquired the

Mudd Mudd is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Daniel Mudd (born 1956), American CEO, son of Roger Mudd * David Mudd (1933–2020), English politician * Harvey Seeley Mudd (1888–1955), American mining engineer, namesake of Harvey ...

, London Fog, Mossimo, and

Ocean Pacific Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. (Ocean Pacific or OP) is a clothing company based in Irvine, California, United States. It produces T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and beverage mugs. History The first "Ocean Pacific" trademark brand was started by ...

brands on April 11, August 29, November 1, and November 6, respectively. The company continued with acquisitions in 2007 with the purchase of Cannon, Danskin, Artful Dodger, and Rocawear brands. On November 15, 2007, Iconix bought the Starter brand from Nike. On October 27, 2009, Iconix paid $109 million for a 51% stake in urban fashion brand

Eckō Unltd. Yakira, L.L.C. (trade name: Ecko Unltd.) is an American urban fashion company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. The company makes apparel and accessories under brands including the men's Ecko Unltd. line and the Ecko Red line for girls and women. ...

It acquired full ownership in May 2013. On June 3, 2010, Iconix and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates jointly acquired all assets related to the '' Peanuts'' comic strip from its longtime owner, United Media, using the property to form a new company, Peanuts Worldwide, which is 80% owned by Iconix and 20% owned by Schulz Associates. Peanuts Worldwide also acquired United Media's licensing arm, which represents licensing for its other properties including '' Dilbert'' and '' Nancy''. In 2011, Iconix acquired electronics brand

The Sharper Image Sharper Image is an American brand that offers consumers home electronics, air purifiers, gifts, and other high-tech lifestyle products through its website, catalog, and third-party retailers. The brand is owned by ThreeSixty Group, with the U.S. ...

. In October 2012,

Nike Inc. Nike, Inc. (stylized as NIKE) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is head ...

announced that it had signed with Iconix Brand Group to sell the English brand Umbro for US$225 million. The acquisition was completed in December 2012. In 2013, Iconix acquired Lee Cooper from Sun Capital Partners. In February 2013, Iconix acquired control of the Buffalo David Bitton brand in an effort to expand into higher-end brands. Iconix paid Buffalo International ULC $76.5 million in cash for a 51% stake in the brand. In February 2015, Iconix bought the

Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 196 ...

brand from American Greetings. Also that month, Iconix and Anthony L&S Athletics, LLC acquired intangible assets of Pony along with North American rights to the brand from Symphony Holdings, LLC, with the option to purchase additional markets. A new subsidiary, with 75% and 25% stakes owned by Iconix and Anthony L&S Athletics respectively, would hold the Pony rights. In 2015, several top executives, including founder Neil Cole, resigned following a statement that Iconix was under investigation by the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

. The investigation was triggered by Iconix's 2014 financial statements, after which it received a letter from the SEC. Stock prices fell 24% after Iconix confirmed the investigation. On December 5, 2019, the SEC charged Iconix and three of its former top executives with fraud. The COO, Seth Horowitz, pleaded guilty to the charges, and Iconix agreed to pay a $5.5 million penalty. As of July 2020, the suit against the founder and previous CEO, Neil Cole, is still ongoing. In 2017, Iconix sold Badgley Mischka and The Sharper Image. On May 10, 2017, DHX Media announced that it had acquired the Iconix entertainment division for $345 million. The sale was closed on June 30, 2017, giving DHX rights to the ''

'' franchise, and more prominently, the 80% majority stake of Peanuts Worldwide. On October 15, 2018, Iconix announced the hiring of Robert Galvin as CEO. On July 14, 2020, Iconix announced that the company is up for sale. The next year, the company went private with

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

investor Lancer Capital LLC purchasing all outstanding shares and delisting it from

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

Federal investigations

After investigations in 2003, Neil Cole and Candie's reached an agreement to settle charges of fraudulent accounting practices brought against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Neil Cole agreed to pay $75,000 to settle charges without admitting or denying wrongdoing. In 2019, Cole was again charged with 10 criminal counts, including conspiracy, securities fraud, making false filings with the SEC and conspiracy to destroy records. Iconix agreed to pay a civil penalty of $5.5 million to settle the SEC's claims.

Brands

Through its history, Iconix has owned a large portfolio of brands, which include:Brands archive
on IBG, August 17, 2020

Current

* Artful Dodger * Bongo * Buffalo David Bitton * Candie's * Cannon Mills * Charisma * Danskin * Ed Hardy * Eckō Unltd. and Marc Eckō Cut & Sew * Fieldcrest * Joe Boxer * Lee Cooper * London Fog * Material Girl * Modern Amusement * Mossimo *

/OP * Pony * Rampage * Rocawear * Royal Velvet * Starter * Umbro * Waverly *

Zoo York Zoo York may refer to: * Zoo York (Central Park), style and social philosophy inspired by 1970s New York City graffiti art subculture *Zoo York (company) Zoo York is an American company focused on the skateboarding market. The company currently c ...

Former brands

Pillowtex Pillowtex Corporation was a United States textile manufacturing company from 1954 to 2003. Beginning as a pillow manufacturer, the company diversified and manufactured bedsheets under various brand names. The company was officially declared bank ...

* Truth or Dare * Badgley Mischka (2004–17) * Peanuts Worldwide (80%; 2010–17); sold in 2017 to DHX Media (now WildBrain) *

(2011–17) *

acquired in 2015 from American Greetings; sold in 2017 to DHX Media (now WildBrain)

References

External links

* {{Iconix Brand Group Branding companies of the United States Companies based in New York City Marketing companies established in 1978 Sportswear brands Clothing brands of the United States Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Dancewear companies