Iconix Brand Group, Inc. is an American

brand management In marketing, brand management refers to the process of controlling how a brand is perceived in the market (economics), market. Tangible elements of brand management include the look, price, and packaging of the product itself; intangible element ...

company that licenses

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

s to retailers and manufacturers, primarily in the

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...

and apparel accessory industries.

History and operations

The company began as

Candie's Candie's is an American women's clothing brand launched in 1978. Originally a shoe brand, it has increased its range of products, currently commercializing T-shirts, blouses, dresses, jackets, pants, lingerie, sweaters, etc. History Candie's w ...

, Inc., whose brand it purchased in 1993. The Bongo brand was bought in 1998, then the

Badgley Mischka Badgley Mischka ( ) is an American fashion label designed by Mark Badgley (born January 12, 1961, in East St. Louis, IL) and James Mischka (born December 23, 1960, in Burlington, WI). Their collections are said to be largely influenced by the s ...

brand was purchased in 2004. The

Joe Boxer Nicholas Graham (born February 25, 1958) is a Canadian fashion designer, marketer and entrepreneur. Graham founded Joe Boxer in 1985, and is the founder and CEO of the Nick Graham menswear line, and of the SpaceOne lifestyle brand. Early life ...

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 Mossimo was a sportswear and accessories company, founded in 1986 by designer Mossimo Giannulli that was acquired by Iconix Brand Group in 2006. Mossimo specialized in youth and teenage clothing such as shirts, jeans, jackets, socks, underwear, ...

, and Ocean Pacific brands on April 11, August 29, November 1, and November 6, respectively. The company continued with acquisitions in 2007 with the purchase of

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

, Danskin, Artful Dodger, and

Rocawear Rocawear (stylized Roc-A-Wear) is an American clothing brand founded in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon Dash and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. The brand has had annual sales of $700 million. Rocawear expanded through licensing to sell a ...

brands. On November 15, 2007, Iconix bought the Starter brand from

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. 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 culture, urban fashion company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. The company makes apparel and accessories under the brands Ecko Unltd. line for men and the Ecko Red line for girls and ...

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 ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' comic strip from its longtime owner,

United Media United Media was a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, that operated from 1978 to 2011. It syndicated 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. ...

, using the property to form a new company,

Peanuts Worldwide ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reru ...

, 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 ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satire, satirical office humor about a White-collar worker, white-collar, micromanagement, micromanaged offic ...

'' 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 lifestyle products through its website, catalog, and third-party retailers. The brand is owned by ThreeSixty Group, with the U.S. catalog a ...

. In October 2012,

Nike Inc. Nike, Inc. (stylized as ''NIKE'') is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, ...

announced that it had signed with Iconix Brand Group to sell the English brand

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...

for US$225 million. The acquisition was completed in December 2012. In 2013, Iconix acquired

Lee Cooper Lee Cooper is an English-American clothing and footwear manufacturing company, based in Shoreditch, that specialises in denim products. As well as its own production, the company licences the sale of many Lee Cooper-branded items worldwide. ...

from

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

. 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, a cartoon character and franchise created by American Greetings ** Strawberry Shortcake (TV series), ''Strawberry Sho ...

brand from

American Greetings American Greetings Corporation is a privately held American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting ...

. Also that month, Iconix and Anthony L&S Athletics, LLC acquired intangible assets of

Pony A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

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 United States 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. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

. 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 WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest independent library of children's television programmin ...

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

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

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

investor Lancer Capital, LLC purchasing all

outstanding shares Shares outstanding are all the shares of a corporation that have been authorized, issued and purchased by investors and are held by them. They are distinguished from treasury shares, which are shares held by the corporation itself, thus representi ...

and delisting it from

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

Federal investigations

After investigations in 2003, Neil Cole and

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 *

Cannon Mills The Cannon Mills Company was an American textile manufacturing company based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, that mainly produced towels and bed sheets. Founded in 1887 by James William Cannon, by 1914 the company was the largest towel and sheet ...

* Charisma * Danskin * Ed Hardy * Eckō Unltd. and Marc Eckō Cut & Sew * Fieldcrest *

* London Fog *

Material Girl "Material Girl" is a song recorded by American pop singer Madonna for her second studio album, '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). It was released on January 23, 1985, by the Sire label as the second single from ''Like a Virgin''. It also appears sligh ...

* Modern Amusement *

* Ocean Pacific/OP *

* Rampage *

* Royal Velvet * Starter *

* Waverly * Zoo York

Former brands

* Pillowtex *

Truth or Dare Truth or dare? is a mostly verbal party game requiring two or more players. Players are given the choice between answering a question truthfully, or performing a "dare". The game is particularly popular among adolescents and children, and is so ...

(2004–17) *

(80%; 2010–17); sold in 2017 to DHX Media (now WildBrain) *

(2011–17) *

acquired in 2015 from

; 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