Cherokee Inc., also known as Apex Global Brands, is an American based global

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 ...

and

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 ...

company, headquartered in

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population densit ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The company was established in 1973 and its brands are available in 110 countries in 12,000 retail locations and on digital commerce. Cherokee owns a number of fashion and lifestyle brands, including: Cherokee, Cherokee Workwear, Carole Little,

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first docume ...

Signature Apparel and Hawk Brands, 900 Tony Hawk,

Liz Lange Liz Lange is an American fashion designer and businessperson. She is the creative director and CEO of Figue, and the founder of Liz Lange Maternity, which introduced form-fitting designer pregnancy wear in 1998. Lange has been called a pioneer ...

, Sideout,

Hi-Tec Hi-Tec Sports, trading as Hi-Tec, is a privately held producer and distributor of sportswear and accessories, headquartered in the Netherlands. History Hi-Tec Sports was founded in 1974, in Shoeburyness, Essex, England, by Frank Van Wezel. T ...

, Magnum, 50 Peaks, Interceptor, Everyday California, Point Cove, Saint Tropez, Chorus Line, All That Jazz, Ale by Allesandra, Teen Hearts and Flip Flop Shops.

History

Founding

In 1973, James Argyropoulos, the son of a Greek immigrant, launched custom-made footwear designs and began to sell them from his

Venice Beach, California Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

home. Soon it was stocked by department stores, including

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

and

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

. In the early 1980s, the brand expanded to selling women's and children's apparel. During this time, it became available worldwide. In the 1990s, Cherokee established a partnership with

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

. The headquarters at Sherman Oaks, California employs 51-200 employees. In 2021, Apex Global Brands was acquired by Galaxy Universal.

Filing for bankruptcy protection

It filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wh ...

in both 1993 and 1994, but continued to trade.

Expansion

In 1997, it acquired Sideout. From 2002, Cherokee was sold at

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

until 2015, when

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

took over the rights to sell the brand. However, following the 2016 acquisition of Argos by the UK retailer

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

, the Cherokee brand was quietly dropped and replaced by Sainsbury's own Tu brand of clothing in 2017. In December 2002, the company further expanded by acquiring the Carole Little, Saint Tropez, All That Jazz and Chorus Line brands and CL Fashion trademarks. From 2013 to 2015 Cherokee was sold at

Target Canada Target Canada Co. was a short-lived Canadian subsidiary of the Target Corporation, the eighth-largest retailer in the United States. Formerly headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, the subsidiary formed with the acquisition of Zellers store lea ...

stores and was acquired by

Sears Canada Sears Canada Inc. was a publicly-traded Canadian company affiliated with the American-based Sears department store chain. In operation from September 18, 1952 until January 14, 2018, and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company began as S ...

. Prior to Target, the label was sold by

Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce ...

in Canada since 1998. In January 2014, Cherokee acquired the worldwide Tony Hawk and Hawk signature apparel brands. In May 2015, Cherokee acquired casual lifestyle brand Everyday California. On September 10, 2015, Cherokee announced Target would cease carrying the brand when its license expires on January 31, 2017. As of 2022 some Target shops do carry Cherokee products but on a non exclusive basis. In October 2015, Cherokee acquired Flip Flop Shops, a franchise retail chain offering flip flops, casual footwear and accessories. In November 2016, Cherokee acquired the

and Magnum brands.

Operations

Cherokee comprises a number of fashion and lifestyle brands:

Cherokee

Cherokee is the core eponymous brand, licensed in over 50 countries.

Cherokee Workwear

Cherokee Workwear is a brand that was introduced in 2004, which manufactures medical scrubs.

Carole Little

The Carole Little collection comprises items for work, travel and leisure.

Tony Hawk Signature Apparel and Hawk Brands

is an "action lifestyle" range.

900 Tony Hawk

900 Tony Hawk is a skateboard brand.

Liz Lange

is a maternity wear brand.

Sideout

Sideout was founded in 1983 and comprises athletic wear, sportswear and active wear.

Hi-Tec

is a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

producer and distributor of

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

and accessories, headquartered in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Magnum

Magnum is a footwear brand.

50 Peaks

50 Peaks is a brand which creates outdoor footwear, equipment and apparel.

Interceptor

Interceptor is a tactical boots brand.

Everyday California

Everyday California is a "casual style outfit" brand.

Point Cove

Point Cove is a Californian brand which sells clothing, footwear and accessories.

Saint Tropez

Saint Tropez is designed for younger women.

Chorus Line

Founded in 1975 by three men in southern California, Chorus Line is a moderately priced apparel company which initially begun as a retail company focusing exclusively on juniors collections. Chorus Line has branched out to include designs specifically aimed towards women in their 20s and 30s as well as petite and plus size divisions.

All That Jazz

All That Jazz appeals to a teenage female customer base and with low prices.

Flip Flop Shops

Flip Flop Shops was founded in 2004 and is a retail chain retailing popular brands and flip flops and casual footwear.

References

{{Reflist Clothing brands of the United States Clothing companies established in 1973 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies based in Los Angeles 1973 establishments in California