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, Inc., whose brand it purchased in 1993. The Bongo brand was bought in 1998, then 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, London Fog, Mossimo, 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 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. 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, 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 ''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. 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 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 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 *

* London Fog * Material Girl * Modern Amusement * Mossimo * Mudd * Ocean Pacific/OP *

* Rampage * Rocawear * Royal Velvet * Starter *

* Waverly * Zoo York

Former brands

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