Collective Brands, Inc and Lucasfilms Join Forces
Good news for Topeka, Kansas.
FEBRUARY 8, 2010
Single Licensing Agreement Enables Payless ShoeSource and Stride Rite Children's Group to Develop Separate Product Lines Using Exciting Characters and LogosTOPEKA, Kan., Feb 08, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) and Lucasfilm Ltd. announced today a multi-year licensing agreement that will transport both Payless ShoeSource and Stride Rite Children's Group customers to "a galaxy far, far away" with the development of exclusive product lines based on Star Wars and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The beloved brand - top-rated with boys in the U.S. - will be featured on footwear collections in the United States and internationally where the Payless and Stride Rite brands are currently sold.
Under the terms of the agreement, Payless and Stride Rite will have access to Lucasfilm's rich asset archive including logos, characters, creatures and aliens from all six live-action Star Wars films, as well as the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie and TV series, which airs on the Cartoon Network. Under this single agreement the creative assets will be leveraged to create children's product lines in both business units; however the product design, development, and marketing will be executed separately, allowing each business unit to create distinct collections targeted to their specific customer segments and selling channels.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with Lucasfilm to bring the iconic Star Wars characters to life on our footwear products sold through our Payless and Stride Rite selling channels. Kids and moms alike are going to be thrilled by these new products this fall," said Matt Rubel, CEO of Collective Brands, Inc. "Our children's business is an important area of growth for Collective Brands, and this collaboration is a strong example of how we are leveraging the infrastructure of our company overall to forge powerful partnerships and gain access to inspiring licenses that can be shared across our business units in different ways for each brand's target consumers."
Payless will feature the Star Wars and Star Wars: The Clone Wars assets in a new character line of children's footwear and select accessories, which will be arriving in Payless stores and online at payless.com in early July.
i am with ken on the question, i am glad to see LFL opening up new markets like this especially when people don't have a lot of money to spend. it seems like most towns have a payless shoes.
Peace is a lie; there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall set me free.
Troops dealing with large corporate involvement are usually coordinated on a Legion level. That's the way it was done with Adidas, DK Publishing, Pottery Barn, and other some others. Trying to work with single stores has proved to be problematic. The Legion has been working through one point of contact for these kinds of deals to simplify involvement and make sure any commitments that these corporations may make are carried out.
