Pony Plans Apparel Launch
Pony International, best known for its athletic shoes, announced it is launching an apparel line that will hit stores in July 2004.
Pony’s revamped footwear line hits stores this November. The men’s and women’s contemporary athletic and lifestyle apparel will include four lines: Pony.Style, Pony.Move, Pony.Fundamental and Pony.Archive. Each line will offer a range of products, from basics to retro designs and accessories.
Santa Barbara, Calif.–based Global Brand Marketing Inc., which owns the licenses to Diesel and Mecca shoes, among others, purchased 60 percent of the Pony brand in March 2003. The remaining 40 percent is still controlled by the brand’s previous owner, Beverly Hills, Calif.–based entertainment agency The Firm.
“It’s a great brand with great heritage,” said Killick Datta, chief executive of Global Brand. “It was an $800 million company that really just faded away.”
Datta projects sales revenues of $300 million in 2003 for Global Brand and expects Pony to gross $60 million to $70 million in its first year.
The apparel line will begin showing to the trade in December. Pony will show at MAGIC International in Las Vegas, the To Be Confirmed show in New York and other venues, Datta said.
Next fall, Pony will open retail showrooms in New York and Los Angeles. —Christian M. Chensvold
