California Apparel News

Commerce, Calif.–based premium-denim maker Blue Holdings has announced new licensing agreements for its Yanuk and Antik Denim brands. The move is part of the publicly traded company’s plan to diversify its product mix.

A three-year license with Multiprint Tex Manufacturing allows the Canadian manufacturer to distribute Antik-branded men’s, women’s and children’s denim, accessories, outerwear, footwear, and handbags in Canada. Multiprint also has apparel licenses for the Disney, Nickelodeon, Nike, Hurley, Calvin Klein Jeans and Sean John brands.

A similar three-year license allows Caitac International the rights to design, manufacture and distribute men’s and women’s denim and sportswear apparel bearing the Yanuk trademark in Japan. This isn’t the first license Blue Holdings has signed with Caitac. The denim and sportswear maker is currently the exclusive distributor for Blue Holdings’ Taverniti So Jeans brand in Japan.

“These agreements represent a meaningful milestone for two of our key brands,” Glenn Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Blue Holdings, said in a statement. “This is a successful step in building our international licensing business and is another step toward achieving our goal for a strategic turnaround plan.”

The licensing news comes after a rough couple of years for the denim company.

In October 2006, Blue Holdings abandoned plans to expand its retail presence by buying 24-store mall chain Up Against the Wall. The deal was valued at $32 million and cost Blue Holdings an undisclosed amount. That same month, Blue Holdings also terminated an agreement to enter into a joint venture with Global Fashion Group. The two companies had formed a licensing agreement giving Global Fashion Group the right to manufacture and distribute Antik-, Taverniti- and Yanuk-brand jeans in Europe. In June 2007, the company landed in hot water with NASDAQ in connection with an agreement Blue Holdings signed with musician William Adams for the planned I.Am.Antik line of jeans. In July, founder and denim legend Paul Guez stepped down as chief executive to focus on more-strategic planning for the company. In September, months after acquiring Life & Death, a T-shirt brand launched by the designers behind Antik Denim, the company discontinued the line. The company also closed its two fledgling retail stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco and dismissed 25 employees, approximately 25 percent of its fulltime staff. The moves were part of a plan to return the company to profitability, Palmer said at the time.

“As we discussed on our second-quarter conference call, the management team and board of directors are keenly focused on returning to profitability. hellip; By narrowing the scope of our operations, we believe we will accelerate our core brands and grow our revenue base,” Palmer said in a statement. The company projected the planned cuts will realize $750,000 in savings for 2007 and $2.8 million in savings in 2008. Blue Holdings has not issued its final 2007 full-year guidance.—Erin Barajas