Izod

Last updated

The Izod Corporation
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryTextiles – apparel/clothing
Founded1938
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, US
Area served
United States, Canada, Mexico, India, Europe, Russia, Middle East
Key people
Jamie Salter (Founder, Chairman & CEO, Authentic Brands Group)
Suzy Biszantz (Men’s & Women’s Sportswear Group President, Centric Brands)
Geoff Barrett (Brand Lead, Centric Brands)
ProductsMidrange apparel, gifts, and footwear
Parent PVH (1995–2021)
Authentic Brands Group dba ABG Izod LLC (2021–present, marketing and manufacturing licensed to Centric Brands [1] )
Website www.izod.com

The Izod Corporation (officially stylized as IZOD) is an American midrange clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing, sportswear for men, and footwear and accessories. It is a division of Authentic Brands Group, and is currently marketed and manufactured by Centric Brands under a long-term licensing agreement. Other Izod classics include the Harrington jacket G-9 model and V-neck and cardigan sweaters. Today, the closest competitor of the Izod brand is the Chaps brand owned by Ralph Lauren Corporation, while the U.S. Polo Assn. brand is also an indirect competitor.

Contents

On June 23, 2021, it was announced that the Izod brand would be sold to Authentic Brands Group alongside Van Heusen, Arrow, and Geoffrey Beene. [2] The sale was completed on August 2, 2021. Under ABG, Centric Brands was granted as the licensee to market and manufacture IZOD men's sportswear. [1]

History

In the late 1930s, Vincent dePaul Draddy, an American businessman employed by David Crystal Co., needed a strong name to associate with his quality merchandise for menswear. While vacationing with his family in London, he encountered Arthur James “Jack” Izod’s tailoring boutique. [3] Izod (himself a well-respected tailor) produced bespoke shirts and created the Windsor tie-knot for King George V, but was ready to retire, and accepted Draddy's offer to purchase the rights to his distinctive name. The A.J. Izod of London clothing company was introduced to the United States in 1937.


Izod Lacoste

Izod of London became most notable for its pairing with the Lacoste shirt company from 1952 to 1993. Vincent Draddy began to license the Lacoste shirt to add prestige to the Izod line, but he could not find a market for the then-expensive $8.00 retail price (around equivalent to $92in 2023). After Draddy began giving the shirts away to his famous friends, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bing Crosby, Daniel Platt, and John F. Kennedy, the shirts soon became popular with department stores. "Izod of London" became a brand known simply as "Izod Lacoste". While the shirts were equally Izod and Lacoste, they became abbreviated and popularized as "Izod" shirts (which led to the ongoing misunderstanding that the famous "Crocodile" logo of Lacoste is the "Izod" trademark).

Growth

In 1964, Bernard Lacoste took over the management of the company. Significant company growth was seen under Bernard's management. When he became president, around 300,000 Izod Lacoste products were sold annually. The Izod Lacoste brand reached its height of popularity in the US during the late 1970s and became the signature 1980s "preppy" wardrobe item, mentioned in The Official Preppy Handbook . The company also began to introduce other products into their line, including shorts, perfume, optical and sunglasses, tennis shoes, deck shoes, walking shoes, watches, and various leather goods.

In 1977, Le Tigre Clothing was founded in an attempt to directly compete with Izod Lacoste in the US market, selling a similar array of apparel, but featuring a tiger in place of the signature Lacoste crocodile. Also during this period, Izod's parent, Crystal Brands, came under the management of General Mills, and purchased the Gant U.S.A. brand.

Separation

During the early 1990s, Izod Lacoste struggled to maintain the market dominance it had enjoyed in previous decades. The initial reaction from Crystal Brands was to separate the two names and target two groups of customers at once; "Izod" was reintroduced as moderately priced apparel in department stores, while Lacoste was renamed "Lacoste Chemise", and repositioned as a luxury lifestyle brand. Eventually, this tactic did not provide the financial gain Crystal had hoped, and the licensing partnership ended in 1993. Sportloisirs S.A. purchased the Lacoste brand entirely in 1993, while Izod was sold to PVH in 1995.

PVH repositioned and restored some of Izod's previous relevance, while introducing a number of product lines and brands, complete with an Izod "crest" logo, or patch. In addition to its sportswear, Izod designs a full range of men's suits, shirts, neckties, shoes, outerwear, and fragrances, and continues to produce its famous polo shirts. Within the PVH corporation, the Izod-branded shirt became part of the biggest shirt company in the United States.

The PVH era

From 2003 to 2007, PVH formed a licensing deal with Kellwood Company to produce Izod-branded women's clothing. Production of the women's line was brought in-house in 2007 until its discontinuation in 2015.

On January 7, 2015, parent company Phillips-Van Heusen announced that it would be closing all 120 Izod retail outlets due to an increasingly competitive environment driven by more premium brands in the outlet retail channel. This move would not affect Izod's growing wholesale business to department stores and other retailers. [4] Coinciding with the closure of the retail outlets, in 2015, the women's line was discontinued.

In spring 2016, Izod introduced the Advantage Polo, a new take on their traditional piqué polo featuring a cotton/polyester blend with natural stretch, moisture-wicking fabric, and UPF-15 sun protection. The Advantage Polo remains available today with various colors and patterns being offered depending on seasonal collection, with the core year-round colors as of 2022 being Black, Bright White, Real Red (bright red), Blue Revival (azure), and Peacoat (navy), with Fairy Tale (pale pink), Blue Radiance (turquoise), Bright Cobalt (cobalt blue), Dahlia Purple (bright purple), Lemon (lemon yellow), Cantaloupe (orange), Fig (wine red), Simply Green (bright green), and Wild Fern (dark green) available as additional year-round Amazon-exclusive colors. The Advantage brand was later expanded to include other products with stretch and/or moisture-wicking fabric such as fleece sweatshirts and button-down shirts. As of 2021, the original 100% cotton Heritage piqué polo has been discontinued.

On June 7, 2017, parent company PVH announced that it has reached a licensing agreement with Adjmi Apparel Group subsidiary Sports Products of America to manufacture women's sportswear, golfwear, and activewear under the Izod brand beginning February 2018, thus signifying Izod's return to the women's clothing market. [5] Nongolf women's Izod products were put on hiatus in 2020, but were brought back in spring 2021. As of 2022 all women's IZOD products have been discontinued except for women's footwear.

On August 28, 2018, PVH announced it would expand the Izod brand to Europe starting with the fall/winter 2018 collection, initially in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. [6] PVH initially stated that the launch of the Izod brand should fill in the void between European fast fashion labels and "premium" American mass-produced brands. This was followed by more of Europe, Russia, and the Middle East in spring 2019.

In April 2019, licensee Arvind announced it was looking to sell its licensing rights to the Izod brand for the Indian market. [7]

In early 2020, PVH announced its sustainability policy for its Izod and Van Heusen brands to eliminate single-use plastic from packaging by 2024 and use 100% sustainable cotton, polyester, and nylon by 2025. [8]

On July 14, 2020, PVH announced that it would close its remaining Heritage Brands retail outlets operating mainly under the Van Heusen name, most of which also carried Izod products. [9] The Izod and Van Heusen brands are not being discontinued; the wholesale business, which sells their product to department stores, warehouse clubs, and online retailers, is not affected. The direct online sales platform for the Izod and Van Heusen brands also remained active.

Sale to Authentic Brands Group

In May 2021, PVH was reported as exploring a sale of the Heritage Brands division, with Authentic Brands Group as a potential buyer. [10] The sale was officially announced on June 23, 2021, consisting of Izod, Van Heusen, Arrow, and Geoffrey Beene. [2] The sale was completed on August 2, 2021. Under ABG, Centric Brands was named as the licensee to manufacture and market IZOD sportswear, thus separating the marketing and manufacturing of the brand from longtime stablemate Van Heusen, which United Legwear & Apparel Co. was named as its licensee.

Since the acquisition by ABG, the IZOD brand has been repositioned more upmarket, putting more emphasis on quality and sustainability over affordability, and is generally priced somewhat above its competitor Chaps but below ABG-owned Nautica.

Brands

Since Izod's first brand, Izod, was launched in 1938, it has grown considerably to include a variety of essential, performance, and luxury brands.

Current

Former

Availability

The main retailers for the Izod brand are department-store chains Kohl's, J.C. Penney, and Belk, with secondary retailers being Bealls, Bob's Stores, Boscov's, and online retailer Amazon.com. From spring/summer 2020 to fall/winter 2021, IZOD products were also available online at Walmart.com. Other retailers where Izod products can be found may occasionally include some smaller regional department-store chains, off-price clothing stores (such as Ross Stores, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, or Burlington), warehouse clubs (such as Costco or Sam's Club), and regional or local clothing boutiques, although since 2021 the brand has significantly reduced its presence outside its core retailers. Until 2018, the brand was available at Macy's full-line stores, but the brand can still occasionally be found at some Macy's Backstage locations.

Sports sponsorships

The former Continental Airlines Arena, in New Jersey, United States was renamed the Izod Center as of October 31, 2007, the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets' season opener. The company paid $1.4 million per annum for the naming rights during the first two years of the agreement, while the Nets remained tenants, which dropped to $750,000 per year for the balance of the five-year deal. [11]

In 2009, Izod became the official apparel provider of the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights Series. Izod produces T-shirts, polos, pullovers, hats, and umbrellas for league and team officials and the general public.

In 2010, Izod became the official title sponsor of the Izod IndyCar Series, a deal worth $10 million a year for 5 years. [12] Izod discontinued its sponsorship in 2014. [13]

Advertising campaigns

In spring 2017 and again in spring 2018, Izod has partnered with American tennis' Bryan brothers to promote the spring/summer collections. [14]

In fall 2018 and 2019, Izod partnered with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Saturday Night Live comedian Colin Jost to promote the fall/winter collections. [15] This partnership was put on pause in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned in fall 2021 (without Colin Jost).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polo shirt</span> Type of shirt

A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by polo players originally in India in 1859 and in Great Britain during the 1920s.

Nautica is an American apparel brand of Authentic Brands Group (ABG) featuring primarily men's, women's, children's apparel and accessories, as well as home, watches, and fragrance. Nautica was founded in 1983 by clothing designer David Chu and a partner. It was purchased for cash and stock in 1984 by State-O-Maine, a New York–based apparel company. State-O-Maine changed its name to Nautica in 1994. VF Corporation purchased Nautica in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacoste</span> French clothing company

Lacoste S.A. is a luxury sports fashion French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur André Gillier. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by its green Crocodile logo. René Lacoste, the company's founder, was first given the nickname "the Crocodile" by the American press after he bet his team captain a crocodile-skin suitcase that he would win his match. He was later redubbed "the Crocodile" by French fans because of his tenacity on the tennis court. In November 2012, Lacoste was bought outright by Swiss family-held group Maus Frères.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PVH Corp.</span> American clothing company

PVH Corp., formerly known as the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, is an American clothing company which owns brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Warner's, Olga and True & Co. The company also licenses brands such as Kenneth Cole New York and Michael Kors. PVH is partly named after Dutch immigrant John Manning van Heusen, who in 1910 invented a new process that fused cloth on a curve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Arrow Collar Man</span> American advertising image

The Arrow Collar Man was the name given to the various male models who appeared in advertisements for shirts and detachable shirt collars manufactured by Cluett Peabody & Company of Troy, New York. The original campaign ran from 1905–31, though the company continued to refer to men in its ads and its consumers as "Arrow men" much later.

Calvin Klein Collection was the brand name for the high-end designer womenswear and menswear lines from fashion house Calvin Klein which were presented on the catwalks of New York Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week, respectively.

Gant Inc., stylized as GANT, is a Swedish clothing retailer with American roots, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The company was founded in 1949 by Bernard Gantmacher and was originally based in New Haven, Connecticut. Gant operates in 70 markets and its products are available at over 4000 retailers and exclusive stores all over the world. "House of Gant" has three different collections: GANT, GANT Diamond G and GANT Rugger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sportswear</span> Equipment and attire for physical activity

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.

Izod Lacoste is a brand name of sportswear that was licensed to Izod by Lacoste from 1952-1993.

Gazal Corporation Limited was a leading Australian branded clothing company and was a listed public company of the Australian Stock Exchange. The company was based in Banksmeadow in the Australian state of New South Wales. Its main business areas were men's, ladies' and children's clothing, and it and its subsidiaries are engaged in the design, manufacture, importation, wholesale and retail of clothing and accessories including business shirts, school wear, surf and casual wear, as well as intimate apparel. The company owned brands such as Mambo Graphics, Davenport and Bisley Workwear and imports brands such as Nautica, Calvin Klein Underwear and held the license for Oroton underwear. The Company had operations in Australasia and Europe. Mambo was sold to Saban Brands in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvin Klein (fashion house)</span> Fashion by the Americans

Calvin Klein Inc. is an American fashion house which markets its eponymously branded products worldwide. The company, which became famous for its designer underwear and denim lines in the 1980s, specializes in mass-market ready-to-wear clothing for all genders and age groups as well as leather products, lifestyle accessories and shoes, home furnishings, perfume/cosmetics, eyewear, jewelry and watches in the mid-price segment. Its high-end runway fashion division, which represented the top level of the various Calvin Klein sub-brands, was discontinued in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cluett Peabody & Company</span> United States historic place

Cluett, Peabody & Company, Inc. once headquartered in Troy, New York, was a longtime manufacturer of shirts, detachable shirt cuffs and collars, and related apparel. It is best known for its Arrow brand collars and shirts and the related Arrow Collar Man advertisements (1907–1931). It dates, with a different name, from the mid-19th century and was absorbed by Westpoint Pepperell in the 1980s. The Arrow name is still licensed to brand men's shirts and ties.

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Tommy Hilfiger B.V., formerly known as Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and Tommy Hilfiger Inc., is an American clothing brand that manufactures apparel and licensed products such as footwear, accessories, fragrances and home furnishings. The company was founded in 1985, and the brand's merchandise is sold in department stores and over 2000 free-standing retail stores in 100 countries. In 2006, private equity firm Apax Partners acquired the company for approximately $1.6 billion. In March 2010, PVH Corp. bought the company. Daniel Grieder was appointed CEO in July 2014, while founder Tommy Hilfiger remains the company's principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process. Global sales in retail through the brand were US$9.1 billion in 2022.

Mondetta Clothing Inc. is a Canadian leisure and sportswear design and manufacturing company, best known for its world flag-themed apparel. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mondetta has four main divisions: Mondetta, Mondetta Originals, MPG, and Modern Ambition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Lauren Corporation</span> American fashion company

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvind (company)</span> Indian textile company

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MagnaReady is an American clothing technology and e-commerce brand based in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is focused on producing adaptive clothing for those with dexterity issues. Maura Horton founded MagnaReady in 2013 after her husband, Don Horton, had trouble buttoning his shirts because of Parkinson's disease. MagnaReady uses patented magnetic shirt technology.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Centric Brands Builds Up Business With Izod, Coach". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "PVH to sell Izod, Van Heusen and other labels to Authentic Brands in $220 million deal". MarketWatch . June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  3. ↑ https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/crocodile-logo-izod-lacoste/
  4. ↑ "PVH to shut Izod's retail business".
  5. ↑ "PVH Corp. Announces Licensing Agreement with Sports Products of America for IZOD Women's Sportswear & Activewear". Business Wire (Press release). June 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ "PVH Corp. Expands Global Footprint, with Launch of Iconic American Brand IZOD in Europe". Business Wire (Press release). August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Arvind Fashions undergoes major restructuring, plans to exit global brands in red". Apparel Resources News-Desk. April 22, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Together in Good Company - OUR PLANET & PEOPLE MATTER". Izod.com. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Outlet mall staple is closing all of its stores". CNN . July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Authentic Brands Files for IPO Confidentially: Sources". Yahoo Sports . May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Fashionable New Name for Arena", The New York Times , October 5, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2007. "On Oct. 31, when the Nets open their season against the Chicago Bulls, the Meadowlands arena named for Continental Airlines for 12 years will be rechristened the Izod Center. Izod will pay $1.4 million a year in cash for the first two years of the five-year agreement, which will be cut to $750,000 annually in 2009 when the Nets are expected to move to Brooklyn."
  12. ↑ IndyCar lands Title Sponsor Archived November 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine , indystar.com, November 3, 2009
  13. ↑ "Izod dropping IndyCar Series sponsorship". Indianapolis Business Journal . September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  14. ↑ "IZOD Signs Multi-Year Marketing Partnership with 16x Grand Slam Champs, the Bryan Brothers". Business Wire . March 9, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Aaron Rodgers and Colin Jost Try to One-Up Each Other in IZOD's Hilarious New Commercial". People . September 5, 2018.
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