G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. announced that it had entered into licensing agreements with Smart Apparel, Inc. for men's dress shirts, suits, sport coats, and dress trousers under the Andrew Marc and Marc New York labels. With a focus on department store and better specialty store distribution, both companies believe that there is a significant opportunity for the increasingly strong Andrew Marc brands in these key men's categories.
Morris Goldfarb, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of G-III Apparel Group, Ltd., commented, “We are excited to continue our development of the Andrew Marc brands and to build on our increasingly broad portfolio of lifestyle merchandise categories. We believe there is an opportunity in the marketplace for better contemporary men's tailored clothing and that we have found an excellent partner to take advantage of that opportunity. We will continue to invest in our brands and explore additional category and business development initiatives. As we continue to develop Andrew Marc into a dual-gender lifestyle brand, it is increasingly becoming an important part of our overall business model.”
Robert Skinner, Chief Executive Officer of Smart Apparel, Inc., commented, “We believe in the potential and growing power of the Andrew Marc brands, and in our ability to translate them into attractive new offerings for tailored menswear.”
G-III is a leading manufacturer and distributor of outerwear, dresses, sportswear and women's suits under licensed brands, our own brands and private label brands. G-III sells outerwear and dresses under our own Andrew Marc, Marc New York and Marc Moto brands and has licensed these brands to select third parties in certain product categories.
Smart Apparel U.S., a wholly owned subsidiary of Youngor Group, is a leading marketer and producer of men's shirts, sportswear, and tailored clothing. Its products are sold under the Nautica licensed brand for dress shirts, and under the Nautica and Perry Ellis licensed brands for tailored clothing.