Nike sells Starter brand to Iconix for $60 million

Zac Bissonnette — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:02:00 EST

Nike (NYSE: NKE) has agreed to sell its Starter brand to Iconix (NASDAQ: ICON) for $60 million.

Starter is best known for its jackets bearing the logos of professional sports teams that were wildly popular during the early 1990s. As evidenced by the low price Nike is receiving for the brand, Starter has been in decline for years.

But the deal is consistent with the Iconix strategy of acquiring brands off the scrapheap and seeking to resuscitate them through licensing deals and clever marketing. Iconix does none of its own manufacturing, leaving it free to focus on maximizing brand value and selling licenses.

Iconix has been tremendously successful (take a look at the stock chart) with this approach, and owns brands including Rocawear, Danskin, London Fogg, Mudd, Joe Boxer, and Candie's.

Interestingly, Iconix founder and CEO Neil Cole is the less-known brother of Kenneth Cole, the founder and embattled CEO of Kenneth Cole (NYSE: KCP). Neil labored in anonymity for decades while his brother became a household name, but Iconix's market value has eclipsed that of Kenneth Cole. Still, numerous parties have called for a new CEO at that company.

Nike sells Starter brand to Iconix for $60 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is Kenneth Cole a good fit? How about his brother?

Zac Bissonnette — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 11:10:00 EST

Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Marketing and Advertising, Stocks to Buy

Barron's thinks (subscription required) that it might be time to look at Kenneth Cole Productions (NYSE: KCP), which currently trades right around its four-year low. With its cash pile and strong same store sales growth, the company could be an attractive value -- a rarity in fashion stocks.

Recently, BusinessWeek looked at Iconix Brand Group (NASDAQ: ICON), the company of Kenneth Cole's younger brother Neil. Iconix has a very different business model though. The company's strategy is to acquire brands, and then license design, manufacturing, and distribution out to third parties. This leaves Iconix to focus on acquiring strong brands and developing innovative marketing campaigns. Judging from the company's robust profits and strong share price growth, it's a strategy that's working. The company currently owns brands including Candie's, Bongo, Badgley Mischka, Joe Boxer, Rampage, Mudd, London Fog, Mossimo, Ocean Pacific, and Danskin.

Interestingly, Kenneth Cole may be borrowing a bit from his brother's playbook, recently snapping up '80s icon Le Tigre for up to $25 million.

Which of these is a better buy here? The Iconix model seems to have a lot more appeal, as the company relies on license fees and is able to maintain a lean operation. The multibrand strategy also eliminates the risk of an essentially single-label fashion company.

But the contrarian in me wants to go with Kenneth Cole, the once-proud fighter whose fallen on (relatively) hard times. But given that they trade at similar valuations and Iconix has much more impressive growth, I'd probably go with the little brother.

Is Kenneth Cole a good fit? How about his brother? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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