Starter Clothing Line
Encyclopedia
Rise and expansion
Starter was founded in 1971 in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
by David Beckerman, a former basketball player for Southern Connecticut State University, to manufacture team uniforms for high school athletic programs.
In 1976, the company entered into non-exclusive licensing agreement with a number of professional sports league, paying royalties of 8-10% for the right to manufacture and market copies of professional athletic apparel. Its first retail product was a line of jackets emblazoned with the insignias of Major League Baseball teams. Soon the company expanded its licensed apparel line to include into headgear, activewear and accessories.
In 1979, the company became one of the first licensees to supply clothing worn on the field by professional teams through an agreement to manufacture satin jackets for players on Major League baseball teams. Starter incorporated this design into streetwear, and was, in the words of Business Week reporter Tim Smart, the "first to make team jackets out of satin, instead of the usual cheap nylon".
Starter had a tremendous growth in the 1980s. In 1980, it began partnerships with major leagues in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
as well as in 150 colleges and universities. It was the first apparel brand to co-brand with professional, collegiate and Olympic sports
Olympic sports
Olympic sports, as defined by the International Olympic Committee, are all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The Summer Olympics, as of 2012, will include 26 sports, with two additionall sports due to be added in 2016...
. By 1983, the company had entered licensing agreements with the NBA, the NFL, the NHL and the Canadian Football League (CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
). As coverage of national sports leagues on cable television expanded, Starter's bright, flashy team jackets became status symbols among kids. But the company's growth during this decade can also be attributed to an aggressive marketing strategy. Not only had the company made licensed sports apparel a fashion status symbol, it also created brand loyalty by making its "S and Star" logo a prominent part of the apparel's design. Starter innovatively placed its embroidered logo on jacket sleeves and on the back of baseball caps. Often, when people wore their baseball hats backwards, a person saw the Starter logo before they even saw the insignia of the team it represented.
In 1986, the company became the first to create NBA locker room t-shirts, first worn on television by the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
, and later worn by millions of kids across the United States and Canada. In a similar way, Starter won a contract to create the parkas that coaches wore on NFL sidelines. For the retail market, Starter designed the "breakaway jacket", a pullover jacket that closely resembled the coach's parka and soon became an important wardrobe element of fashion conscious teenagers. The rage for Starter clothing was so strong that some children owned as many as 20 baseball caps; others would pay over $150 for a Starter jacket. Sales in 1989 were $58.9 million. By 1990, they had more than doubled to $124.6 million.
In the early 1990s, Starter began to expand its distribution networks to reach over 25 countries in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and the Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
. The baseball jackets gave way to a hooded design with a side zipper, and eventually to a padded half-zip pullover. Starter apparel also expanded beyond sports clubs into styles such as plaid. A famous ad campaign featured Hip-Hop stars such as DJ Jazzy Jeff
DJ Jazzy Jeff
Jeffrey Allen Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince...
. Within two years, Starter's net sales nearly doubled to $356 million. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in April 1993, earning an estimated $98 million. Proceeds from the initial public offering were used to expand sales to Europe and the Pacific Rim and also to launch "Brand Starter", the company's own sportswear line minus team logos. Capitalizing on the high recognizability of its name, Starter went head-to-head against brands such as Champion
Champion (sportswear)
Champion is a manufacturer of clothing, specializing in sportswear. The brand is a subsidiary of HanesBrands Inc. , which was spun off by the Sara Lee Corporation....
and Russell
Russell Corporation
Russell Brands, LLC, headquartered in Bowling Green, KY, is a manufacturer of sports equipment, which markets its products under many brands and subsidiaries, including Russell Athletic , Spalding, Huffy, and Brooks, amongst others....
.
Starter's competition in the licensed sports apparel business intensified in 1994 when Logo 7 Inc., the 2nd. licensed sports apparel manufacturer, won a much coveted NFL Pro Line license and beefed up its advertising budget in an attempt to knock Starter from its number one position. Overall, the boom in the licensed sports apparel market began to slacken in early 1994, slowing from an average of 38 percent annual growth to 15 percent annual growth. Starter moved into new markets with its licensed sports apparel, focusing on sales to young children and youth, and signed a new contract to manufacture the center ice jersey for the National Hockey League. The company purchased a retail chain, First Pick Stores, for $5 million of new stock in March 1994, and also established a Hong Kong office to better coordinate relations with manufactures. Beckerman stepped down as president, although he retained the posts of chairman and chief executive. John Tucker, former president and chief executive of a sporting goods and sportswear concern, assumed the position of president.
Restructuring
Although Starter began 1994 with a 23 percent increase over the first quarter 1993, it suffered a loss of $2.2 million in the second quarter. Second quarter 1994 sales were flat: $57.8 million, slightly lower than second quarter sales from 1992. Starter had predicted the loss, which it blamed on late deliveries from vendors, shipping delays to retailers, additional advertising and personnel costs, as well as start-up costs for a new Memphis distribution facility.1997 saw Starter become one of three suppliers (along with Champion and then-rival Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
) of uniforms for the NBA, most notably the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and Charlotte Hornets. When the original company declined financially, their accounts went to Puma
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...
. In 2000, when 29 other MLB teams switched to the MLB Authentic Collection, the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
were the last team to wear Starter jackets.
The Starter name was purchased in 1999 by Official Starter Properties and Official Starter. These holding companies were in turn purchased by Nike in 2004 for about $43 million.
Recent years
Starter has partnered with Walmart. On November 15, 2007, Iconix Brand GroupIconix Brand Group
Iconix Brand Group is a brand management company that licenses brands to retailers and manufacturers primarily in the apparel, footwear, and apparel accessory industries. Its brands are available in such stores as Kohl's, Kmart, Sears, Macy's, Target and JC Penney.The company began as Candie's,...
bought the Starter brand from Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
In 2009, Starter signed an exclusive endorsement agreement with quarterback Tony Romo
Tony Romo
Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 95.8 - ranks third-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005...
, who will be the featured brand ambassador for Starter's national advertising. Starter now manufactures clothing like compression shirts, similar to Under Armour brand compression shirts, compression shorts, basketball shorts, non-snapback hats with the Star logo on them, basketball sneakers, tennis shoes, sport team logo-less jackets, slide sandals, and more. Starter also has a Tony Romo line of track pants, jerseys, jackets, and more. Starter products are only sold at Walmart, becoming like that when Iconix Brand Group bought Starter. They continue to manufacture quality items similar to big brand named manufacturer's products.
Teams
During the 1990s Starter supplied the official uniforms of the following NFL teams:
San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
Los Angeles Raiders Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
Basketball
Official supplier of the following NBA uniforms in the 1990s: New York KnicksNew York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
Charlotte Hornets
Merchandising licensed manufacturer
During the 90's Starter was a prominent manufacturer in the market of licensed uniforms of the main sports leagues in USA and Canada. The following is a list of the products made and commercialized by the company in those years:Jackets
| CFL Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football.... - all teams  United States MLB - all teams United States NBA - all teams |
United States NHL - all teams NFL - all teams NCAA - all teams |