American athletic brand launches into Europe

Starter, the premium American athletic brand established in 1971, is launching across Europe with licensee Iconix Europe, a joint venture between the US-based Iconix Group and The Licensing Company. Known as the trusted athletic brand with over

35 years of heritage, Starter’s brand equity has been built over the past three decades through its association with professional, collegiate and Olympic sports as well as top athletic endorsers. Starter stands for heritage, authenticity and sports performance and is well respected for its mass consumer appeal and strong sportswear merit.

Starter’s Black Label will be the first line to be launched across Europe with the Headwear being a key focus. Sports style apparel and footwear will shortly follow targeting a variety of independents, department stores, online and catalogue retailers so all possible target consumers are reached and catered for. The Black Label collection is positioned around mid to upper price points with t-shirt’s available from £30, sweats from £60 and the original satin trend jacket priced at around £120.

The new creative for Starter uses a combination of powerful lifestyle imagery, with stars including DJ Oneman, Redlight and LeLe Speaks staring in the shoot to establish it within the UK Street and style market.

“We are launching Starter across Europe within over 2,500 street wear stores, including Choice in the UK. The brand will be positioning with a strong focus on sports heritage and the music scene. Trade have reacted really well to Starter with orders of over 50, 000 snapback style caps across Europe,” says Daisy Laramy Binks-The Licensing Company: Head of Marketing for Europe. “The huge trade demand, mainly due to heritage and trend qualities, was so impressive; we brought forward the apparel launch and will now be working on footwear projects. The collection is a direct reaction to European consumer demand. The Black Label collection is the line launching across Europe, positioned around mid to upper price points. We are overjoyed at the reaction to Starter from both retailers and consumers.”

Key retailer Refuel, are launching the limited edition Starter star logo snake skin snapback to create a Christmas buzz around the product and brand. Available in a variety of colours with seasonal trend of snakeskin detailing on the peak, the new style is limited to 500 pieces and hints at the brands European relevance and newly established identity.

Images: Starter