The La Jolla Group and online skate powerhouse The Berrics have signed a licensing deal that catapults La Jolla into skate and gives The Berrics an infusion of capital to expand its popular online media platform internationally and grow its product lines.
“Through a license and investment of capital, LJG will manage the expansion of the existing apparel and accessory divisions for the Berrics,” La Jolla Group CEO Toby Bost said.
“They have offered both proprietary and collaborative products for years. They are ready to take the next step in merchandising their collections and adding depth. There’s a great opportunity to bring newness in soft goods to both skate retailers and consumers. That’s exactly what we are going to do in the short term.”
La Jolla CEO Toby Bost
La Jolla Group is best known as a domestic apparel licensing company, but what I didn’t realize is that it is also operating several of its brands internationally.
Toby detailed the company’s international presence this way:
“Overall, LJG is focused on expanding its multi-branded portfolio globally,” he said.
“The last few license partnerships we have entered are global in scope: Metal Mulisha, TLFI, and In God’s Hands are distributing under our management to a number of key countries that include Canada, Australia, Japan and all of the European Union.”
La Jolla also has the U.S. license for O’Neill Clothing and Rusty Clothing license for North America.
Pro skaters Steve Berra and Erik Koston created The Berrics in 2007, and it has turned into one of the most powerful media platforms in skate.
I had an in-depth interview with Steve Berra last year and he detailed their strategy for The Berrics and where it plans to go.
On page 2: The press release about the deal
Here is the official press release about the deal between La Jolla and The Berrics.
La Jolla Group and The Berrics Join Forces, Offer New Vision for Skate Industry
LJG and Berrics form new relationship for continued growth among core skate fans and retail partners, at home and internationally
February 11, 2011 (Irvine, Calif.) – La Jolla Group (https://www.lajollagroup.com), the world’s premier youth lifestyle licensing company, has announced a landmark partnership with the world’s leading skateboarding website and facility, The Berrics, founded in 2007 by professional skateboarders Eric Koston and Steve Berra.
The announcement marks LJG’s first official and unique approach into skateboarding, following long-term relationships with surf and moto brands.
“The Berrics brings an exciting media and business model to our industry, and we want to reinforce the groundbreaking efforts they have made these last three years,” said La Jolla Group CEO, Toby Bost.
“It’s about giving them what they need to expand skate culture to an even wider audience globally in ways that only they can. By supporting the home to a very dedicated fan base as a result of the site’s content, events and grassroots ambitions, we can accomplish those goals.”
Erik Koston being inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.
The Berrics’ grassroots approach extends itself in many directions, one of which includes offering independent skate retailers (in all 50 states and Canada) opportunities to buy special collaborative product and advertise, via geo-targeting, on the site through the Berrics Unified program, an important part of The Berrics’ DNA.
“Eric and I started The Berrics because we felt the industry, and its professionals, had lost their footing largely in part to technology change,” said Berra.
“Our goal has always been to do what we can to help create a healthier industry by providing a destination, both physically and in cyberspace, whereupon the pros, the ams, the companies, the shops and the skateboarders not only felt closer to one another, but were all empowered, winning and communicating with each other,” said Berra.
“With the resources that have been available to us so far, our own pocketbooks, I think we’ve done a fantastic job,” he said.
“When given the opportunity to partner with someone like La Jolla Group, take advantage of their infrastructure, still retain full control and ownership of our company, not have to worry about them having skate brands that compete with our advertisers AND get the job done was something we couldn’t pass on. We want to see skateboarding and the people who make it happen, from top to bottom, do better, especially in these tumultuous times.”
With LJG’s 21st century infrastructure, The Berrics will continue to build and protect the successful business platform Berra and Koston have created. The relationship will improve The Berrics’ existing and future initiatives, help extend them globally, and continue to fulfill LJG’s diversification strategy as a leader in youth culture. T
he partnership with LJG will also enable The Berrics to focus more on their philanthropic endeavors in North America, following their first public skate park in Westchester, Calif., which is scheduled to open in late Spring 2011.
“Skate is here to stay, and with The Berrics leading the sport’s grassroots future, LJG will offer our trademark collaborative approach, putting our best minds together to make sure this is a win-win for everyone,” said Bost.
About La Jolla Group
La Jolla Group is the premiere multi-brand licensing company, with a prominent portfolio that includes some of the most recognized names in fashion and action sports: O’Neill Clothing USA, Metal Mulisha Clothing, Rusty North America, and True Love & False Idols.
Enhancing the successful model perfected with the company’s acquisition of the O’Neill Clothing USA license from Jack O’Neill and family in 1992, La Jolla Group has applied its core competencies in design, marketing, sales, production, and distribution to each of its licenses, creating a diversified brand mix specialized in surf, skate, snow, motocross, street, fashion and beach lifestyle. In 2010, La Jolla Group launched its first fashion brand, In God’s Hands, in association with founder and designer, Lauren Lusk.
With a variety of successful brands, over 400 employees across the U.S., and 10 successful retail locations, La Jolla Group continues to evolve and leverage synergies across its platforms. La Jolla Group brands are sold in over 3000 retailers across the country, as well as in countries including Europe, U.K., Canada, Latin America, Australia, and Japan. For more information, visit www.lajollagroup.com.
About The Berrics
Initially, The Berrics was a private skate facility for pro skateboarders Eric Koston and Steve Berra, as well as all their friends.
When the two both saw that technology had changed much of how information was being delivered to the consumer and that pros and companies could be promoted in between huge video projects in ways that print couldn’t offer, they made available everything that happened inside the facility to everyone outside of it, via theberrics.com.
Seven days a week, you can find anywhere between three and five daily video posts featuring the world’s top professionals, upcoming amateurs and skateboard brands shot and produced inside the Berrics.
The Berrics programming has extended beyond the facility’s walls to include profiles and skateboarding ranging from the everyday skater to the skate shops enrolled in the Berrics Unified program.
The Berrics Unified makes advertising on the site available to small shop owners who couldn’t normally afford to be in print and allows them to sit up there with the large shoe and board brands where they have never been able to sit before, all at a price they can afford. In three short years, The Berrics has become the world’s largest skateboarding website.
