Meredith Announces New Licensing Agreement With FGX International For SHAPE Line Of Sunglasses

DES MOINES, Iowa, May 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com), the leading media and marketing company serving 110 million unduplicated American women and 70 percent of U.S. Millennial women, announced today that it has entered a licensing agreement with FGX International, the owner and designer of Foster Grant^® eyewear, to produce a line of sunglasses for the SHAPE brand. The two industry leaders partnered to create a co-branded product: Foster Grant^® for SHAPE^®.

The athleisure line of eyewear will combine product performance features that active women need with the fashion styling that women want. Product benefits that maximize comfort include:

• Lightweight, Soft-Flex Frames
• Scratch- and Impact-Resistant Polycarbonate Lenses
• Anti-Slip Nose Pads on Select Styles           

"Today's announcement builds on the momentum of the SHAPE media brand and the successful launch of SHAPE's first licensing program for women's athleisure apparel," says Elise Contarsy, Vice President of Meredith's Brand Licensing division. "Sunglasses and their accessories are a natural adjacency to our clothing program, and we look to add more adjacent product categories to extend the SHAPE brand reach."

Retail distribution is expected across mass and drug stores, as well as online including www.fostergrant.com, with the first retail exposure in select locations by summer 2017.  The full collection of product will be available by summer 2018.

SHAPE is the nation's #1 healthy lifestyle magazine and its websites and social platforms attract millions more every month for inspiring stories, exercise how-to's and personal health and beauty tips.

Meredith Corporation has been committed to service journalism for 115 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms – including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video – to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.

Meredith is the leader in creating and distributing content across platforms in key consumer interest areas such as food, home, parenting and health through well-known brands such as Better Homes & Gardens, Allrecipes, Parents, SHAPE, Martha Stewart Living and The Magnolia Journal.  Meredith also features robust brand licensing activities, including more than 3,000 SKUs of branded products at 5,000 Walmart stores across the U.S.

FGX International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Essilor International.  FGX International is a leading designer and marketer of sunglasses, optical frames and non-prescription reading glasses with a portfolio of established, highly recognized eyewear brands including Foster Grant®, Ryders®, Magnivision®, Gargoyles®, Corinne McCormack®, Solar Shield®, and Polinelli®. FGX International also holds licenses for brands such as Reebok®, Revlon®, Ironman®, Dockers®, Nine West®, and Panama Jack®. Based in Smithfield, Rhode Island in the United States, FGX International has additional offices located in New York City; San Luis Obispo, California; Toronto, Canada; Vancouver, Canada; Milan, Italy; Stoke-on-Trent, England; Chessington, England; Mexico City, Mexico; Bangalore, India and Shenzhen, China.  For more information about FGX International, please visit www.fgxi.com.

SOURCE Meredith Corporation

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