New Licensing and Brand Management Joint Venture, The Rutherford James Group, Announced

LOS ANGELES, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- New to the arena in licensing and brand management is The Rutherford James Group, a joint venture recently formed by Glenn J. Rutherford and his son Travis J. Rutherford.  Anyone in licensing for the last 25 years will realize that the founders of this group are not new to the business.

Part of what makes TRJG a strong contender is the principals' experience in all sides of the licensing triangle.  Starting in textiles, Glenn obtained the first license for Hang Ten International and later Ocean Pacific Sunwear, manufacturing apparel out of New Zealand.  Combining manufacturing with retail, he succeeded in opening a chain of casual wear stores aptly called "Saturdays" and became further entrenched in the industry as Chairman of the Mantex Trade Show.  Then the licensee became the licensor.  As President of Ocean Pacific International, Glenn moved to California and oversaw the worldwide licensing program, drawing largely from his strengths of knowing what it's like to be a manufacturer and an in-depth understanding of the global textile industry.  

Travis began his career watching his father inspect garment detail on the factory floor and then alongside him learned about the culture and methods of licensing and distribution throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America.  Travis carved out an impressive licensing career of his own, starting with The Walt Disney Company and other innovative entertainment licensing icons, DreamWorks SKG and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.  During his tenures, Travis spearheaded global licensing programs for an extensive range of categories, across all brand assets.  Engaging equal amounts of tactical negotiating and visionary strategy, Travis' most recent role with MGM was Executive Vice President Worldwide Consumer Products and Location Based Entertainment.

Working under one umbrella with multiple office locations, TRJG can state with confidence that they understand the complexities of this business and bring a unique perspective across the lifestyle, fashion, and media licensing industries.  

"With individual strengths and some overlap in experience on both sides, we are learning daily from each other, creating different ways of doing business to expand our clients' brands," says Glenn J. Rutherford, Chairman.  

"We have both lived and breathed the global licensing business for many years, and getting back together under this new structure gives us an opportunity to build a sustainable family run business for the long term," says Travis J. Rutherford, C.E.O.  

TRJG blends the traditional surgical licensing approach of "extending the IP footprint" and incorporates newer ways of doing business by reaching into non-traditional areas of licensing and branding.  TRJG brings a scalable core infrastructure together with a consortium of strategically aligned partners to handle any type of licensing and brand extension program on a global basis.  

SOURCE The Rutherford James Group