NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- United Legwear & Apparel Company, LLC has announced the acquisition of The Wheat Group Inc., the San Diego-based company that designs, develops and distributes accessories relating to sports and fashion. Product categories include: bags; backpacks; hats and caps; knee-to-toe soccer gear (shin guards, socks, and cleats); inflatable sports balls; small electronic goods such as earbuds, headphones and Bluetooth speakers; personal fitness equipment, and more.
Since 2011, The Wheat Group has been a licensee and joint venture partner of PUMA North America; other licensed partners include Skechers and Minecraft, and the company also has a proprietary brand of premium bags and accessories called FOCUSED SPACE.
Day-to-day creative design, product development, sourcing, and marketing responsibilities will remain in San Diego, sales functions will be split between bi-coastal showrooms in New York and San Diego, and financial operations will be absorbed by United Legwear & Apparel Co.'s New York office.
Isaac E. Ash, Founder, President and CEO of United Legwear & Apparel Co. (ULAC) explained his strategy for the acquisition. "I've been impressed with The Wheat Group's exceptional creative talent and design innovations; they develop cutting-edge products," Ash said. "In addition, accessories are an important part of the brands that ULAC manages; we will leverage this synergy and offer retailers a broad assortment of products that work together. ULAC will enable retailers to efficiently procure lifestyle brand stories from a single resource. Initial response has been tremendous, and we look forward to a successful future."
Chad Grismer, co-founder of The Wheat Group, said, "ULAC has built a dynamic business and retains a fierce allegiance to quality, innovation and value. We've been paralleling each other's efforts for quite some time (Puma JV partner/Skechers licensee/etc). My brothers and I have always found it interesting that there is this 'other' company out there serving identical brands and markets in complimentary product categories. The decision to combine was obvious, and together – as a full service accessory company -- will prove to be faster, stronger, and more valuable to our retail partners, licensors, and consumers. We're proud to be part of this team."
A complete line of PUMA accessories (booth #620) as well as the FOCUSED SPACE collection (booth #624) will be presented at Liberty Fairs Las Vegas, February 15-17 at the Sands Expo | Venetian.
About United Legwear & Apparel Company, LLC.
United Legwear & Apparel Company is a dynamic, New York City based global entity that designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes legwear, bodywear, apparel, and accessories to some of the world's leading retailers. Founded in 1998 by Isaac E. Ash, United Legwear & Apparel Co. (ULAC) is a joint venture partner with PUMA North America, and also maintains highly-recognized licensed brands such as Skechers, Happy Socks, and Jonathan Adler, as well as private-label brands across the legwear, apparel and accessories segments, with product ranges from infant and toddler through adults. Stratified distribution allows ULAC to leverage business across all retail channels for brand partners, while the private label programs offer well-engineered, right-priced products. ULAC's mission is simple: to manufacture with integrity, and distribute legwear, apparel, and accessories of highest quality and best value. Visit www.unitedlegwear.com for more information.
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SOURCE United Legwear & Apparel Co.
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