Stride Rite Corporation Announces Grant of Apparel License for PRO-Keds to Clothing and Music Mogul Damon Dash

Stride Rite Corporation Announces Grant of Apparel License for PRO-Keds to Clothing and Music Mogul Damon Dash

NEW YORK, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stride Rite Corporation announced today that it has expanded its current relationship with hip hop mogul Damon Dash, CEO of Damon Dash Enterprises (co-founder of Rocawear clothing and Roc-a-fella records), by entering into an exclusive licensing agreement for the distribution of men's, women's and children's apparel under the PRO-Keds brand. Dash has been the exclusive U.S. footwear licensee for the PRO-Keds brand since 2005. The clothing line will be introduced at the MAGIC trade show in Las Vegas in February 2007, and will be available at retail in Summer 2007.

"PRO-Keds is an authentic athletic brand which has a great opportunity to be successful in apparel. It is rooted in the ideals of 'old school rules,' and represents the original street style and values which I live by," said Damon Dash. "We have made a lot of progress with the sneakers, and combining it with an apparel component will help take us to the next level. In our culture, clothing and sneakers have to match, so it is only natural to bring to an apparel line, the same fresh ideas that have made PRO-Keds sneakers so successful in the past couple of years."

"Damon Dash and his team have accomplished a great deal in the past two years in rebuilding PRO-Keds' street credibility and sense of style. Damon's past experience in building brands and bridging the gap between mainstream and urban America will be valuable as we partner with him to launch PRO-Keds apparel," said Tom Slosberg, Director of PRO-Keds for Stride Rite. "Stride Rite would also like to congratulate Damon on his recent Crystal Shoe Award from the Two-Ten Footwear Foundation, in tribute to his work on the revitalization of PRO-Keds," Slosberg continued.

PRO-Keds was established in 1949 by Keds as an athletic footwear line primarily aimed at basketball. The first PRO-Keds product was the classic Royal, a canvas basketball shoe in high and low tops featuring a distinctive red and blue power stripe adjacent to the toe. Over time, new styles were added across several sports categories. PRO-Keds continues to release new designs and special edition sneakers in collaboration with high profile figures in popular culture.

ABOUT STRIDE RITE

The Stride Rite Corporation markets the leading brand of children's shoes in the United States. Other footwear products for children and adults are marketed by the Company under well-known brand names, including Keds, Saucony, Sperry Top-Sider, Tommy Hilfiger, Grasshoppers and Robeez. Information about the Company is available on their website - http://www.strideritecorp.com/. Information about the company's brands and product lines is available at http://www.striderite.com/, http://www.keds.com/, http://www.saucony.com/, http://www.grasshoppers.com/, and http://www.sperrytopsider.com/.

ABOUT DAMON DASH ENTERPRISES

Damon Dash Enterprises is the umbrella company for a group of lifestyle brands under the leadership of Damon Dash. The enterprise includes apparel and footwear, fine jewelry and watches, film, spirits, boxing, music and publishing. Fans of Dash's unique dress code can emulate his "sportswear meets street sensibility" look with his CEO and PRO-Keds brands. On the high-end Dash offers the luxury bespoke-tailored sportswear collection, the Damon Dash Collection. In 2005, Dash's fashion designer wife and business partner, Rachel Roy, launched her eponymous collection of sophisticated and elegant clothing. Other lifestyle brands that have been incorporated into the portfolio include Armadale Vodka, a premium spirit from Scotland, Tiret, a luxury timepiece and jewelry collection, Dash Dibella Productions, a boxing consortium, Dash Films and the Damon Dash Music Group.

Source: PRO-Keds

CONTACT: Sarah Cohen, Brand Building Public Relations, +1-212-343-8917,
scohen@brandbuildingpr.com

Web site: http://www.keds.com/
http://www.strideritecorp.com/
http://www.striderite.com/
http://www.saucony.com/
http://www.grasshoppers.com/
http://www.sperrytopsider.com/

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