MILAN — Adidas has signed a five-year licensing agreement with Italian manufacturer Marcolin for the development, production and global distribution of its eyewear collections. The deal runs through 2024.
The sportswear giant’s first collection under the new partnership will bow in early 2020 for both the Adidas Badge of Sport and Originals labels.
The German brand’s eyewear collections for its Originals label have been previously manufactured and distributed by Italia Independent for four years. The license agreement, signed in 2015, expires in 2019.
“Today’s sportswear embraces and influences the entire fashion and accessory industry and we are very excited to begin collaborating with a legendary brand as Adidas,” said Massimo Renon, Marcolin’s chief executive officer. “This agreement marks once again Marcolin Group’s targeted company strategy: to join [forces] with modern, global and unique brands that leverage their innovative DNA,” he added.
Marcolin’s portfolio includes licensed brands such as Tom Ford, Bally, Moncler, Ermenegildo Zegna, Roberto Cavalli and Dsquared2 to name a few, along with the Marcolin Web label.
The Adidas deal comes after Marcolin signed a five-year licensing agreement with Max Mara’s sister label Sportmax in February. A month earlier, the Longarone, Italy-based manufacturer had inked a distribution deal with Los Angeles-based brand Barton Perreira, diving into the specialty eyewear market.
At the 49th edition of the three-day eyewear trade show Mido in February, Renon was optimistic about 2019 and said in 2018 the company “has over-performed the industry in terms of gross sales, which reported a higher single-digit growth and also in terms of margin, which I believe to be one of the best in the industry.”