HOLLAND, Mich. — The Licensing Resource Group (LRG), a trademark management company specializing in collegiate licensing and branding, is pleased to announce that Costco will feature 16 of its partner universities in the retailer’s 2014 Holiday program.
LRG clients included in this special program include Kansas State University; Iowa State University; NC State University; University of Memphis; Colorado State University; North Dakota State University; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Northern Illinois University; St. John’s University; Columbia University; Norfolk State University; Long Beach State; Cal State Fullerton; University of California, Riverside; University of California, Santa Barbara, and University of Illinois at Chicago.
Beginning December 5 through the week of Christmas, product from licensee Knights Apparel will be available in 44 Costco club locations across the country. The featured item in these locations will be Knights’ soft shell fleece jacket, which retails for $39.99 and is an exclusive to Costco. Other apparel items bearing the marks of LRG’s partner universities will complete the product offering in each of these locations. In addition to in-club presence, Costco will feature LRG clients in Costco Connection, the club’s membership magazine, which is the largest circulation magazine in the United States, with 8.6 million copies mailed each month. It is also available to all 72 million Costco members worldwide online. Finally, Costco will support the program with post on its Facebook page, which has approximately 1.2 million followers.
“Costco’s holiday program is a great source of additional brand visibility for our clients, especially during this important holiday retail season,” said Lewis Hardy, president and CEO of LRG. “Knights Apparel has done a great job in creating exclusive products for this special program, and LRG is confident that sell-through will be strong.”
The Costco collegiate holiday program follows a successful back-to-school program that included several LRG clients featured in Costco locations for more than a month during the busy back-to-school selling period.
About the Licensing Resource Group: Founded in May of 1991, the Licensing Resource Group currently represents more than 225 universities, colleges, athletic conferences and special properties nationwide. In July of 2014, LRG was acquired by Learfield Sports, which manages the multi-media rights for 99 collegiate properties nationwide. LRG provides trademark management services that include contract management, merchandising, brand development, information technology, and royalty management from offices in Holland, Michigan; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Iowa City, Iowa; Bristol, Rhode Island, and Frisco, Texas.