Stride Rite has reacquired the rights to the PRO-Keds brand from its previous licensee and plans to relaunch the brand with a new strategic direction. The new strategy will focus on re-imaging the brand by updating classic styles with modern materials and colors while celebrating the brand's 60th anniversary. Stride Rite believes bringing the brand in-house will allow it to maximize PRO-Keds' potential and tap into the brand's heritage and cult status from its early popularity in hip hop culture.

1. Stride Rite Announces New Strategic Direction for PRO-Keds,
Pulls Brand License In-House
Monday, August 25, 2008 12:01 PM
Symbols: PSS
2009 Marks 60th Anniversary of Iconic Brand;
New Strategy Gives Fresh Image to Old School Vintage Brand
The Stride Rite Corporation announced today that it has reacquired its rights to the
PRO-Keds® brand from licensee and hip-hop mogul Damon Dash and will bring the brand
back in-house as part of a new strategic direction for the PRO-Keds business.
The new brand strategy includes a brand re-imaging leveraging the PRO-Keds strong
heritage, product enhancements to classic styles with fresh materials, colors and other
trend details, as well as commemorative limited-edition collections to celebrate the
brand’s 60th anniversary. The plan also involves a premium positioning within selective
distribution channels and a marketing campaign targeting trendsetters.
“We thank Damon for his partnership and efforts on the PRO-Keds brand over the past
few years, and we look forward to relaunching the brand under the Stride Rite
organization to maximize the brand’s full potential,” said Gregg Ribatt, president and CEO
of Stride Rite. “PRO-Keds is a heritage brand and a true American Classic. We plan to tap
our archives and re-issue the classic styles with fresh new design details, and to build on
the brand’s vintage position with a new brand image. We believe there is a strong market
out there for shoes that combine old school roots with contemporary styling.”
PRO-Keds was established in 1949 as a performance athletic footwear line primarily
aimed at basketball. The first PRO-Keds style was the Royal, a classic canvas basketball
shoe offered in high- and low-top versions featuring a red and blue “power stripe”
adjacent to the toe. Over the years, new styles were added across the categories of
basketball, baseball, football, tennis and track and field. By the late 1970s, PRO-Keds had
become synonymous with some of the biggest names in basketball and professional
sports with key endorsers for the brand including George Mikan, “Pistol” Pete Maravich,
JoJo White, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Nate “Tiny” Archibald, among others.
The brand attained cult status as the first real sneaker with style among New York City’s
early hip hop community.
Stride Rite will launch the new PRO-Keds men’s collection taking core classic styles --
such as the Royal, Court King and Royal Master -- from its archives and refreshing the
silhouettes with new materials, colors, and other trend details, as well as enhanced
comfort features. The shoes will be available for between $50-$80 initially in November
2008, with a wider collection forthcoming in Spring 2009. Stride Rite will target the trend-

2. setting consumer through premium stores as its primary retail channel, and plans to do
exclusive, limited-edition lines with key fashion boutiques in the coming months.
The PRO-Keds brand group is part of the Stride Rite unit of Collective Brands, Inc.
Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS), headquartered in Topeka, Kan., is a leader in
bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related
accessories to consumers worldwide. The company operates three strategic units
covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling channels
including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing. Collective Brands, Inc. includes
Payless ShoeSource, also headquartered in Topeka, focused on democratizing fashion
and design in footwear and accessories through its more than 4,500-store retail chain,
with its brands American Eagle™, Airwalk®, Dexter®, Champion® and designer
collections Abaeté for Payless™, Lela Rose for Payless™ and alice + olivia for Payless™,
Patricia Field for Payless™, among others; Stride Rite, based in Lexington, Mass., focused
on lifestyle and athletic branded footwear and high-quality children’s footwear sold
primarily through wholesaling, with its brands including Stride Rite®, Keds®,
PRO-Keds®, Sperry Top-Sider®, Robeez®, and Saucony®, among others; and Collective
Licensing International, Denver, Colo., the brand development, management and global
licensing unit, with such youth lifestyle brands as Airwalk®, Vision Street Wear®,
Lamar®, Sims®, LTD®, genetic®, Dukes™, Rage®, Ultra-Wheels®, and Skate Attack®.
Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand’s units can be
found at http://www.collectivebrands.com.
Press:
LaForce + Stevens
Kate Siegel, 212.242.9353
ksiegel@laforce-stevens.com
(Source: Business Wire )
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