NEW YORK — Heritage sports brands such as Reebok, Starter and Champion are experiencing a resurgence. And PONY wants a piece of the pie.
The brand was founded more than 50 years ago in New York City by Roberto Muller — with financing help from Adidas chairman Horst Dassler — and soon became one of the industry’s top footwear brands with its shoes on the feet of key players in the NBA, NFL, MLB, soccer, boxing and other sports.
At the height of its popularity, PONY, which is an acronym of Product of New York, posted sales of some $800 million. The company changed hands several times over the years and the North American rights were acquired by Iconix Brand Group in 2015 for $37 million. Iconix purchased the rights for the rest of the world — with the exception of mainland China — in 2022. Terms were not disclosed.
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And now, Robert Galvin, chief executive officer, is preparing to relaunch the brand with a goal reaching $500 million in sales in the foreseeable future.
Galvin took over the reins of Iconix in 2018, overseeing a portfolio with 30 brands and sales of over $5 billion in more than 100 countries. Among the labels owned by the brand management company are Ecko Unltd., Candie’s, Rocawear, Ed Hardy, Danskin and Zoo York.
The Pony relaunch started with footwear, the brand’s historic strength, in 2023 when styles manufactured by licensee Genesco hit the market. The shoes did well, but the focus now is on apparel, Galvin said.
“We just signed Reason Clothing as the licensee and they have a great relationship with specialty stores,” he said in an interview at Iconix’s Garment District offices. Although some minor drops of basic apparel such as T-shirts and hoodies are already in the market, the big push will come next year.
Galvin said that because Iconix now owns the rights for the brand in all markets except China, its messaging will be the same in every market where PONY is sold. “We could do things in the U.S. before but not in Europe or South America, so the look would be inconsistent,” he said. But that’s no longer an issue.
Although Galvin started by reviving PONY’s “historical best sellers” in shoes, he’s excited about the prospects for the clothing. “It’s all about hip apparel to complement the footwear,” he said.
PONY is currently 70 percent menswear and 30 percent women’s, but Iconix is planning a “big push in the late third quarter for women.” In addition, Galvin hopes to add other markets such as India to its licensed partners.
In addition to Reason, he’ll be working with other partners around the world including Batra Group in Europe, S Market and Mastermind in Asia, and Marquente, JM Sport, Sport Group and Moldy Shoes in Latin America, to introduce the brand to a new consumer segment.
The plan is to continue offering high-profile collaborations, like it has with Star Wars, the Mexican comedian Ricardo Perez and fashion designer Mauro Garfias, all of whom PONY has worked with for its footwear, as well as brand activations. This year, PONY has partnered with the hip-hop festival Summer Jam, New York City radio station Hot 97 and with local artists to reopen a skatepark in Luque, Paraguay.
Over the years, PONY also had a strong connection to soccer and the company has reissued retro sports jersey club soccer kits. But Galvin stressed that these are sportswear rather than technical product. “We don’t have the technology to compete with Nike or Under Armour,” he said, pointing to the brand’s mission statement: “Rooted in sports but made for the street.”
He said of all the brands Iconix owns, PONY is the one that garners the most interest from the market. But right now, “PONY has more mindshare than closet share,” he said. However, he’s confident that by getting it in front of younger consumers, PONY will find its niche.
Outside the U.S., PONY’s apparel is carried at Selfridges, Liberty, Urban Outfitters and others, and Galvin’s plan for America is to capitalize on Reason’s strength with sports-related specialty stores and to also seek out larger retailers such as Macy’s where the merchandise can sell at full price.
Beyond PONY, Galvin said Iconix is also looking at six to eight possible acquisition candidates to add to the portfolio. Its most recent purchase was for Hoodrich, a British streetwear label, which was bought last November.
Although Iconix operates with the same business model as the big brand management firms such as Authentic Brands Group, Galvin said there are still “niche brands” on the block that are too small to be of interest to a large operator such as Authentic. “They wouldn’t move the needle for them,” Galvin said.