Walmart will no longer carry Danskin brand apparel products in its stores or on its website, according to New York Post reports from Tuesday (Oct. 31). The retailer will remove the products from its shelves in 15 months.
Danskin is a 135-year-old brand owned by parent company Iconix Brand Group and generating $15.5 million in revenue annually, the report noted. Iconix is the parent company of several well-known apparel and accessory brands including Fieldcrest, Cannon, Starter, Bongo, Material Girl, Op, Joe Boxer, Rampage, Candie’s, Waverly, Ed Harvey, Pony, Zoo York, Rocawear, Danskin, Mossimo and Mudd, among others. Danskin items will still be sold at Lord & Taylor, Costco and TJMaxx.
Iconix shares reacted negatively to the Walmart news, with company stocks falling 65 percent to $1.85 — their lowest price in 14 years, dating back to when the licensing company was still known as Candie’s. The company previously revealed Walmart had plans to drop its Op brand in 2019 and Target would cease carrying its $1 billion Mossimo brand in 2018, the New York Post reported.
“We view the loss of these key relationships as a major challenge for management, which has been heightened by the loss of Danskin Now,” wrote Eric Beder, FBR Capital Markets & Co. analyst.
On Monday (Oct. 30), Iconix announced Walmart would also stop carrying its Starter brand, now to be sold exclusively on Amazon, the New York Post article said.
“Improving the balance sheet … and more actively managing our brands continues to be our primary focus,” said Iconix CEO John Haugh in a statement.
Walmart has recently busied itself acquiring brands and companies to redouble its eCommerce efforts in competition with Amazon. After paying $3 billion for Marc Lore’s Jet.com, the retailer has since acquired eCommerce startups ShoeBuy, Moosejaw, Bonobos, Parcel, Hayneedle and Modcloth.
With Walmart dropping a number of Iconix brands from its online and brick-and-mortar catalogs, though, the question is whether the retailer is making room for the inclusion of more and newer private brands in its inventory.