New Era, official clothier for everything MLB?

Posted on August 17th, 2009. Written by Emmett Jones.

Head wear and apparel company New Era announced today that they had recently acquired 5th & Ocean, a privately held apparel manufacturer in Miami, Florida. Via PRNewswire,

New Era Cap Co., Inc., the global headwear and apparel designer, announced today that it has acquired 5(th) & Ocean, a privately held apparel manufacturer in Miami, Florida.

The acquisition will help New Era rapidly expand its line of sports and fashion apparel by tapping into 5(th) & Ocean’s expertise and existing market relationships. Currently, 5(th) & Ocean manufactures men’s, women’s, and kids apparel for major U.S. sports leagues including Major League Baseball as well as notable properties including Victoria’s Secret/PINK and Dallas Cowboys Merchandising.

“To ensure the long-term growth of New Era in this changing economic landscape, we need to look for strategic ways to diversify our business,” said Christopher H. Koch, CEO of New Era Cap. “The acquisition of 5(th) & Ocean continues to move us forward with our strategy to become a well-rounded lifestyle brand. This was an opportunity we simply could not pass up.”

Best known as the official on-field cap for Major League Baseball, New Era entered the apparel arena in 2007 and has gained greater traction in the market place each year. Recently, in an effort to expand its college business, New Era launched a full collection of apparel and headwear that supports Historically Black Colleges and Universities called “New Era presents Tradition.” Working with 5(th) & Ocean will not only complement these efforts, but New Era’s core headwear business as well.

In what looks like a fairly innocuous acquisition by New Era, who looks to be expanding their market share on the fashion apparel front, may be the first step in an attempt to be more than the official on-field cap  for Major League Baseball.  Baseball’s current supplier of exclusive merchandise, the Pa-based Majestic Athletic Ltd., will have an expiring contract at the end of the 2010 baseball season.  Majestic currently handles all official uniforms, jackets, T-shirts, fleeces and turtlenecks; a deal which I’m sure is very, very lucrative.  More lucrative? being the official supplier of all clothing and head wear for Major League Baseball.

Keep watching New Era in the next year…you may be wearing a lot of their apparel in the near future.

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