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Press Clips: A license to sell
April 19, 2002Steven Seidman is making a second career at rolling in Mudd.
Thatýs Mudd, as in Mudd jeans, the brand popular with teen-age girls. But, thanks to Seidman, Mudd has become more than just a jeans company.
The companyýs psychedelic logosýevocative of hippies and Woodstockýnow adorn an array of Mudd merchandise: swimwear, school supplies, glasses, watches, footwear, towels and sleepwear. A girl can be outfitted and use Mudd products from morning ýtil night, Seidman said.
Over the past five years, Seidman has helped transform Mudd from a $28-million-a-year jeans company to a portfolio of products with $250 million to $300 million in revenues a year.
Seidmanýs Ingroup Licensing, based in New City, is the exclusive licensing agent for Mudd. The company blends the disciplines of marketing, merchandising, advertising and promotion to extend fashion brands beyond just clothing as a way to increase a companyýs profits. Dick Gilbert, president of Mudd LLC, said Seidman took Mudd from a company ýwith jeans on a racký to a national brand whose products now warrant their own sections in department stores.
At Deb in the Palisades Center, Mudd jeans are the most popular brand, said Assistant Manager Lisette Reyes. In a display of black handbags, Muddýs hot pink, powder blue and glitter bags stand out. ýThe colors would attract people to look this way,ý Reyes said.
In the 34 years heýs been in the jeans and clothing trade, Gilbert said Seidman has taken the company to heights beyond his wildest imagination. Seidman knows instinctively which products will translate well, Gilbert said.
ýHe had a vision that I just kind of laughed at in the beginning,ý Gilbert said. ýHeýs got a tremendous sense of whoýs capable of doing the right thing.ý
License! magazine has named Ingroup as among its ýTop 100 to Watchý and Seidman has been listed as one of the most influential deal-makers in the $97 billion licensing industry.
From the early to mid-ý90s, the licensing trade had its biggest growth spurt. It has since slowed as the field reached a point where demand equaled supply, said Charles Riotto, president of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisersý Association. Images, slogans and logos from sports, entertainment, fashion and corporations are popularly licensed to appear on everything from shirts to lunch boxes. But how did 52-year-old Seidman know what products would prove popular with 15-year-old girls?
For starters, he spent 20 years in the marketing and sales industries, including stints as an executive for Guess Inc., BUM Equipment, Jordache Jean Company and Murjani Company, the company responsible for making Gloria Vanderbilt jeans a fashion phenomenon. Seidman is out in the malls constantly looking at what young people are buying. ýWe have to be able to hear and see things before anybody else,ý he said.
In the case of Mudd, Seidman said he was drawn to its 1960s, retro style. Low-rise jeans and bell-bottoms were coming into vogue. Seidman said he views potential licensors with a critical eye. The company has to be creating a buzz. ýThe brand has to allow itself to take on a life of its own,ý he said.
Seidman wonýt introduce a line of licensed products unless he believes it has the potential to generate $50 million to $100 million in sales in two to three years. He said heýs looking for brands with longevityýnot just a flash in the pan. ýTo just add $10 million in new business is not our plan,ý he said.
Other Seidman clients include Plugg, a company catering to teen-age boys that will introduce new products in time for this fallýs back-to-school season. Seidman also has exclusive licensing rights to Ben Sherman, the fourth largest apparel company in Europe that will soon introduce its line of menýs and womenýs clothing to America.
Seidman does not take a retainer up front, so he does not see any money until and unless the licensed products become successful. His fortunes are tied to a percentage of net sales of the licensed products. He declined to discuss Ingroupýs revenues in detail but said the private company is ýsignificantly profitable.ý
While building up his own business, Seidman also faced personal challenges. Concerned about blood in his urine, Seidman learned 14 years ago, after repeated tests and doctorsý visits, that he had a malignant tumor on his right kidney. The kidney was removed. Then in 1998, he learned the cancer had spread to his bladder. Treated for his second bout of cancer, Seidman continues to be monitored medically but shows no signs of slowing down.
He splits his workdays between offices in New City and New York City. He was in China recently to cement a Mudd distribution deal for all of the Far East. A confessed ýcontrol freaký who keeps his hand in all facets of licensing decisions, Seidman talks animatedly about the youth market.
ýYoung people, I like to say theyýre recession-proof. Today, business happens on the young side,ý he said. ýOur real success and recognition comes from the consumer. We couldnýt be in a more exciting business.ý
Send e-mail to Christopher Mele
Originally published on The Journal News web site.
