Brazil, Latin America in Cherokee Crosshairs

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 10/15/2007 12:00:00 AM

Van Nuys, Calif. —

By signing a major direct-to-retailer license in Brazil, and hiring a new executive to oversee Mexico and Central America, brand management company Cherokee Group has shown its level of interest in these territories is on the upswing.

The Brazil deal is an exclusive license for the Cherokee brand with hypermarket operator Grupo Pao de Acucar, operator of the Extra hypermarket chain. The agreement covers product categories including apparel, footwear, and home.

Anchored at Target in the U.S., mainly in the apparel department but with such home items as blankets, the Cherokee brand is also licensed to retailers such as Tesco (U.K.) and Zellers (Canada).

"With our recent launch in Chile, and fast approaching launch of Cherokee in Peru with our partner Falabella-Tottus, the Cherokee brand is now almost fully-licensed throughout South America," noted Larry Sass, svp Cherokee Inc.

To steer operations, Cherokee has hired Lourdes Mestre, a former Target merchant, as brand director for Mexico and Central & South America. In this post, she will develop the company's partnerships with retailers Grupo Pao de Acucar, Falabella, and Comercial Mexicana, among others.