Lady Sandra inks license deal with teen heartthrob Justin Bieber for bedding, bath

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/10/2010 3:59:31 PM

Montreal, Quebec - Tapping into the young rock star's many emotions and states of mind, Lady Sandra Home Fashions Inc. is creating a bevy of new bedding, bath coordinate and beach towel programs via a newly inked licensing partnership with teen celebrity Justin Bieber.

"We have created different looks based on these images - we have the ‘rock star' Justin, the ‘laid back' Justin, and the ‘dreamy' Justin -- - all while keeping his image true to his fans," explained Maria De Stefano, art director. "The core color for most of the products is purple. Why? Simply because it is Justin Bieber's favorite color."

Lady Sandra began talks with Justin Bieber's licensing agents in May when "we bumped into each other" at the Licensing Show in Las Vegas. Then about one month ago, the two parties officially joined forces to create the new program. It is rolling out to both Canadian and U.S. stores in November in time for the holiday '10 selling season. Lady Sandra's design team is also already developing the program's spring 2011 line.

For the launch, the Justin Bieber home collection comprises top of bed and sheeting that includes photo-real printed comforter sets, printed sheet sets, and photo-real pillowcases as well as decorative pillows available in multiple shapes and sizes, photo-real printed fleece throws and printed micro-plush throws.

For the bath category, Lady Sandra has created photo-real shower curtains, matching shower curtain hooks, bath mats and plastic bathroom accessories, which include a photo-real tumbler, lotion pump, and soap dish. Additionally, the company is offering a variety of photo-real beach towels.

Martin Novack, Lady Sandra's ceo, told HTT the line targets Bieber's broad fan base - which spans girls as young as 6 through college age as well as their mothers.

"My own daughter is 18 years old, and she and a ton of her friends love Justin Bieber," Novack said. "We feel Justin Bieber is a real phenomenon. He is not just a license. He isn't just some young pop star. He is a rare phenomenon. The last one we had like that was Michael Jackson."

The Justin Bieber license represents the latest in a series of license partnerships Lady Sandra has forged in its 46-year history. Lady Sandra was founded by Peter Reiskind, the father of the company's current president, Marvin Reiskind.

"Our original owners did it in the ‘70s with a lot of the sports teams. In those days the licenses cost almost nothing and we paid the royalty accordingly. We did that for about five or eight years, or more," Novack said. "Then when I got involved 11 years ago, we branched out into new licenses. We started off with Hot Wheels and it became very, very popular for us."

Past license partnerships include both adult and juvenile properties, such as Strawberry Shortcake, Campbell's, Pepsi, Spiderman 2, Shrek 2, Barbie, Monster Garage, and Chrysler.

Aside the Justin Bieber, Lady Sandra is also the licensee currently for Playboy in North America, and Swarovski.