A.K.A. SPORTSWEAR

"THE NAME INSIDE THE GAME"

Founded in 1996, Purple Inc was incorporated to provide fans of the Phoenix Suns with quality merchandise and a unique identity. Their first trademark was Purple Palace.  It soon became “THE” nickname for America West Arena, the home of the Phoenix Suns. With the success of Purple Palace under their belt, Purple Inc entered into an exclusive agreement with the PADLP (Phoenix Area Development Limited Partnership), the ownership group behind the Suns, to supply Purple Palace merchandise for the Arena. Looking to grow, Purple Inc began to develop and acquire rights to other arena and stadium nicknames. The Shark Tank (San Jose Sharks), Hive (Charlotte Hornets) and the Frozen Tundra (Green Bay Packers) are examples of this expansion. In early 1999, the founder of Purple Inc decided to concentrate his efforts on developing that unique niche carved out by Purple Inc. He left the stability provided by Investment Consulting and ventured into the business of branding and developing identities for the fans of all sports. By July of 1999, Purple Inc., a one-dimensional company had blossomed into AKA Sportswear, an identity creating, fan friendly branding machine. With more than 100 trademarked identities created to date, AKA Sportswear had become a player in the sports apparel industry. Our mission statement is based on the concept that involves the fans at every level. From conception to completion, fans interact with AKA Sportswear to create, establish and market identities of their own choosing. The result being fan gear that provides the enthusiast something they feel expresses their identity. While continuing to create and promote the relationship between fan and team, AKA Sportswear continued to broaden its horizons by further developing both regional and national  trademarks by promoting their Southern Brand, Yes I am and Blue Blood lines. Some other notable milestones include:

Ø      In 2003, AKA Sportswear entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Smith and Wesson Holding Corp, the 150 year old gun maker based in Scottsdale, AZ.  With their well established licensing arm, AKA Sportswear was soon recognized as a premiere licensing company with worldwide reach.

Ø      In 2004, AKA Sportswear reached even higher, being granted  licenses with CLC (The Collegiate Licensing Company) and LRG (License Resource Group). Plans are underway to apply their fan friendly formula to involve collegiate fans much like they did at the professional level.

Ø      In 2005, AKA Sportswear has been testing the retail waters with their foray into Internet sales and marketing. Their latest offering is a fan friendly stadium piece that identifies the wearer as a proud Arizonan. The Rattlehead Hat is as much a statement of where you live (Arizona)  as whom you support (Diamondbacks, Rattlers and Sidewinders). It can be seen at http://www.thesnakepit.com.

Ø      AKA Sportswear’s commitment to charity has never been more evident than now with their efforts to help raise funds for the American Red Cross to provide relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. All proceeds from the sale of the Rattlehead hats at the Arizona Center location of Hooter’s during the “Terrible Tail” promotion will be directed to the American Red Cross. The promotion will run through the Diamondbacks final home stand that ends on Sunday, September 25th.