NEW YORK–The University of Oxford has launched the first phase of a new licensing program that will take advantage of the English university’s wealth of content to translate into home and fashion programs.
The university announced its network of international agents, which includes StoneAmerica Licensing for the North American region, at an event last night.
“This is not a typical college licensing program, where we’re just slapping a logo on a T-shirt,” Robert Stone, president of StoneAmerica, told HFN. “This is a lifestyle brand.” The new license has a lot of potential for mid- to high-end product, he added, and he expects home furnishings will be about 60 percent of the program, with the balance in apparel and educational materials.
The potential for an Oxford program has always existed, and now “we’re raising our sights.” Oxford is “competing on the world stage,” said Chris Evans, managing director of Oxford Limited. To be “a part of the contemporary elite, we need to insure the image is contemporary, and licensing can help us do that.”