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FEATURED WORK
Years in business
Earthbound launched in 2000 with an entirely new perspective to brand building. Since pioneering the direct-to-retail model with Isaac Mizrahi’s trailblazing launch at Target, we’ve worked with some great clients to build some great brands for some great companies. Along the way, we’ve even built some of our own.
CO-FOUNDER & CO-CHAIRMAN
Jeff spearheads the strategic direction, cultivation, and management of Earthbound’s brands as the company’s co-founder and president. He launched Earthbound with a new holistic vision for a licensing agency model that incorporates quality brand-building with full-service marketing, advertising, and design functions emphasized in the process. Prior to Earthbound, Jeff was a key member of the expansion team for Conway’s Stores, Inc, a business founded by his father in 1942.
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During his 15 years at Conway, Jeff and his brothers grew the business from a two-store operation to a 16-store retail powerhouse employing over 1,400 people and generating revenues in excess of $170 million. During his time at Conway, Jeff directed all aspects of the business, from logistics and operations to store design, site selection, product design and development, fashion direction and forecasting, visual display, marketing, advertising, and human resources.
CO-FOUNDER & CO-CHAIRMAN
As co-founder, co-chairman, and principal of Earthbound and leader of its Business Development and Global Expansion initiatives, Jack has developed key relationships with major retailers, brand owners, and technology developers that have allowed the business and its clients to grow rapidly. Prior to Earthbound, Jack served as EVP and eventually a Principal and CEO of Arrow Trading Company, Inc., which created, manufactured, and imported product for retailers and premium users.
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At Arrow, Jack secured exclusive licenses for the company, which included Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Coca-Cola, Hershey Foods, and Anheuser Busch brands. He also assisted in creating major promotional programs for Fortune 500 companies and supplied premiums for companies such as American Express, RJ Reynolds, Phillip Morris, Lorillard, Hertz, Time Inc., Estee Lauder, Calvin Klein, and Kraft-General Foods.
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DTR & LICENSING
A retail veteran with over 20 years of experience, Lisa manages all product design and development functions for Earthbound’s direct to retail and licensing relationships. She’s been involved in numerous brand launches, including the hugely successful Better Homes and Gardens brand at Walmart and the complete Isaac Mizrahi Live lifestyle brand at QVC.
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Lisa’s career began at Macy’s Merchandising Group, where she spent more than 13 years progressing through multiple job functions, ultimately touching almost every facet of the product development and merchandising cycle in the Junior division, Trend and Fashion office, INC women’s line, and New Business division. As a highlight in New Business, Lisa worked with both national and international retail clients outside of the Macy’s umbrella to develop their own private label brand strategies and products.
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Chet has over 25 years of experience as a financial manager in the world of retail and licensing. In his current role, he manages all facets of Earthbound’s operations, from receivables to payables to royalty and systems administration. Prior to his position at Earthbound, Chet was the CFO of Conway’s Stores, Inc., where he was instrumental in growing the company from an 18- to 100-store retail operation.
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Chet monitored and controlled financial services for Conway, including payables, company expenses, sales analysis, and financial reporting as well as managing relationships with landlords, lenders, and suppliers.
OUR ROLE
Strategy | Market & Trend Research | Licensing Outreach & Deal Execution | Retail Merchandising & Assortment Planning | Brand Book & Style Guide Development | Product Design & Development
The early 2000s saw the launch of the country’s top shelter magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, in Walmart stores in Lawn and Garden. In order to maintain the business, the brand soon needed to revive, broaden, and expand its product licensing program. But as a magazine property, it didn’t have the design capabilities to do so.
To concept and create a lifestyle collection of home products, a collaboration was in order: the editorial and creative services of Better Homes and Gardens and Earthbound’s product design and development teams. In addition, Earthbound would employ the magazine’s marketing power to drive awareness and traffic to Walmart.
Working side by side with the magazine and Walmart, Earthbound successfully repositioned the brand within stores. We grew the product offering into a complete collection featuring furniture, bedding, bath, window, home décor, outdoor furnishings, lighting, dinnerware, and tabletop.
Our repositioning program inspired Walmart to adopt Better Homes and Gardens as a key lifestyle brand within their home assortment—and continues to do so today. The brand has enjoyed over 10 years of growth and still partners with Earthbound to design and develop thousands of SKUs for the program each year.
OUR ROLE
Strategy | Market & Trend Research | Licensing Outreach & Deal Execution | Retail Merchandising & Assortment Planning | Brand Book & Style Guide Development | Product Design & Development | Packaging
Already successful within its core television, book, and magazine categories, The Pioneer Woman brand launched as a licensed program at Walmart in Cook and Dine. In less than two years, the brand expanded beyond the expected categories—and Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman herself, tapped Earthbound to help her capitalize on her products’ potential. The goal? To maximize the categories the brand was already in, then expand beyond to satisfy a passionate fanbase.
We needed dedicated teams: a design and development group to control the product assortment and ensure stewardship and consistency of the brand, and a sales and licensing team to expand it to new categories with a focus on core competencies by supplier. To drive awareness of the new categories, we tapped into strength of The Pioneer Woman marketing platform.
Within three months, we built the necessary teams and had support in place for the program. And within 12 months, we completed an exclusive agreement with Walmart in the general merchandise area—and expanded the category assortment.
Earthbound strengthened the supplier base, brand stewardship, and product quality across all categories for The Pioneer Woman. Today, the brand continues its growth in Walmart’s general merchandise categories, and has expanded into Fresh Prepared, Frozen, and Shelf-Stable Food as well as the Pets category…and we see more extensions on the horizon.
OUR ROLE
Strategy | Brand Identity | Product Design | Packaging | Web Design & Development | E-Commerce | Marketing PR | Direct to Retail
Back in the 90s—way before "organic" and "zero-waste" were buzzwords—Under the Canopy was the pioneer in sustainable and organic textiles. Once a thriving brand in apparel and home textiles, its change in ownership resulted in a positioning and aesthetic that became unfocused and unsaleable. But we saw potential for a sustainable brand with a refreshed product direction—and believed beautiful, attainable organic goods for the everyday home would take Under the Canopy back to its “organic” beginnings.
More and more people were seeking organic home products, but were underserved by either high prices or outdated designs. We looked to fill that space with a brand refresh that leveraged the growing power of the organic story. Online and social media helped us connect with customers and build momentum—and ultimately place the brand at brick and mortar retail. Our relaunch included a new logo, product redesign, and positioning strategy. Moreover, we established a consumer-facing marketing plan anchored by a new e-commerce site.
In addition to completing all deliverables and successfully relaunching the brand in just 12 months, we introduced a comprehensive line of affordable, high-quality organic bedding, bath, and personal care products that are as sustainable as they are stylish.
Now a strong player in the sustainable and organic home products marketplace, Under the Canopy has achieved tremendous sales success with our e-commerce site, seen dramatic growth in revenue, and established an exclusive partnership with Bed Bath and Beyond.
OUR ROLE
Strategy | Market & Trend Research | Licensing Outreach & Deal Execution | Brand Book & Style Guide Development
Kevlar®, a brand known for its uncontested strength and durability, wanted to leverage its equity and expand in the consumer marketplace with branded and co-branded Kevlar products. DuPont™, developers of the Kevlar fiber, reached out to us to bring that vision to reality.
This was Earthbound strategy at its best. We wanted to study the marketplace to determine key categories for consumers and the best brand positioning. Dedicated teams were needed, such as a product team to work directly with Kevlar engineers to develop consumer-friendly applications of the product, and a sales team to pitch the program. We’d also rebuild the logo and work closely with the Kevlar ad agency.
Rather than licensing Kevlar on its own, Earthbound determined the best go-to-market strategy was to secure leading global brand houses to use Kevlar as a co-brand or “Built with Kevlar.” The goal was to enhance the product attributes and provide a unique differentiation for consumers. We also worked closely with Dupont on the Kevlar rebrand and the launch of the Dare Bigger™ consumer-facing ad campaign.
Our efforts in co-branded licensing achieved immediate scale. In our first year, we launched a co-branded program with Reebok for footwear and apparel in its industry-leading Crossfit program. We also launched with Adidas in football cleats and lifestyle footwear. What followed was a partnership with Samsonite for co-branded luggage, bags, and backpacks—as well as numerous other programs that have launched or will launch soon.
DuPont™, Kevlar®, and Dare Bigger™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. All rights reserved.
OUR ROLE
Market & Trend Research | Strategy | Retail Merchandising & Assortment Planning | Brand Identity | Product Design & Development | Direct to Retail
Though his luxe clothing designs sold exclusively at high-end retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, and Neiman Marcus, iconic designer Isaac Mizrahi had the unique vision to “democratize fashion”—and bring his label to the masses.
In addition to determining the best retail partner to bring “class to mass,” we wanted to create a spin-off Isaac Mizrahi brand specifically for the mass collection to protect the luxury business. We also needed a dedicated product design and development team to interpret Isaac’s creative direction at prices that would work for this audience.
After presenting to selected retailers, Earthbound made an exclusive deal with Target. This robust program required a host of elements, from an identity kit (including brand positioning, logo, labeling, and packaging) to a dedicated design team working with Target’s Direct Sourcing group. Together, we produced a remarkably successful launch featuring women’s apparel, handbags, and shoes.
Often credited for igniting the trend of high-end designer programs at mass that followed, the Isaac Mizrahi for Target program continued its growth to include sunglasses, watches, costume jewelry, swimwear, small leather goods, home products, pet products, stationery, and yes, even wedding gowns. Earthbound remained responsible for the design, development, and management of all SKUs across all categories, amounting to thousands of items annually.
We’re big believers in licensing as an effective way to help brands grow, expand their footprint, break into new categories, and resonate with consumers in fresh and meaningful ways.
From strategy and research work to creating complete identity systems, we build brands that make people fall in love.
We obsess (and then obsess some more) over designing things that are not only beautiful, but also purposeful. And it shows in our work.
Every year, we dedicate a huge portion of our time, energy, and resources to designing and developing thousands of SKUs across every imaginable category.
We’re proud of our latest addition at Earthbound: an e-commerce team built to help companies integrate, scale, and iterate digitally driven platforms—accelerating growth both online and off.
AUGUST 7- 2019
April 11 — 2019
March 20 — 2019
March 5 — 2019
January 30 — 2019
December 18 — 2018
August 14 — 2018
October 24 — 2018
January 26 — 2018
May 10 — 2017
GENERAL INQUIRIES
info@earthboundbrands.comNEW BUSINESS
abe@earthboundllc.comPRESS & MEDIA
ryane@earthboundllc.comCAREERS
francesca@earthboundllc.com