Cherokee Inc.

Founding

In 1973, James Argyropoulos, the son of a Greek immigrant, launched custom-made footwear designs and began to sell them from his Venice Beach, California home. Soon it was stocked by department stores, including Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

In the early 1980s, the brand expanded to selling women's and children's apparel. During this time, it became available worldwide.

In the 1990s, Cherokee established a partnership with Target.

Filing for bankruptcy protection

It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in both 1993 and 1994, but continued to trade.

Expansion

In 1997, it acquired Sideout.

From 2002, Cherokee was sold at Tesco in the United Kingdom until 2015, when Argos took over the rights to sell the brand. However, following the 2016 acquisition of Argos by the UK retailer Sainsbury's, the Cherokee brand was quietly dropped and replaced by Sainsbury's own Tu brand of clothing in 2017.

In December 2002, the company further expanded by acquiring the Carole Little, Saint Tropez, All That Jazz and Chorus Line brands and trademarks.

From 2011 to 2015 Cherokee was sold at Target Canada stores and now acquired by Sears Canada. Prior to Target, the label was sold by Zellers in Canada since 1998.

In January 2014, Cherokee acquired the worldwide Tony Hawk and Hawk signature apparel brands. In May 2015, Cherokee acquired casual lifestyle brand Everyday California.

On September 10, 2015, Cherokee announced Target would cease carrying the brand when its license expires on January 31, 2017.

In October 2015, Cherokee acquired Flip Flop Shops, a leading franchise retail chain dedicated to offering the hottest brands and latest styles of flip flops, casual footwear and accessories. In November 2016, Cherokee acquired the Hi-Tec and Magnum brands.

Operations

Cherokee is a large American international brand marketing platform. It comprises a number of fashion and lifestyle brands:

Cherokee

Cherokee is the core eponymous brand and is an iconic American family lifestyle brand licensed in over 50 countries.

Cherokee Workwear

Cherokee Workwear is a brand that was introduced in 2004, which sells scrubs for medical facilities.

Carole Little

The Carole Little collection comprises flexible essentials for work, travel and leisure.

Tony Hawk Signature Apparel and Hawk Brands

Tony Hawk is an action lifestyle range.

900 Tony Hawk

900 Tony Hawk is a skateboard brand.

Liz Lange

Liz Lange is a maternity wear brand.

Sideout

Sideout was founded in 1983 and comprises athletic wear, sportswear and active wear.

Hi-Tec

Hi-Tec is a privately held producer and distributor of sportswear and accessories, headquartered in the Netherlands.

Magnum

Magnum is a fit for purpose footwear brand.

50 Peaks

50 Peaks is an outdoor and lifestyle brand which creates high spec, technical outdoor footwear, equipment and apparel.

Interceptor

Interceptor is a tactical boots brand.

Everyday California

Everyday California is a casual style outfit brand.

Point Cove

Point Cove is a Californian fashion lifestyle brand which sells trend right clothing, footwear and accessories.

Saint Tropez

Saint Tropez is designed for the younger woman who loves fashion, yet is still price-conscious.

Chorus Line

Founded in 1975 by three men in southern California, Chorus Line is a moderately priced apparel company which initially begun as a retail company focusing exclusively on juniors collections. Chorus Line has branched out to include designs specifically aimed towards women in their 20s and 30s as well as petite and plus size divisions.

All That Jazz

All That Jazz appeals to a teenage female customer base and with low prices.

Ale by Allesandra

Alessandra Ambrosio created the ále by Alessandra brand, inspired by her “Brazil-Bohemia Meets Malibu Chic” taste and her “forever on vacation” lifestyle. Ale by Alessandra brings a feminine, vibrant and effortlessly cool look to each of their collections.

Teen Hearts

Teen Hearts is a clothing brand best known for its custom tie-dye prints and alien merchandise.

Flip Flop Shops

Flip Flop Shops was founded in 2004 and is an authentic retail chain retailing popular brands and the latest styles of flip flops and casual footwear.