Lids expands Canadian footprint

Genesco’s Lids division has acquired Jersey City Canada, a licensed sports apparel, headwear and novelty company operating 28 retail stores across four Canadian Provinces.



The acquisition includes nine headwear only Capz stores, and two websites operating under www.jerseycity.ca and www.CFLshop.ca. Partnering with the CFL, Lids will become the online provider of the Canadian Football League officially licensed merchandise. With this acquisition, Lids will now operate more than 150 locations across Canada, an increase of roughly 35%.



"The addition of Jersey City stores and the official relationship with the CFL will position our company as an even more significant force in the Canadian market for licensed sportswear," said Lids president Ken Kocher. "With this acquisition, we will expand our presence in Canada with increased operations and retail expertise, as well as reaffirm our commitment to best serve customers by delivering quality sports merchandise."



Lids currently operates more than 1,300 headwear specialty retail stores, sports fan retail stores and team-specific professional sports and university athletics retail stores across North America and Canada.