Roots, Roots, Roots for the Home Team

Roots Canada Ltd. (Toronto), outfitter of national teams in both the summer and winter Olympics since 1998, has contracted to open vendor shops in various units of the Saks Inc. Department Store Group (Birmingham, Ala.).

Those shops will begin installation in 52 Saks stores in August, carrying Roots men's and women's athletic sportswear. Certain stores will also carry Roots accessories, including small leather goods, sunglasses, watches and fragrances.

The 52 units will include 22 Carson Pirie Scott stores in metropolitan Chicago; four Herberger's stores in Minneapolis; four Proffitt's stores in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City, Tenn.; five McRae's stores in Baton Rouge, La., and Jackson, Tupelo, Hattiesburg and Biloxi, Miss.; nine Parisian stores in Atlanta, Indianapolis and Detroit; and eight Younkers stores in Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb.

Though Roots has outfitted teams from the U.S. and U.K. as well as Canada, it is most recently known for supplying the Canadian hockey team that won the Gold Medal at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

“The name Roots has world-wide recognition and terrific brand equity, particularly after outfitting the U.S. and Canadian teams in the Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City,” said George Jones, president and ceo of Saks Department Store Group, noted.

This is a tremendous opportunity for the Roots brand to reach the American public at large,” said Roots co-founder Michael Budman. “The demand for our authentic athletic wear has been outstanding since the Salt Lake City games.”

Starting with a single store in Toronto in 1973, Roots now has 226 stores: 140 in Canada (including one adjacent to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto), 79 in Asia and seven in the U.S. Its product lines include Roots Leathers (shoes, jackets, bags, and luggage), Roots Athletic sportswear, Roots Kids and Baby Roots apparel and Roots Home (leather furniture, linens, towels, and accessories).