Keds Accuses Hanesbrands of Breaching ‘Champion’ Licensing Deal

Keds LLC hit Hanesbrands Inc. with a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts, alleging the apparel giant deliberately breached a license agreement from the 1980s for Champion footwear to pressure the shoe company into renegotiating the deal.

Keds says it has used the Champion trademark with shoes since 1888 and that Hanes entered into a license agreement in 1987 to expand its Champion-based apparel business to shoes. The agreement has allowed Hanes to generate tens of millions of dollars in profits, but the company “concocted a scheme to leverage and coerce” a renegotiation, the complaint alleges.

Keds says Hanes’ scheme ...