The deal marks the first time in Lonely Planet's 37 year history that the travel brand has launched a major global licensing program that extends the brand across a variety of platforms. It is expected that the full range of products will be available in 2012 onwards, starting with the UK, US and Australian markets.
Lonely Planet CEO, Matt Goldberg said: "Lonely Planet is one of the most iconic brands in travel. Through our guides, we've been on the road with travellers for 37 years, and we are looking forward to deepening our connection with customers via a unique range of new products that will have been tried and tested by our authors and professional travellers."
Keith Harrison, Partner of Established Brands and founder of Compass Marketing added: "Established Brands and Compass Marketing have been associated with some of the world’s most respected brands including Nike, Teva, Uggs and Swiss Army and we are very excited to add Lonely Planet to that roster and grow such an iconic name across entirely new brand extension categories."
Tom Keefer, SVP Global Licensing said: "Established Brands and Compass Marketing have an unprecedented history of brand building, retail development skills and business acumen. Their expertise in this area made them a perfect fit for Lonely Planet and we look forward to developing a range of products that bear the hallmark of quality that consumers associate with this market leading travel brand."
About Lonely Planet
The BBC says: “Lonely Planet is the world’s leading guide book publisher with over 20 percent market share. The demand for Lonely Planet products is high with over 100 million guide books printed since 1973. In addition, Lonely Planet Magazine is the UK’s fastest growing monthly magazine with a rapidly growing network of nine international editions.
Lonely Planet's digital business is gaining momentum across a broad range of platforms and services. Lonelyplanet.com is consistently acclaimed as an award-winning site and attracted over 90 million visits during the past 12 months. Over the past year, Lonely Planet's community of regular followers and subscribers has grown to nearly two million people. Lonely Planet produces content and new products to support the major wireless providers, including Apple, Nokia, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. More than seven million Lonely Planet iPhone apps have now been downloaded.
Established in 1973, Lonely Planet’s content is available across all platforms, including print guidebooks, an award-winning website, mobile apps, ebooks, and television. With operations in Melbourne, London and Oakland, CA, the company employs over 400 staff worldwide and a team of over 200 expert authors. In October 2007, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in Lonely Planet."
About Established Brands
Established Brands says: “Established Brands is a leading developer of footwear, apparel and accessories brands. The company is the exclusive global licensee of Wenger, creator of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife, in the footwear and accessories categories, as well as the official license for the U.S. Marine Corps in multiple categories. Established Brands customers include leading retailers across mass department, sporting goods and specialty channels worldwide.”
