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The legacy of Riders, the 1994 SPARC Soft Lines Vendor of the Year, is not steeped in history. The brand is a mere 2-1/2 years old. Receiving this top honor from the retail community truly underscores the speed with which Riders earned a key spot on mass market apparel rosters.
At first glance, the strategy that the Lee Co. elected to pursue three years ago appeared dubious at best. The plan was to pull the successful Lee denim line from the mass channel, maintain the existing account base by offering an alternative product and introduce a new brand into a field already crowded with established labels.
The Riders team was prepared for a bumpy ride when it announced in May 1992 that it...