Australia’s Merchantwise Licensing, on behalf of King Features Syndicate, home to some of the world’s most popular entertainment characters, has brokered the first ever Australian Popeye sportswear collection with popular online sportswear label, The WOD Life.  High-res images attached for media use 

Launching this month ahead of the Australian summer season, the limited-edition range of fashionably branded Popeye sportswear apparel for women and men includes a high-waisted booty short, fleet bra, motion shorts, slash crop, flex short and printed tank.

Popeye’s heart of gold, brave and compassionate personality shines across a number of branded sports and training accessories including a scrunchie, printed socks, an immerse headband as well as a quick dry towel and a face mask covering.

The branded range also extends to training support items including wrist wraps, strength wraps, a 4-inch Velcro lifting belt as well as knee sleeves.

The perfect collaboration for The WOD Life, seeing a strong correlation between its loyal customer base with Popeye’s strength and fun nature, the range features a number of iconic and incredibly familiar Popeye, Brutus and Olive Oyl images.

The WOD Life will be heavily supporting the range with a ‘Hype’ campaign pre-release followed by an early access marketing activity ahead of the launch at the end of this month.  The WOD Life will also drive extensive marketing, digital, media and influencer outreach campaigns for the collaboration.

“For the past three years, The WOD Life has been releasing successful limited edition prints for our customers which can sell out in a matter of hours.  Popeye is a cartoon character which our customer base would be familiar with and may have grown up watching Popeye cartoons on TV or the movie during their childhood.  We think our customers are going to really relate to the new Popeye x TWL range and will be excited to get into their training space to show off their new style,” said The WOD Life’s Director, Ben Dineen.

“We are so excited by this Popeye partnership with The WOD Life.  Not only is it the first time we have launched an Australian Popeye branded sportswear collection, it is an incredibly comprehensive range featuring apparel, accessory and training support products that are sure to please both Popeye fans and The WOD Life’s extensive customer base,” said Merchantwise Licensing’s General Manager – Licensing, Kerryn McCormack.

For further media information:
Adele Feletto Publicity
M: 0413 489 292
E: adele@adelefelettopublicity.com.au

About Merchantwise Licensing
Merchantwise Licensing is a leading entertainment brand licensing and merchandising agency in Australia and New Zealand, representing some of the world’s best loved brands and developing compelling brand extensions and retail programs for consumers of all ages. Visit merchantwise.com. Merchantwise Licensing is part of the Merchantwise Group, a full-service brand agency headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with offices in Sydney and Paris.  The Merchantwise Group undertakes creative and digital marketing, promotions, brand licensing and extensions for some of the world’s best loved brands.

About King Features
King Features is a premier producer and distributor of the world’s most iconic intellectual properties and a leader in classic character licensing and franchise development. With one of the longest-running consumer products programs in the industry, King Features’ portfolio includes world renowned pop culture brands such as Popeye®, Cuphead, Flash Gordon™, The Phantom™, Hägar the Horrible, Moomin, Prince Valiant® and Mandrake the Magician. King Features will produce The Cuphead Show! with Netflix Animation, set to debut in 2021. As content syndication specialists, the company distributes beloved comics such as Blondie, Beetle Bailey®, Mutts™ and dozens of others as well as columns, editorial cartoons and puzzles across multiple platforms and content providers around the globe. King Features is part of Hearst Newspapers, which publishes 24 dailies and 52 weeklies, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York), and operates local digital marketing services and directories.

About Popeye
Sailor. Tough guy. Hero. Legend. That’s Popeye. An underdog with bulging forearms, a mean uppercut and a love of canned spinach. Unassuming, unsophisticated and undeterred by a challenge, from the minute he walked into the comic strip, The Thimble Theatre, and muttered his famous “Ja think I’m a cowboy?” line, Popeye the Sailor Man captured the hearts of millions of fans around the globe. As the star of his own comic strips and animated content on the big screen and small, Popeye became quickly ingrained in American culture, and today remains one of the most recognizable pop culture icons in the world. Popeye celebrated his 90th anniversary in 2019.