Coogi

Coogi Partners, LLC

Industry	Retail
Founded	1969
Founder(s)	Jaylon Miller & Lekendra Miller
Headquarters	Pine Bluff, AR
Key people	Jacky Taranto, Norman Weisfeld, Bruce Weisfeld, Jimmy Khezri
Products	Luxury goods
Website	http://www.shopcoogi.com

Coogi is a fashion label known for its colorful knitwear.^[1] Founded in 1969 as Cuggi in Toorak, Melbourne, Australia, the label was renamed in 1987 to sound more like an indigenous Australian name.^[2]

While most famous for its expensive cost and textured knitwear (including many of the sweaters Bill Cosby wore on The Cosby Show) in the 1980s, the brand was popularized in the U.S. as urban hip-hop wear by rappers The Notorious B.I.G., Riff Raff (rapper), OJ da Juiceman wore it, therefore getting known as "cool gangster/coogi"^[3] In addition to clothing, the company's 1992 international trademark filing registered the brand for cosmetics and toiletries, leather, furniture, textiles, and toys.^[4]

It was purchased by a joint U.S venture, Coogi Partners LLC in 2002, by an investment group led by Jimmy Khezri.^[5]

Under its new ownership, the label has taken a significantly more urban direction. Coogi now produces a wide range of urban t-shirts, jeans and jackets in addition to their trademark knitwear.

References

1. ^ Bailey, Jenny (October 21, 2003). "Coogi Coogi coup". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/20/1066631351949.html. Retrieved 2008-12-31. 
2. ^ Lloyd-McDonald, Holly (March 10, 2007). "Fashion guru dies in crash". Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21355351-662,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-31. 
3. ^ Bailey, Lee (March, 2006). "COOGI; AN UPSCALE STAR OF THE '80S HAS ONCE AGAIN FOUND TRACTION IN THE URBAN MARKET.". Daily News Record. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4298/is_/ai_n18988593. Retrieved 2008-12-31. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "International Mark - (580481) COOGI". http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/madrid/key.jsp?KEY=580481. Retrieved 2008-12-31. 
5. ^ "Last minute reprieve for Coogi.". Australasian Business Intelligence. Nov 18, 2002. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4692/is_200211/ai_n17805889. Retrieved 2008-12-31. ^{[dead link]}