Nelly and Yomi Martin Resign Vokal And Apple Bottoms

Article written by: Rodrick Rainey
Posted on: November 14, 2004

Nelly and family relative, Yomi Martin, have finally taken Vokal clothing company back into their own hands. After a long period of rumors reaching Urb1 about Nelly abandoning his rights to develop the clothing line due to a bad deal with his contracted distributor ALM International, there is an expected turnaround to happen with this clothing line’s design and development in the future.

Originally owned by Nelly and Yomi, they sold the clothing line Vokal to Jewish owned, corporate company, ALM International, who also bought out other popular lines such as Pure Playaz and ArMe. ALM is rumored to basically give newly demanded HipHop clothing lines chump change in exchange for exclusive rights and or distribution deals to clothing companies, which are hot on the urban and Hiphop scene. The company then turns around and soaks in millions of dollars in profit, leaving the original owners feeling raped profit-wise.

In the new move for Vokal, Yomi, the Chief Executive Officer, has signed two licensing deals with New York-based Check Group LLC (Limited Liability Corporation), for both Vokal and sister clothing line Apple Bottoms.

Under the new deal and complete freedom from ALM, Yomi confidently told reporters that Vokal would rake in $25 million in sales over the next 18 months. Martin also commented that Apple Bottoms, which is already high in demand, will rake in $50 million dollars in sales over the next calendar year. However, with this new deal, Vokal will still only recieve an unreported percentage of sales.

Under terms of the deal, Vokal will design the men’s and women’s clothing and create the marketing and advertising campaigns. Check Group will manufacture and distribute the products.

The Vokal licensing agreement is for four years, and the Apple Bottoms deal is for nine years, said Martin, who recently was named president and managing partner of Apple Bottoms. The Vokal/Apple Bottoms’ headquarters is in the fashion district in New York City. Martin, 27, who lives in St. Louis, also has offices on Washington Avenue.

The deal links Vokal with entrepreneurs Lawrence Jemal and Ruben Azrak, who launched Check Group in 1999. Azrak was president of New York-based Phat Fashions, which reported $300 million in sales last year and was sold in January to St. Louis-based Kellwood, a $2.4 billion marketer of apparel and consumer soft goods. Jemal was the chief executive of Nobody beats the Wiz, a New York-based consumer electronics retail chain that filed for bankruptcy protection in 1997.

In addition to Apple Bottoms and Vokal, Check Group holds the underwear and loungewear licenses for Phat Farm, Akademiks and Outkast.

Vokal got its start in 1997, when Martin, Nelly, who is Martin’s cousin, and Kyjuan each kicked in $100 to have 30 T-shirts made featuring the St. Lunatics music group. Martin then sold the shirts for $20 each at a concert on Laclede’s Landing. Since then, Vokal has evolved from T-shirts into an entire urban clothing line that includes jeans, jerseys, jackets, sweatpants, hats and headbands. The company has grown as Nelly’s popularity has soared and reported $20 million in revenue last year.

“Nelly is hot as hell,” Azrak said. “We’re involved with a superstar, and he wears the line, he raps about the line.”

Following the success of Vokal, Nelly launched Apple Bottoms in August 2003 with a nationwide model search for The Apple Bottoms Girl, an event that was televised on VH1. The jeans were so popular, they were sold out in a two-week period.

Martin describes Apple Bottoms as Nelly’s brainchild for women with curves. The women’s clothing line, which includes jeans, skirts, tops, jackets and accessories, will be available in 1,000 stores in time for the holidays, up from the 388 locations the brand was in last April. Vokal will be in about 600 stores by summer after the line is relaunched.

“We will change the Vokal line up a little bit,” Martin said. “It will be a little more dressy. That’s where the market is going for urban clothing for men. We will come up with more trendy and edgier designs. We like to go where other people are afraid to go in fashion.”