A Missouri businessman is certain that a planned line of clothing bearing the emblem of Peoria High School will “play in Peoria"--and everywhere else as well.
Fred Wolferman, a Kansas City realtor, contacted the Illinois district in September after reading about an apparel line that will bear Beverly Hills High School’s initials. The clothing, which will debut in stores nationwide this winter, could net the California school district several hundred thousand dollars.
Mr. Wolferman said he was inspired by publicists’ claims that the glamour of the Southern California lifestyle would attract Peoria consumers to the Beverly Hills products.
“How do they know that people in Peoria will care?” he asked.
Predicting a “tongue-in-cheek rivalry,” Mr. Wolferman said the clothes, which have not yet been designed, will benefit from their “quintessential market name.”
Julian Cannell, the school district’s lawyer, said the district will receive one dollar for each sweatshirt or pair of sweatpants sold, and 50 cents for each tee shirt.
“Peoria was once known as being the last stop on the vaudeville circuit,” he said, trying to explain how the city became a byword for Middle America. “From time to time, we notice that we get more than our share of media attention.”
