What C Life Group does

C-Life Group Ltd. is a New York City-based wholesale apparel company founded in 1989 that designs, manufactures, and distributes licensed and branded apparel across men, women, and kids categories. Its portfolio spans Character (Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, Peanuts, Spider-Man), Music (Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Pink Floyd), Lifestyle, Food & Beverage, TV & Movie, Video Game, and Automotive licenses. The company excels in screened and decorated t-shirts, fleece, sportswear, outerwear, bottoms, and accessories. Its distribution covers all major U.S. retail tiers — department stores (Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney), specialty (Hot Topic, Urban Outfitters, PacSun), off-price (TJ Maxx, Burlington), mass/value (Walmart, Dollar General, Five Below), warehouse club (Costco), and e-commerce (Amazon).

C-Life generates revenue through wholesale distribution of one-time-licensed and owned-brand apparel to enterprise and mid-market retailers, with pricing negotiated per order or contract and not publicly disclosed. The company has shifted from a pure licensee model to a hybrid licensor/brand-owner following 2025 acquisitions of Von Dutch, Palm Angels (with sub-brand PLAY), and PINK London by Thomas Pink, plus a 2026 partnership with Prince for activewear and racquet-sports apparel in North America. It also operates Threadfast Apparel (sustainable blank apparel for the imprintable/promotional market, launched 2017) and manages the Dickies brand for apparel.

The go-to-market is B2B wholesale, reliant on buyer relationships, showroom presentations, and trend-execution speed. The company's customer base spans department stores, specialty, mid-tier, off-price, mass-market, value, and e-commerce channels, with the 2024 Manhattan showroom expansion driving a 20% customer-base increase within one year. The firm is privately held with 51–100 employees and no disclosed institutional ownership, funding, or revenue figures; headquartered at 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, with an expanded Garment District showroom. Historical milestones include a 1992 Spider-Man license (75% revenue spike after the 2001 film), 2010 expansion into juniors, 2017 Threadfast launch, 2020 women's apparel reaching 50% of volume, and the 2025 brand-acquisition strategy.

Name

C Life Group

Legal name

C-Life Group Ltd.

Website

https://c-lifegroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

C-Life Group is a New York-based wholesale apparel company, founded 1989, that designs and distributes licensed and owned-brand apparel (Character, Music, Lifestyle, Sports) for men, women, and kids through department stores, specialty, off-price, mass-market, and e-commerce retailers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Licensed Wholesale Apparel: C-Life Group generates revenue through designing, manufacturing, and distributing licensed apparel products under character, lifestyle, entertainment, and sports brands. The company operates as a wholesale supplier to major retailers across multiple channels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Core offering

C-Life Group designs, manufactures, and distributes licensed and branded apparel—including screen-printed and decorated t-shirts, fleece, sportswear, outerwear, bottoms, dresses, and accessories—for men, women, and kids. The company sells wholesale to retailers across department store, specialty, mid-tier, off-price, mass market, value, and e-commerce channels under entertainment, character, music, lifestyle, and sports licenses (e.g., Marvel, Disney, Warner Bros., Star Wars, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Dickies, Prince, PINK London).

Product overview

C-Life Group is a New York City-based wholesale apparel company founded in 1989 that focuses on licensed and branded products. The company brings Character, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Music, Food & Beverage, TV & Movie, Video Game, and Automotive licensed properties to life through high-quality apparel for Men, Women, and Kids. Their product portfolio includes Threadfast Apparel (sustainably sourced blank apparel for imprintables), acquired lifestyle brands Von Dutch and Palm Angels, and licensed brands including Dickies, Prince Tennis, and PINK London. The company excels in screened and decorated t-shirts, fleece, sportswear, outerwear, bottoms, and accessories, distributed through department stores, specialty, mid-tier, off-price, mass market, value, and e-commerce channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Threadfast Apparel: Elevated, sustainably sourced blank apparel for the imprintable and promotional industries launched in 2017.
• Von Dutch
• Palm Angels
• PINK London by Thomas Pink
• Play (Palm Angels)
• Dickies

Products and services

• Threadfast Apparel Elevated, sustainably sourced blank apparel designed for the imprintable and promotional industries; sold wholesale to printers, decorators, and promotional product distributors.
• Von Dutch American fashion brand rooted in rebellious Kustom Kulture art; iconic for trucker hats, bold graphics, and celebrity-driven pop-culture impact; blends vintage Americana with edgy streetwear. Wholesaled through C-Life's retail channels.
• Palm Angels (including PLAY sub-brand) Graphic-driven lifestyle and streetwear brand described as a fashion playground where style experiments with reality; PLAY is a sub-brand within the Palm Angels portfolio emphasizing movement and graphic expression.
• Dickies Licensed Apparel American workwear brand founded in 1922; durable functional clothing built for laborers and tradespeople, with signature pants, coveralls, and utility staples embraced by skate and street culture. Distributed by C-Life through wholesale retail partners.
• Prince Apparel (North America) Apparel line under the Prince racquet sports and lifestyle brand, distributed by C-Life in North America; includes sportswear, activewear, outerwear, and swimwear.
• PINK London by Thomas Pink Bold, modern womenswear brand designed for confident, style-driven women; blends fashion-forward silhouettes, playful attitude, and everyday comfort, ranging from elevated shirting to versatile lifestyle pieces.

Quantifiable outcome

• Revenue increased 75% within 12 months of Spider-Man movie release in 2001
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PrincecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026Prince, a global racquet sports and lifestyle brand, has partnered with C-Life Group to design, manufacture, and distribute apparel in North America. The collaboration aims to expand Prince's apparel line, including sportswear, activewear, outerwear, and swimwear, amid growing global interest in racquet sports. This is a significant expansion for Prince's business into comprehensive apparel offerings.
• Von DutchcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2025C-Life Group acquired the Von Dutch brand in 2025 as part of future expansion and brand acquisition strategy. Von Dutch is an American fashion brand rooted in rebellious Kustom Kulture art, iconic for its trucker hats, bold graphics, and celebrity-driven pop-culture impact in the early 2000s.
• Palm AngelscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2025C-Life Group acquired the Palm Angels brand in 2025 as part of future expansion and brand acquisition strategy. Palm Angels is a fashion house known for graphic-driven streetwear that captures the energy of youth culture.
• DickiescoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2025C-Life Group manages the Dickies brand, an American workwear brand founded in 1922, known for durable, functional clothing. Their signature pants, coveralls, and utility staples have been embraced by skate and street culture.
• PLAYminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2025PLAY is a sub-brand within the Palm Angels portfolio managed by C-Life Group. It represents a fashion playground where style experiments with reality, featuring graphic-driven expression.
• PINK LondonminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2025PINK London by Thomas Pink is a bold, modern womenswear brand managed by C-Life Group, designed for confident, style-driven women who live life in motion.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hanesbrands: Hanesbrands is a large US apparel manufacturer and wholesaler with broad retail distribution across mass and off-price; while not specialty-licensed, it shares the wholesale B2B apparel distribution model and many of the same mass-market retail customers as C-Life.
• Authentic Brands Group: Authentic Brands Group is a major brand-management platform that owns and licenses a large portfolio of apparel and lifestyle brands, including former partnerships with G-III and other wholesale apparel producers—a broader incumbent in the licensed brand ecosystem where C-Life operates.
• Iconix Brand Group (now incorporated into WHP Global / others): Iconix Brand Group was a leading brand-management company that owned and licensed apparel and lifestyle brands, competing in the same brand-licensing ecosystem in which C-Life distributes character and entertainment apparel.

Emerging players

• Delta Apparel: Delta Apparel is a US apparel manufacturer/wholesaler selling licensed and activewear through mass and specialty channels including Target and Walmart—an emerging player partially overlapping C-Life's licensed apparel and sportswear categories.

Direct peers

• Mad Engine: Mad Engine is a San Diego-based wholesale apparel company specializing in licensed and branded graphic apparel for men, women, and kids—closely comparable to C-Life's screened/decorated t-shirt and fleece wholesale model with entertainment and music licenses.
• Centric Brands: Centric Brands is a leading US designer, brand management, and wholesale apparel company with a deep Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, and entertainment-license portfolio, selling into Macy's, Target, and Walmart—an almost direct mirror of C-Life's licensed character/entertainment wholesale business.
• Bentex Group: Bentex Group is a licensed children's apparel wholesaler producing character, music, and entertainment apparel sold to mass and mid-tier retailers—an adjacent direct peer given C-Life's kids apparel segment and its licensed character distribution model.
• G-III Apparel Group: G-III Apparel Group is one of the largest US licensed apparel companies, holding licenses for Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Karl Lagerfeld, and many others, and distributing through department stores, mass, and specialty channels—directly comparable to C-Life's licensed wholesale model with major retailers.
• Hybrid Apparel: Hybrid Apparel is a licensed apparel wholesaler producing character, music, and entertainment-driven graphic tees and fleece for major US retailers—closely aligned with C-Life's core wholesale licensed apparel offering to mass and mid-tier retailers.

Others

• Spencer Gifts / Spirit Halloween (SPG) parent: Spencer Gifts parent company operates Hot Topic and Box Lunch, both listed as direct retail customers of C-Life, making it a complementary retail distribution partner and adjacently comparable specialized licensed-apparel retailer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/clifegroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/clifegroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about C Life Group