Britt Benton, The Range Photography
Mario Lopez is taking his shoe business one step further.
On Wednesday, the actor and two-time Emmy award-winning host of “Access Hollywood” launched a dedicated e-commerce site for his recently released sneaker collection.
Now, consumers can visit Mariolopezshoes.com to purchase the Mario Lopez Collection of footwear as well as explore exclusive content created by the “Saved by the Bell” star. Featured videos, including one with Lopez speaking about how to wear his new shoe styles both casually and formally, will live online as part of the website’s “On the Go with Mario” video series.
Lopez told FN on Wednesday that he is “excited” to see the launch of the latest step in his brand’s growth. “As a lover of shoes, especially sneakers, what a dream to have not only my own line but a supercool site that sells them,” Lopez said.
This latest launch stems from a licensing deal Lopez inked with SCL Footwear in May 2022, an agreement that was executed by ACI Licensing. At the time of the announcement, – which also has licensing deals with Goodyear, Nanette Lepore, and Daisy Fuentes – noted that the line will consist of dress, casual, athletic, and boot styles as well as slippers for the men’s and boy’s markets.
Today’s website launch comes one month after the sneaker collection made its wholesale debut at Shoe Dept./Encore stores in September. According to Joe Safdeye, EVP of SCL Footwear Group, the shoes are selling well so far. “Mario’s shoes are just getting out to retail and are beginning to perform well,” Safdeye told FN.
The first Mario Lopez Collection sneaker range, which FN teased back in June, features an assortment of five styles for men in classic colorways like black, navy and white. All models available on Lopez’s new site currently retail for $69.99.
Looking ahead to spring 2024, the Mario Lopez Collection will continue to expand on the casual sneaker collection with different models that are “trend right” and keep the same brand DNA, Lopez said. Additional collections from the brand will be added throughout the season, he added.
“This is line of shoes that I’m proud to be behind of and I’m happy to be working with SCL Footwear Group,” the New York Times best-selling author told FN in an interview in June. “Joe [Safdeye] and his team have done a fantastic job on developing the line and I’m excited about what they have coming down the road for the brand.”
“We are excited to continue to work with Mario and his team on the expansion of his footwear collection,” Safdeye added. “Mario continues to be actively involved in helping promote his footwear collection with all his retail partners.”
Lopez, who just celebrated his 50th birthday last week, is no stranger to a brand deal. In fact, the radio show host is already involved in several lifestyle brands across fitness, pet accessories, vitamin and nutritional supplements, kitchen gadgets, barbeque accessories, boy’s and infant apparel, men’s underwear, sleepwear and loungewear collection, and Mario Lopez fragrance.
In 2018, Lopez teamed up with American Exchange Group on a range of shoes for men and boys. The inaugural range included loafers, boat shoes, oxfords, chelsea boots, lace up boots and even novelty smoking shoes. This license has since ended.
The actor and host first became a household name as A.C. Slater on the hit ’90s teen series, “Saved By The Bell,” and later starred in, as well as served as a producer on, the “Saved By The Bell” reboot on Peacock. In addition to his hosting duties on “Access Hollywood” and its sister show “Access Daily,” Lopez concurrently hosts the national iHeart radio programs “On with Mario Lopez” and “iHeartRadio Countdown with Mario Lopez.”
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