ANNOUNCE-
MENT:
After June of 2010, this blog ceased publishing content.
Thank you for your support.
Archives
Charles David
Focuses On Fresh
Product, Value
Rock & Republic
Retools For Recession
Hilco Could Take Investments Public Within Two Years
To Survive Downturn, Citizens of Humanity Sacrifices Sales
Levi Strauss:
As Reliable
As Its Jeans
Nicole Miller Could Consider Future IPO
Perry Ellis: Nature
To Be An Acquirer
Michael Kors Sets
Aside Plans
For Sale, IPO
Urban Outfitters
Views Climate As
Ideal For Buys
Duckie Brown: Design You
Can Invest In
Defiant During
Tough Times:
Tuleh
What's Essential
About EO?
Its Customer
Murad Celebrates
20 Years
With Growth
J Brand On The
Auction Block
Fashion
Briefcase
Business Briefs
From The Web
New York-based Phillips-Van Heusen, parent of Calvin Klein, acquired Tommy Hilfiger from private equity firm Apax Partners for $3 billion, according to news services.
Retailer French Connection Group sold Nicole Farhi to Los Angeles-based private equity firm OpenGate Capital for over $7 million, according to news services.
FGF Industry SpA bought C. P. Company from Sportswear Company SpA, according to news services.
Jones Apparel Group acquired Moda Nicola International, parent of apparel label Robert Rodriguez Collection, in a deal valued at $28 million, according to news services.
Star Avenue Capital bought a majority stake in Los Angeles-based denim company J Brand, according to news services, in a deal valued at $50 million.
Japan-based cosmetics giant Shiseido acquired San Francisco-based Bare Escentuals for $1.7 billion, according to news services.
AW Chang Corp. scooped up a 50 percent stake in Jhane Barnes, according to news services.
Kellwood Co., owned by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, inked a deal to buy ISIS, a women's outdoor performance apparel company, according to news services.
London-based Hussein Chalayan reacquired the majority stake it sold to Germany-based Puma AG, according to news services. Puma is controlled by PPR SA.
Bankrupt Munich-based Escada AG is to be acquired by the Mittal family trust, according to news services.
Bankrupt Yohji Yamamoto received a lifeline from Tokyo-based investment firm Integral, financing the fashion company's restructuring through an acquistion of it, according to news services.
Equibox Holding SpA, a special-purpose acquisition vehicle, acquired a 60 percent stake in Fashion Box SpA, the parent of Replay, according to news services.
Alberto-Culver, the Melrose Park, Illinois-based beauty care business, acquired the U.K.-based skin care company Simple Health & Beauty for roughly $390 million, according to news services.
Special purpose acquisition company BPW Acquisition Corp. acquired a majority stake in Hingham, Massachusetts-based The Talbots Inc. from a subsidiary of Japan-based retailer Aeon, according to news services.
Japan-based Cross Company increased its stake in New York-based men's wear label Thom Browne from 20 percent to 67 percent, according to news services.
FL Acquisitions and FOF Inventory Holding acquired the assets of bankrupt fine jewelry business Fred Leighton for $25.8 million, according to news services.
Boston-based private equity firm Advent International acquired publicly held retailer San Diego-based Charlotte Russe for $380 million, according to news services.
Hong Kong-based Li & Fung acquired New York-based Wear Me Apparel, parent of Kids Headquarters, for an up-front cash payment of $100 million, plus performance-based payments over the next five years, according to news services.
Steiner Leisure bought spa and skin care business Bliss World Holdings from Starwood Hotels & Resorts for $100 million, according to news services.
Suffern, New York-based The Dress Barn acquired Tween Brands in a $157 million stock transaction, according to news services.
Bankrupt urbanwear business Against All Odds, which had revenues of roughly $121 million in 2007, was sold to New Deal, according to news services.
Consumer products giant Unilever made a binding offer to acquire the personal care business of Sara Lee for about $1.87 billion, according to news services.
Private equity firm Windsong Brands acquired accessories business Carlos Falchi, which has approximately $10 million in turnover, according to news services.
Syms Corporation acquired the assets of bankrupt Filene's Basement for $65 million, according to news services.
A deal to sell Hartmarx, the bankrupt Chicago-based apparel group, to London-based private equity firm Emerisque is completed, according to news services.
Listed Amazon.com acquires private Las Vegas-based shoe e-tailer Zappos.com for roughly $850 million, according to news services. An industry observer described the deal as a strategic buy of a category leader.
Tory Burch sells minority stake to Mexico City-based private equity firm Tresalia Capital, according to news services. The private footwear maker had reportedly been seeking an investor the past several months, it is understood.
Eddie Bauer, which had sought bankruptcy protection, is won by San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital with a $286 million cash bid, according to news services.
Listed personal care conglomerate Procter & Gamble acquires men's grooming products businesses Zirh and The Art of Shaving, according to news services.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
After June of 2010,
this blog ceased publishing content. Thank you for
your support.
A Q&A With Designer
Toni Francesc
By Richard Collings
Published: June 11, 2010
I conducted a Q&A with designer Toni Francesc, who heads a family-owned company based in
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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When A First Lady’s
Patronage Is Not Enough
By Richard Collings
Published: March 22, 2010
As you know by now, Chicago-based women’s wear business Lola Black LLC, the parent of label Maria Pinto, is closing.
Made famous by the simple chic sheaths in vibrant hues worn by First Lady Michelle Obama on the campaign trail, Ms. Pinto in a release cited soft buying trends on the high-end as the reason for closing her company. Ms. Pinto, however, vows a return.
She is a solid designer, with plenty of experience, who helped put
What this news reveals is that the First Lady’s appeal has limitations, perhaps, above a certain price-point, when it was thought that an endorsement from the likes of Mrs. Obama was enough to send sales over the top. She certainly hasn’t hindered the growth of the more accessible fashion retailer J. Crew.
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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Edward Beiner
Could Eye Merger, Acquisitions
By Richard Collings
Published: March 15, 2010
Edward Beiner, the Miami-based eyewear designer and retailer, could seek to merge with or eye acquisitions of other eyewear retailers in 2010 in order to expand, said co-owner Edward Beiner.
The company could also entertain additional outside investment or business partners, as it eyes potential acquisitions, Beiner added.
The company projects it will have approximately $8.5 million in revenues this year based on conservative estimates, he said, and currently operates nine stores in the state of
Edward Beiner is one of the few independent optical retail chains in the
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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Company That Could:
Red Engine Jeans
By Richard Collings
Published: March 8, 2010
Jim Boldes, a 30-year veteran of the denim industry who founded Red Engine a little over 10 years ago with his wife Kristen, states up front that his company is “a little guy,” but one that has made decent money over the years.
Last year, Los Angeles-based Red Engine generated several million dollars in revenue and was profitable, Boldes said, selling mostly to independent boutiques across the country.
He said, however, that he could envision growing the company so that it is an attractive investment or acquisition, at which point, he could utilize much larger financial resources to build the brand even further.
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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Thankful For:
By Richard Collings
Published: February 17, 2010
Sophie Theallet, it seems, has a lot to be thankful for, perhaps inspiration for her fall 2010 women’s wear collection that was a visual cornucopia of lush mouth-watering colors and fabrics.
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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3.1 Phillip Lim:
Fashion’s Next
Mega Brand?
By Richard Collings
Published:
3.1 Phillip Lim has emerged in but a handful of years as a brand that will soon generate $50 million a year in wholesale revenue, capitalizing on designer Phillip Lim’s sensibility for creating desirable sportswear and Wen Zhou’s experience with boutique luxury manufacturing in
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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Maria Pinto Grows
By 40 Percent
Maria Pinto, the private Chicago-based fashion business, which was made famous by the simple chic sheaths that adorned First Lady Michelle Obama on the campaign trail last year, has seen its revenues jump by 40 percent this year, designer Maria Pinto said.
Although the company’s revenues are below $10 million, it is thriving through the downturn thanks to support from the likes of Mrs. Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Marcia Gay Harden.
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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Nanette Lepore
Could Reconsider
Private Equity
By Richard Collings
Published:
Updated:
Nanette Lepore, the private New York-based apparel company, could reconsider private equity investment in the future, but has shelved plans for the time, said Robert Savage, the company’s co-owner.
Savage, who is also designer and co-founder Nanette Lepore’s husband, said the company came very close to inking a deal in 2008 after two years of due diligence. He described the process as running another business.
But the deal fell through as the financial crisis unfolded and the investment firm attempted to renegotiate the terms, particularly the valuation.
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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For Custo Barcelona,
Color Is Key
By Richard Collings
Published:
Building a business around a passion for the t-shirt may not seem particularly innovative, but in 1981 when brothers Custo and David Dalmau co-founded what is today known as Custo Barcelona, that was exactly the idea.
Out of that passion, the brothers built a modest global brand that generated revenues last year in excess of about $110 million, with 70 of its own bricks-and-mortar stores located around the world, and a successful U.S.-based e-commerce Web site.
For The Full Article, Click Here.
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As Fashion Industry Adapts, Hopes And
Fears Mingle
By Richard Collings
Published:
In the words of one industry executive, the past eight months have been the most challenging of his career. The same could be said for fashion as whole, since perhaps the Great Depression.
And although key officials such as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke are optimistic about the economy’s recovery, there is still the belief a rebound will be slow and unemployment will be high for at least a year.
A number of executives remain concerned that increasing and lingering unemployment and problems in commercial real estate could further drag down retail sales and revenues.
For The Full Article, Click Here.