Fashion Investments and M&A

Date: December 2022
Buyer: Next
Target: Joules (in administration)
Business: Clothing & Footwear
Value: £41 million
Details: Collapsed fashion chain Joules has been rescued from administration by Next. The deal is thought to save about 100 shops and 1,450 jobs but will still see the closure of 19 stores. Next will continue to operate Joules’ website but will also sell Joules-branded clothing through its own e-commerce platform from 2024.

Date: November 2022
Buyer: LVMH
Target: Pedemonte Group
Business: Luxury Jewellery
Value: Undisclosed
Details: LVMH has acquired Pedemonte Group, a luxury jewellery manufacturer based in northern Italy, from investment fund Equinox III SLP SIF, for an undisclosed sum. Pedemonte was created in 2020, bringing together several independent jewellery production workshops, each with decades of experience in jewellery manufacturing, and has collaborated on products with LVMH in the past. Pedemonte joins the likes of Tiffany, Hublot, Bulgari and Tag Heuer as part of LVMH’s luxury jewellery and watches division, which brought in over €7b of revenue in the first nine months of 2022.

Date: November 2022
Buyer: Baozun Inc
Target: Gap Greater China
Business: Fashion clothing
Value: $40m
Details: Gap has sold its business in Greater China to its operating e-commerce partner in the region, Baozun Inc, including exclusive rights for the buyer to manufacture, market, distribute and sell Gap products in Greater China for the next 20 years.

Date: October 2022
Buyer: Authentic Brands Group
Target: Ted Baker
Business: Womenswear and accessories
Value: £211m
Details: Authentic Brands Group has acquired British brand Ted Baker for £211m, in a move to strengthen their British portfolio which includes a majority stake in David Beckham’s brand. Founded in London, Ted Baker is known for its womenswear fashion but also includes successful menswear, accessories and beauty divisions. As a result of the acquisition, Ted Baker Plc has been delisted from the Official List on the London Stock Exchange. Authentic Brands has reported that it intends to convert the Ted Baker business into a licenced business model, in line with the other brands it has acquired; seeking operating partners in key regions to become licensees, manufacturing the Ted Baker brand products, and running the Ted Baker stores under a licence from Authentic Brands.

Date: October 2022
Buyer: Estée Lauder Companies Inc
Target: Tom Ford
Business: Luxury brands
Value: $2.3b
Details: Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has announced that it is to acquire the Tom Ford brand, in a deal that values the Tom Ford business at $2.8b. The acquisition will be financed through a combination of cash, debt and a deferred consideration of $300m (to be paid from July 2025). In addition, Estée Lauder is to receive a $250m payment from global eyewear manufacturer Marcolin Group – Tom Ford’s long-time collaborator on sunglasses – upon closing, with Marcolin’s manufacturing licence with Tom Ford to be “substantially extended”. To date, Estee Lauder has owned the licence to Tom Ford Beauty, a division of the Tom Ford brand, with the existing licence set to expire in 2030. Going forward, as complete owner of Tom Ford Beauty, Estee Lauder states that over the next couple of years it expects Tom Ford Beauty alone “will achieve annual net sales of $1 billion”.

Date: October 2022
Buyer: Frasers Group
Target: Base Childrenswear, Choice, Clothingsites (including Brown Bag Clothing), Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Missy Empire, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Prevu Studio, Rascal Clothing, Tessuti (including Xile), Scotts, Watch Shop and Topgrade Sportswear (including Get The Label).
Business: Luxury clothing
Value: £47.5 million
Details: In a surprise turn of events, JD sports has sold 15 of its “non core” fashion businesses which includes the luxury boutiques Gioulio and Cricket to its former rival Frasers Group. The sale of Cricket, Tessuti Scotts, Giulio, Choice, Rascal Clothing and Topgrade Sportswear (including Get The Label) are expected to complete in early 2023 whilst the sale of the other businesses were completed on exchange of contracts.

Date: October 2022
Buyer: Frasers Group
Target: Hugo Boss, ASOS
Business: Fashion clothing
Value: See below
Details: Fraser Group has increased its stake in two household names as it looks to continue its foray into higher-end fashion. With regards to Hugo Boss, Fraser Group increased their stake to 32.8% (approximately worth EUR 960m), while its stake in ASOS rose to 5.1% (making the Group the fourth largest shareholder).

Date: October 2022
Buyer: Frasers Group
Target: Sneaker boy (in administration)
Business: Footwear
Value: Undisclosed
Details: As its latest acquisition, Frasers Group has snapped up Australian luxury footwear retailer Sneakerboy for an undisclosed sum. It has been reported that Frasers Group will retain Sneakerboy’s staff and the three stores located in Australia. Frasers CEO Michael Murray said: “This acquisition further strengthens and diversifies the group’s luxury proposition, while securing the future of Sneakerboy and allowing the streetwear retailer to benefit from Frasers Group’s expertise in this sector.”

Date: August 2022
Buyer: Aurelius Group
Target: Footasylum
Business: Luxury clothing
Value: £47.5 million
Details: Following a ruling by the Competitions & Markets Authority back in November 2021, instructing JD Sports to sell Footaslym citing concerns over lack of competition in the market, the contested sale has now been agreed with the business being acquired by investor Aurelius Group for £37.5 million. The divestment marks a reversal of JD’s strategy of building a portfolio of fashion brands.

Date: August 2022
Buyer: Frasers Group
Target: I Saw It First
Business: Fashion clothing
Details: The December 2022 financial report for Frasers Group has revealed that the acquisition of the entire share capital of online fashion retailer I Saw It First in August 2022 was completed for cash consideration of £1. In addition, the Mike Ashley led group reportedly assumed the outstanding £13 million loan owed to the I Saw It First shareholders as part of the transaction. In a statement, Frasers Group said: “I Saw It First will benefit from the strength and scale of Frasers Group’s platform and from the integration with Frasers’ recently acquired business, Missguided.”