Fashion Acquisitions Highlight Brand-Management Model

A raft of fashion brands were acquired by one of the major licensing-forward brand management companies in 2024, and the trend already seems to be continuing into 2025. The sheer number of such purchases is an indicator of the power of this long-important business model to rescue and right the operations of struggling fashion brands and to expand businesses that are already a success but need additional resources and synergies to achieve the next level. Unlike traditional private equity investors, brand managagement companies have the expertise to implement a turnaround or strategic expansion, using a strategy that relies heavily on licensing, as well as the funding to make it happen. 

Some examples from the past several months: 

• Just last week, it was announced that Marquee Brands had acquired Laura Ashley from investment firm Gordon Brothers. With the purchase, Marquee owns 17 brands, including Martha Stewart, Ben Sherman, Destination Maternity, and Body Glove, and has a portfolio worth more than $4 billion. U.K.-based Laura Ashley has more than 100 licenseees in 200 categories doing business in the U.K., U.S., Asia, and elsewhere. Gordon Brothers had brought Laura Ashley out of administration (bankruptcy) after purchasing it in 2020, and recently the brand has been expanding with many new licensing and collaboration deals. 

• In mid-December, WHP Global said it had purchased Vera Wang, with the designer remaining on board as founder and chief creative officer and serving on WHP’s board. The label joins other brands in WHP’s $7 billion-plus portfolio, including Rag & Bone, Joe’s Jeans, Anne Klein, Joseph Abboud, Isaac Mizrahi, and G-Star. According to the press release, the Vera Wang brand generates more than $700 million in annual retail sales in women’s apparel, bridal, men’s suits and tuxedos, jewelry, fragrance, home goods, and other categories globally, with products sold in both in premium shops and retailers such as Kohl’s. 

• In September 2024, Bluestar Alliance purchased Off-White, the luxury streetwear label founded by the late designer Virgil Abloh, from LVMH. The brand has been known for its many collaborations with the likes of Nike and Converse, sports clubs, Ralph Lauren, Ikea, and more. Bluestar’s portfolio includes brands such as Elie Tahari, Justice, Nanette Lepore, and Limited Too, among others. LVMH had acquired a majority stake in Off-White in 2021, the year founder Abloh died.  

• Also in September, Iconix paired with financial services company Hilco Consumer-Retail Group to acquire Salt Life. The brand, which was owned by Delta Apparel, is expected to expand globally through licensing, moving away from proprietary retail to a wholesale and e-commerce strategy. Thread Collective, a Canadian-based licensee for more than two dozen fashion labels, was appointed as the first new licensing partner for men’s and women’s apparel. Hilco was charged with managing closing sales for the brand’s 28 retail stores in 10 states and the sale to retailers of existing inventory in Salt Life’s distribution centers. The saltwater sports-themed lifestyle brand was founded in 2003 and had $59 million in revenue in fiscal 2023; it was purchased by its new owners in a bankruptcy auction for $38.7 million. Iconix’ portfolio includes Mossimo, Candies, Umbro, and Op, among many other brands. 

• In June, White Space Group (WSG) Brands purchased Von Dutch, the Hollywood fashion and lifestyle brand founded in the 2000s and known for its trucker hats. It was most recently owned by the French firm Groupe Royer and its Royer Brands International division. WSG is expected to focus on the U.S. market initially before bolstering Von Dutch’s existing international presence. Other holdings of newly formed WSG Brands include Vintage Havana and Surf Gypsy. WSG’s executives will head up the newly acquired brand. 

• Authentic Brands Group (ABG) purchased Champion in June from HanesBrands, planning to transition it to a licensing model, as is its practice with its acquisitions. Among the licensees coming on board since the transition include High Life for activewear, Basic Resources for underwear and sleepwear, USA Legwear for legwear, Fit for Life for fitness accessories, BBC for footwear, Gildan Activewear for print and promotional wear, Falic for apparel and accessories in Central and South America, IB Group as the licensee in Mexico, GearCo for collegiate apparel, and L’Amy for eyewear, among others. The transaction was guaranteed for $1.2 billion, with additional payments of $300 million possible based on performance thresholds. Authentic said the acquisition would bring its brand portfolio to more than $32 billion in annual retail sales globally. Its many other brands include David Beckham, Forever 21, Quiksilver, Judith Leiber, and Ted Baker.

• June also brought Marquee Brands’ acquisition of Totes Isotoner, in partnership with Randa Apparel & Accessories, with the latter serving as the operating partner and licensee in the core category of weather-related accessories and Marquee becoming the worldwide owner of the Totes and Isotoner brands, which have both had some limited licensing and collaboration activity over the years.

As the last deal illustrates, brand management firms occasionally partner with other companies—licensees or retailers, for example—to support the purchase of businesses and IPs. WHP Global paired with Guess? in February of last year to acquire the fashion brand Rag & Bone, with Guess? getting the operating assets and becoming the core licensee and WHP Global jointly owning, with Guess?, the label’s intellectual property. Similarly, back in 2018, ABG joined with retailer DSW to acquire the Camuto Group’s IP, including the Vince Camuto, Louise et Cie, Enzo Angiolini, and other brands, with ABG maintaining a 60% stake and DSW 40%; DSW simultaneously purchased Camuto’s footwear manufacturing operations. 

Raugust Communications recently posted its annual summary of the licensing trends of the past year, with this edition featuring 30 key trends that helped shape the licensing business in 2024. If you missed it, you can read it here.