Corporate and M&A – Page 18
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ArticleClarks descendant says management failed to ‘move into 21st century’
Shoe maker Clarks failed to keep up with retail trends while shareholders prioritized dividends over investment, according to one of the family members. Galahad Clark, a descendant of founders Cyrus and James Clark, said the company failed to “move fast enough into the 21st century”, ultimately leading to a £100 ...
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ArticleClarks' shareholders approve £100m rescue deal with LionRock Capital
Shareholders of the British shoe maker Clarks have approved the £100 million (€110m - $134m) rescue deal with the Hong Kong-based private equity firm LionRock Capital. The iconic 195-year-old retailer was forced to seek financial help under a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) amid plunging sales in a weak trading environment ...
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ArticleArcadia break up starts as Australia’s City Chic buys Evans for £23 million
The breakup of Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire has started with the £23 million (€25m - $30.6m) sale of the plus-size clothing brand Evans to the Australian firm, City Chic Collective. Deloitte, appointed as administrator after Arcadia collapsed last month, said the deal excludes physical stores, with City Chic operating ...
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ArticleKering investigated by French financial prosecutor
Kering said that the French financial public prosecutor (Parquet National Financier) has opened a preliminary inquiry concerning the company in February 2019. The French luxury goods group added that it had not previously been informed of the inquiry. The comments come following media reports about the prosecutor investigating the company ...
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ArticleJD Sports expands massively in Western U.S. with Shoe Palace acquisition
JD Sports Fashion, a British retailer and distributor of sportswear and fashionwear, has acquired the American company Shoe Palace from the Mersho family in a cash and stock deal worth over $680 million. JD Sports, through its wholly-owned holding company in the U.S., Genesis, acquired 100 percent of both the ...
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ArticleSpartoo gives JB Martin a second chance
JB Martin, a well-known French shoe company, was put into liquidation by the Paris Commercial Court on June 2, 2020. After several years of difficulties, the company suffered a death blow from the Covid-19 pandemic. Two weeks after the court ruling, its 125 employees received their letters of dismissal. The ...
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ArticleObuv Rossii undergoes rebranding as it moves away from shoes
The Russian footwear retailer Obuv Rossii is changing names to mark its diversification away from shoes. The company is removing the word Obuv (meaning shoes in Russian) from its name to become simply OR for the main operating unit and OR Group for the parent company. Even the stock ticker ...
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ArticlePeter Kaiser enters insolvency proceedings
Peter Kaiser Schuhfabrik, the German manufacturer of women’s shoes, has gone into insolvency. The proceedings were opened on Dec. 1, after the company filed an application with the Pirmasens district court on Sept. 14. Self-administration was ordered and talks with several potential investors are currently being held. Legal counsel Günter ...
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ArticleJoya expands in Austria with Passt takeover
The Swiss brand of comfort shoes Joya has strengthened its position in the Austrian market by acquiring Passt’s six stores across the country in a bid to consolidate its retail presence and further develop the brand. Established in 2008, Passt is a retailer of comfort shoes with stores in ...
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ArticleLloyd Shoe Company goes into administration after Arcadia’s collapse
On Dec. 3, London-based footwear company Lloyd Shoe Company appointed FRP Advisory as its administrator after the collapse of the British fashion retailer Arcadia. The company has concessions in several stores managed by the Arcadia group, which appointed the firm Deloitte as its administrator on Nov. 30. Lloyd is working ...
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ArticleMaterial Exchange raises €5 million to accelerate growth
Material Exchange, the Swedish online platform for the procurement of materials, raised €5 million in a funding round as it seeks to accelerate its growth plans after the “business exploded” during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of the industry by at least five years,” said ...
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ArticleDebenhams collapses as JD Sports terminates rescue talks
The British department store chain Debenhams is winding down operations and closing all 124 shops with 12,000 potential job losses after JD Sports Fashion ended talks about a rescue deal. Administrators have been trying to sell the troubled 232-year-old group since April, but have admitted that the sale process has ...
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ArticleClarks’ CVA gets green light amid landlord fury over rent write-offs
Creditors of the British shoemaker and retailer Clarks have approved a deal that will see control of the company pass to a private equity firm amid criticism from landlords over the scale of rent write-offs. Under the proposal, known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), rent arrears on 320 outlets ...
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ArticleVon Wellx steps up production in India
Von Wellx, the German orthopedic shoe brand owned by Casa Everz, has inaugurated a new production site in Agra, in the Uttar Pradesh state in northern India, as it ceases the production of footwear in China. The new factory in the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) in Agra features two ...
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ArticleL.K. Bennett plans to close stores, axe jobs
Upmarket British retailer L.K. Bennett plans to close up to five stores and move its remaining shops to turnover-based rents under a proposed company voluntary arrangement (CVA). The plan will lead to a small number of job losses as the company tries to mitigate the financial impact of the Covid-19 ...
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ArticleVF buys Supreme in $2.1bn deal
VF Corp. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Supreme, a young and cool American streetwear brand that has become an iconic symbol of a countercultural approach to fashion. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2020 and is based on an enterprise value of $2.1 billion ...
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ArticleEurazeo takes over premium sneaker brand Axel Arigato
Eurazeo, the French investment company which recently sold its remaining stake in Farfetch, has bought a majority stake in Axel Arigato, a Swedish brand of premium sneakers, ready-to- wear and accessories for €56 million. The investment was carried out by Eurazeo Brands, a division focused on consumer brands. The company ...
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ArticleClarks reaches £100m rescue deal with private equity LionRock
The Asian private equity firm LionRock Capital has reached an agreement to rescue the iconic British shoe brand Clarks in a £100 million (€110.9m, $130.0m) deal that will see the founding family keep a stake in the business. The deal, which requires approval of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), will ...
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ArticleOwner of the Mario Bruni brand fills for creditor protection
Spring, the Italian shoe maker that owns Mario Bruni, a brand of quality dress and formal men’s shoes, has filed for bankruptcy protection in order to reach an agreement with creditors or restructure its activity. Based in the Marche region’s footwear cluster, Spring was created in 1956 under the name ...
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ArticleAustralian billionaire buys R.M. Williams
An Australian billionaire, Andrew Forrest, has bought R.M. Williams, the producer of an iconic Australian outback boot, from L Catterton, a private-equity company backed by LVMH, and some minority shareholders including the Australian actor Hugh Jackman. No financial details were disclosed but the Australian Financial Review said that the selling ...
