ABG Group acquires Nine West for 340 million dollars

Nine West Holdings Inc. has sold its Nine West and Bandolino footwear and handbag brands at auction to Authentic Brands Group (ABG) for 340 million dollars.

ABG, the brand development and marketing company that owns numerous fashion brands including Juicy Couture, Jones New York and Judith Leiber, was named the successful bidder in the auction conducted under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Its winning bid was more than 140 million dollars over its initial stalking horse bid, the two companies confirmed in a press release.

"Authentic Brands Group is an industry leader and we are pleased that they will bring the dedicated expertise and resources to manage the next stage in the life of two strong brands," said Ralph Schipani, chief executive of Nine West Holdings in a press release. "We are pleased to have completed this important step in our restructuring and are now focused on moving forward with the reorganisation of our remaining businesses with the support of our key stakeholder groups."

As part of the deal, ABG will assume all licensing partnerships and marketing initiatives for the Nine West and Bandolino brands. In addition, the brand management firm appointed Marc Fisher Footwear to operate the footwear businesses and Signal Products, Inc. to operate the handbag and SLG businesses.

"This was a highly competitive bidding process, which is a testament to the strength of these brands and we are thrilled that the outcome had ABG taking ownership of Nine West and Bandolino.”

Jamie Salter, chairman and chief executive of ABG added: "This was a highly competitive bidding process, which is a testament to the strength of these brands and we are thrilled that the outcome had ABG taking ownership of Nine West and Bandolino.

"The addition of these two brands enhances ABG's growing lifestyle portfolio, while launching our global footwear platform. We see incredible opportunity to expand the brands beyond footwear and handbags, specifically in the apparel and home categories as well as in new markets around the world."

Commenting on its partnership with ABG, Marc Fisher, founder and chief executive officer of Marc Fisher Footwear, said: "We are excited to expand our partnership with ABG and to help drive the global success of Nine West and Bandolino. As my father co-founded Nine West and Bandolino, I spent much of my footwear career working on these two brands. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build great product that will resonate strongly with consumers and reinvigorate these brands in the marketplace.”

The purchase will elevate ABG’s footwear and accessories business to over 2 billion dollars in global retail sales, stated Nick Woodhouse, president and chief marketing officer of ABG in a statement, bringing the brand firm’s portfolio to nearly 8 billion dollars.

Woodhouse added: "The international footwear and accessories platform we have created in conjunction with Marc Fisher and Jason Rimokh (Signal brands) further positions ABG as a leader in the fashion footwear and accessories space, while propelling the company to its next level of global growth."

Nine West Holdings filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and made the decision to sell the two businesses to help recapitalise its balance sheet and focus on its more profitable businesses. The deal still needs to be approved by a Manhattan bankruptcy court. A hearing to approve the sale has been scheduled for June 18, 2018, while the sale is expected to be complete by July 15, 2018.