Caleres to acquire Stuart Weitzman from Tapestry Inc. for $105 million

Tapestry, Inc., the parent company of several leading accessories and lifestyle brands, including Coach and Kate Spade New York, has announced the sale of its Stuart Weitzman brand to Caleres, a portfolio of consumer footwear brands, for 105 million dollars in cash today. Caleres stated that it aims to fund the acquisition through the company’s revolving credit agreement.

“Stuart Weitzman is an iconic global footwear brand whose teams have added to the passion, creativity, and craftsmanship of our organization over the last decade," said Joanne Crevoiserat, chief executive officer of Tapestry, Inc., in a statement. "Importantly, as diligent stewards of our portfolio and disciplined allocators of capital, this transaction ensures that all our brands are positioned for long-term success and that we maintain a sharp focus on our largest value creation opportunities.”

Caleres acquires Stuart Weitzman, expanding its women's footwear portfolio

“At Tapestry, this means harnessing our position of strength to sustain Coach’s leadership and momentum while reinvigorating Kate Spade to drive durable organic growth and shareholder value. At the same time, we are pleased that we found Stuart Weitzman a home in Caleres – an ideal owner to guide its next chapter of growth.”

The sale, which remains subject to customary adjustments, sees Caleres further its goal of cementing its “leadership position in women’s fashion footwear,” focusing on the more contemporary end of the market. The acquisition of Stuart Weitzman comes three months after the portfolio, which owns brands such as Vince, Veronica Beard and Franco Sarto, appointed Nancy Bitetto as senior vice president of its New York brands to further accelerate the portfolio’s growth.

Founded in 1986, the New York City-based footwear brand Stuart Weitzman is known for its luxury women’s footwear designs. Expanding into accessories, handbags and men’s footwear over the years, Stuart Weitzman was purchased by Tapestry Inc. from Sycamore Partners in 2015 for 574 million dollars.

“I have long admired Stuart Weitzman for the brand’s pivotal role in shaping the footwear industry,” said Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres, in a statement. “As we bring this iconic brand into the Caleres portfolio, we are committed to preserving its legacy of craftsmanship, quality and fit while driving it forward. The acquisition of Stuart Weitzman advances our strategic agenda to grow our Brand Portfolio segment with more global and direct-to-consumer reach.”

“Stuart Weitzman will be a lead brand for Caleres, and with this combination, the Brand Portfolio segment will generate nearly half of our total revenue and will continue to generate over half of our operating profit. We will leverage our demonstrated, best-in-class footwear capabilities while pursuing category and channel growth. We expect to operate the brand profitably post-integration, and I look forward to partnering with both the Tapestry and Stuart Weitzman teams for a seamless and successful transition.”

The sale of Stuart Weitzman is expected to be finalized and close in the summer of 2025 and is subject to customary closing conditions.