ABG nears $8 billion retail sales with Nine West deal

Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG), owner of a global portfolio of Celebrity & Entertainment and Lifestyle brands, has closed on its acquisition of Nine West and Bandolino. ABG acquired the two brands from Nine West Holdings Inc. for $340 million. The acquisition has increased the company’s footwear and accessories business to over $2 billion in global retail sales. Alongside establishing itself as a leader in the fashion footwear space, ABG has scaled its brand portfolio to nearly $8 billion in global retail sales. “From the moment ABG won the bid for Nine West and Bandolino, we received an outpouring of interest from retailers, distributors, and new licensing partners,” said Jamie Salter, Chairman & CEO of ABG. “Now that the acquisition has been formalized, we are kicking the brands’ growth strategies into high gear,” he added. As part of this acquisition, ABG assumes all licensing partnerships and marketing activities for the Nine West and Bandolino brands. With respect to the brands’ footwear and handbag categories, ABG has appointed Marc Fisher Footwear (“MFF”) to operate the footwear businesses and Signal Products, Inc. (“Signal”) to operate the handbag and SLG businesses. ABG now has 33-plus brands in its portfolio including the likes of Juicy Couture, Nautica etc. and a global footprint with more than 50,000 points of sale across luxury, specialty, department store and e-commerce channels. With retail partners, the group also has more than 4,381 branded freestanding stores and shops-in-shop globally. ABG has tapped Marc Fisher Footwear to operate the footwear businesses and Signal Products Inc. to operate the handbag and small leather goods businesses, reported WWD. ABG boasts of a mammoth portfolio including brands like Juicy Couture, Aéropostale, Thalia, Neil Lane, Judith Leiber, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Taryn Rose, Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx and Prince.