Luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo is attracting several interested buyers, apparently including Michael Kors, Interparfums and Hony Capital.
Joint bid
Investment firm JAB Luxury, which has a majority stake in Jimmy Choo, announced in April that it would sell the brand and several companies have now expressed an interest.
One of them is Hony Capital, a private equity firm that also owns restaurant chain PizzaExpress. Its main target is Jimmy Choo’s perfume division and that is why it wants to launch a joint bid with Interparfums, which already owns every one of the brand’s perfume licenses. Both companies have refused to comment on the news.
740 million pounds
Another possible candidate is fashion company Michael Kors, which is apparently willing to table a bid prior to the start of the official bidding process. Nevertheless, it is surprising to see Michael Kors prepare an acquisition, considering it is not doing very well itself. It recently announced the closure of 100 to 125 stores in the next two years in an attempt to increase profitability.
Jimmy Choo not only sells shoes, but also perfume, cosmetics and accessories like handbags, scarfs and sunglasses. It also recently ventured into the men’s shoes industry and is currently valued at 740 million pounds (836 million euro).
