Jimmy Choo heads to London stock exchange

Investor-controlled since 2011

Jimmy Choo was founded in 1996 by a former British Vogue accessory editor, Tamara Mellon and Malaysian shoe maker Jimmy Choo. The collaboration ended in 2001 when Mellon bought Choo’s part of the company and investment company Joh. A. Benckiser has full control of the company since 2011.

The shoe seller, boosted a lot through Sex and the City and famous for its high-heel shoes, managed a 282 million pound (360 million euro) turnover in 2013. In the first half of 2014, it managed sales of 150.2 million pounds (190 million euro).

Jimmy Choo currently has some 120 stores worldwide and plans to open 10 additional stores per year, particularly in Asia. The brand is still under-represented in that region and it has a high demand for luxury products, which means it still has room for expansion. It also wants to expand its wholesale activities.