JAB Luxury Puts Jimmy Choo up for Sale and Commences a Strategic Review of Bally

On April 24, 2017, Jimmy Choo, PLC (“Jimmy Choo”) announced that it is seeking offers for the company. Jimmy Choo shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and shortly after the announcement they rose 11 percent before closing at a record 186.50 pence resulting in a market capitalization for the British shoe maker of 706 million pounds ($832 million). Jimmy Choo was founded in 1996 by couture shoe designer Jimmy Choo and Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon.

The majority owner of Jimmy Choo is JAB Luxury (formerly Labelux Group GmbH) which also owns the Swiss shoe maker Bally International AG. In tandem with the announcement by Jimmy Choo, a press release by JAB Luxury stated that the company will conduct a strategic review of privately-held Bally and expects the review to be completed in the second half of 2017. In addition to Bally and Jimmy Choo, JAB Luxury also owns Belstaff. However, no indication about the future of the British fashion label Belstaff were given. Starting in 2008, JAB Luxury owned a majority stake in the American fashion label Derek Lam before selling back the equity share to the founders in 2012.

JAB Luxury is an arm of JAB Holdings which is the investment vehicle of the German billionaire family Reimann. The press releases confirm that JAB Holdings is retreating from the luxury industry and is instead focusing on the coffee and bakery sector. In recent years, the company has aggressively expanded in that arena having acquired a majority stake in Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Company, doughnut shop operator Krispy Kreme, Keurig Green Mountain (together with other investors), and most recently reached an agreement to purchase US bakery chain Panera Bread.

In addition to the recent investments in the coffee and bakery sectors, JAB Holdings has a minority stake in the British consumer products company Reckitt Benckiser Group, PLC and a majority stake in the New York-based beauty company Coty, Inc.

Sources: Bloomberg, WWD, Business of Fashion, WSJ, Wikipedia

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