Michael Kors Is Buying Your Favorite Stiletto Brand for $1.2 Billion
So many fashion companies have been joining forces lately.
Michael Kors is going on a shopping spree. The affordable luxury brand just announced today that it will buy Jimmy Choo for a cool $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
It’s the latest saga in the Jimmy Choo story, forever known for its dangerously sexy stilettos as worn by Princess Di and Carrie Bradshaw alike. Jimmy Choo’s recent history includes a lawsuit last year from its former co-founder Tamara Mellon, who also wrote a tell-all in 2013.
But why did Michael Kors want to pony up the cash for Jimmy Choo? "We admire the glamorous style and trend-setting nature of Jimmy Choo designs," Michael Kors himself said in a statement. But Michael Kors the brand has been struggling lately, closing stores and pulling away from discounts in department stores to try to become less ubiquitous. So buying a prestigious shoe and handbag brand like Jimmy Choo might fit into Michael Kors's plan for the luxury market.
The two brands will operate "very independently," according to NPR, but there are hints that Jimmy Choo might open more stores across the world as part of the deal — although Michael Kors will have to avoid the same pitfalls it made in its own expansion with too many stores and discounts.
Michael Kors isn't the only fashion company shopping around for other brands: Coach announced this year that it is buying Kate Spade for $2.4 billion, and in 2015, Coach picked up a luxury shoe brand of its own by acquiring Stuart Weitzman. At this rate, will all our favorite brands soon be owned by Coach or Michael Kors?
