Brand Management Firms Move Luxury, 2020–2026
Three New York licensors that built their reputations on bankruptcy-court rescues now own Off-White, Marc Jacobs, Reebok, Champion and Ted Baker — a brand management firms luxury portfolio worth roughly $50 billion in combined retail sales that did not exist on the books of Authentic Brands Group, WHP Global or Bluestar Alliance a decade ago. The trade press still files these companies under “licensing”, as though they were the people who sold you a Polo Ralph Lauren towel set in 2004. They are not. Between February 2020 and May 2026 the three firms wrote cheques for Reebok ($2.5B+), Champion ($1.2B), Marc Jacobs (joint venture with G-III Apparel), Ted Baker (£211M) and Off-White (undisclosed, but with LVMH on the other side of the table), and they did it while the European groups they used to circle from a distance were busy selling. ...