Luxury Goes Mass-Market? Michael Kors Buys Jimmy Choo

In a surprise move, mass market fashion retailer Michael Kors has bought the Jimmy Choo company.   Jimmy Choo had been for sale since April. In recent years, both Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo have had financial struggles, so this is an interesting consolidation move.   Are the two brand better together? In May 2017 ,  Michael Kors announced it was closing 100 to 125 stores, after expanding too quickly & experiencing slower sales.   Jimmy Choo had also been reporting slower sales since at least 2016.

Michael Kors has announced plans to buy Jimmy Choo.

“Jimmy Choo is known worldwide for its glamorous and fashion-forward footwear,” said John Idol, chairman and chief executive officer of Michael Kors to the Financial Times. “We believe that Jimmy Choo is poised for meaningful growth in the future and we are committed to supporting the strong brand equity that Jimmy Choo has built over the last 20 years.”

Michael Kors has agreed to buy Jimmy Choo for  £896m GBP,  approximately $1.2b US with the deal projected to close in the 4th Quarter. It will be interesting to see if this consolidation can help both flagging brands grow.  I’ll also be interested to see what happens to the quality and pricing at Jimmy Choo.