Sequential Brands Buys Major Stake in Jessica Simpson Brand
Sequential Brands Group announced it has purchased a majority stake in the Jessica Simpson brand, including the Jessica Simpson Collection master license and other rights. No purchase price was given for the deal, which should close in 90 days.
Entertainer Jessica Simpson, who selected Sequential as her brand partner, will continue to own the balance of the brand launched in 2005 and whose annual sales are said to be $1 billion a year. The label has 31 product categories, which include shoes, clothing, perfume, fashion accessories, maternity wear, girls’ clothing and a home line.
There are 20 licensees who produce the brand, sold in department stores such as Macy’s, Dillard’s, Lord & Taylor and Belk.
Tina Simpson, Jessica’s mother and creative director of the Jessica Simpson Collection, will continue to be part of the celebrity’s Los Angeles–based team.
At the same time, Camuto Group’s master license for the Jessica Simpson Collection will be replaced with a newly signed long-term license agreement to manufacture and distribute footwear. Camuto Group was founded by shoe designer Vince Camuto, known for launching the women’s shoe line Nine West. A fashion mentor to Simpson, he passed away in January at the age of 78.
“Working together with the powerful management team at Sequential and with all of our trusted retailers and licensees, including Camuto Group, there is no limit to our success,” Simpson said in a statement.
Sequential Brands, once based in Los Angeles before moving its corporate headquarters to New York, has been on a brand-buying binge since the company changed its business model in 2012 from a designer and producer of apparel to a brand-management company. That same year, it changed its name from People’s Liberation to Sequential Brands.
Some of the brands it now owns include Ellen Tracy, William Rast, Heelys, Caribbean Joe and The Franklin Mint. At the end of last year, it had 75 licensees.
After the Jessica Simpson deal closes, Sequential is projecting that its 12-month royalty revenues will range from $88 million to $90 million.
