"The brand management crew - including leader Authentic Brands Group, WHP Global, Marquee Brands and Bluestar Alliance - have made their mark by focusing in, owning just the brand and working with broad networks of partners for everything else. It's an approach that only kept growing this year. Authentic is the largest player by far, with brands that drive some $32 billion in retail sales annually. With its deal to buy control of the Guess brand, that's slated to grow to $38 billion soon."
"That's going to take a lot more dealmaking, but he said there are plenty of options around the world. "We don't buy distressed brands," he said. "We buy distressed companies. Big difference. The brands are not broken. The model is broken. Do they have too many retail stores? Do they have international distribution? How's the e-commerce business? Do they have a proper wholesale strategy?""
The modern fashion industry rests on three mission‑critical components: a brand, a manufacturer and a merchant. Vertical retailers once controlled all three, but the model has shifted toward brand management firms that own brands and rely on partner networks for production, distribution and retail. Authentic Brands Group leads the trend, currently driving about $32 billion in retail sales and boosting that to $38 billion with the Guess deal. Leadership projects rapid compounded growth and ambitious targets up to $100 billion. The strategy emphasizes acquiring companies with broken operational models rather than broken brands, then scaling via licensing and partnerships.
Read at WWD
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]