Fashion was hit by brand management tremors on Wednesday as two new fault lines opened up, further cracking the industry’s status quo.
Marquee Brands inked its deal to buy control of Roberto Cavalli. Heath Golden, chief executive officer of the intellectual property expert, described Cavalli as a “true capital L luxury brand” and said in an interview that it would remain so.
And Jamie Salter figured the third time might be the charm and revealed that the company could go public in the next 12 months, after starting the process two other times but ultimately bringing in more private equity investment instead, he said on CNBC.
Salter, who founded Authentic in 2010, said he’d also step up to executive chairman to focus on closing more deals — chasing the dream he laid out at WWD’s Apparel and Retail CEO Summit last year to grow annual retail sales from $38 billion to $100 billion in five years. Matt Maddox, the former Wynn Resorts executive who joined Authentic as president last year, will become president and CEO, in charge of the day-to-day managing of all that growth.
The market is also still digesting last week’s Marc Jacobs blockbuster, which has LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton selling the designer brand to WHP Global and producer G-III Apparel Group at a roughly $925 million valuation.
