Authentic Brands Steps into Nine West's Shoes

Authentic Brands Group has acquired shoe and handbag brands Nine West and Bandolino in a bankruptcy court auction. Authentic was the successful bidder for segments of Nine West Holdings, Inc. with a bid valued at roughly $340 million.

The completion of the transaction finalizes an important step in Nine West Holdings’ process to reorganize around its remaining businesses: One Jeanswear Group, Kasper Group, The Jewelry Group, and Anne Klein businesses. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April.

Authentic "will bring the dedicated expertise and resources to manage the next stage in the life of two strong brands," said Ralph Schipani, chief executive officer of Nine West Holdings. "We are pleased to have completed this important step in our restructuring and are now focused on moving forward with the reorganization of our remaining businesses with the support of our key stakeholder groups."

The highly competitive bidding process "is a testament to the strength of these brands and we are thrilled [with] the outcome," said Jamie Salter, Authentic's CEO. "The addition of these two brands enhances [our] growing lifestyle portfolio while launching our global footwear platform. We see incredible opportunity to expand the brands beyond footwear and handbags, specifically in the apparel and home categories, as well as in new markets around the world."

As part of the transaction, Authentic assumes all licensing partnerships and marketing initiatives for the Nine West and Bandolino brands.  Authentic's Marc Fisher Footwear business will operate footwear activities and Signal Products will handle  handbags and small leather goods efforts.

"We are excited to expand our partnership with [Authentic] and help drive the global success of Nine West and Bandolino," said Marc Fisher, founder and CEO of Marc Fisher Footwear. "As my father co-founded Nine West and Bandolino, I spent much of my footwear career working on these two brands. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build great product that will resonate strongly with consumers and reinvigorate these brands in the marketplace."

The acquisition elevates Authentic's footwear and accessories business to more than $2 billion in global retail sales and full portfolio to nearly $8 billion.