Michael Kors buys Jimmy Choo for £896 million

Fans of the brand include Kendall Jenner, Nicole Kidman and Katy Perry
Rashid Razaq25 July 2017

British shoe brand Jimmy Choo has been snapped up by American fashion label Michael Kors in an £896 million deal.

The firm was launched in a Hackney cobbler’s shop in 1996 by Malaysian designer Jimmy Choo and former Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon.

It rose to international fame when it became the shoe of choice for Carrie Bradshaw, the character played by Sarah Jessica Parker in TV show Sex And The City.

Other fans of the shoes, which cost about £500 a pair, include Kendall Jenner, Nicole Kidman and the Duchess of Cambridge.

Celebrities wearing Jimmy Choo - in pictures

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Since its launch, Jimmy Choo has developed into a fashion brand that also includes handbags, leather goods, scarves and fragrances.

Michael Kors said it was “the ideal partner” for the brand. In a statement, the group said it would support the growth of Jimmy Choo through “retail store openings and further development of its online presence”.

The shoe firm will operate under its existing management team, including chief executive Pierre Denis.

John Idol, chairman and chief executive of Michael Kors, said: “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.”

Co-founders Choo and Mellon are no longer involved in the firm and do not have any shareholdings.

Choo sold his 50 per cent stake in the company for £10 million in 2001. Mellon received a reported £103 million when she was bought out by Labelux in 2011.

The firm has been through three private equity owners and was put up for sale in April. JAB Holding, which is owned by billionaire German family the Reimanns, said it wanted to sell its 70 per cent of the shoemaker because it wanted to move out of the luxury fashion market to concentrate on its coffee and food businesses.

The shoe brand’s annual revenues climbed 15 per cent to £364 million in the year to the end of December. It has more than 150 stores globally as well as a presence in many of the world’s top department stores.

Mellon, once ranked as the 64th richest woman in Britain, filed for bankruptcy for her namesake womenswear line in 2015. A decade earlier she split from husband Matthew Mellon in a high-profile divorce case.

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