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It’s been almost three years since Liz Claiborne Inc. purchased two small Vancouver-based contemporary brands called Kensie and Mac & Jac. Today, many labels under the Liz umbrella are suffering, but Kensie is a bright spot.
These companies may not have been considered power brands at Claiborne in 2006, but analysts agreed the acquisition would do wonders for the company’s desire to strengthen its contemporary apparel segment. They said at the time that the labels would most likely pick up steam and sit well alongside the group’s subsidiaries, Juicy Couture and Laundry by Shelli Segal (which Claiborne sold to Perry Ellis International last year).
Back in 2006, the purchase price of the labels — which included the retirement of debt at closing — was estimated to be $23.6 million, plus additional payments based upon a multiple of Mac & Jac’s earnings in fiscal years 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Mac & Jac, the larger of the brands at that time, generated net sales of approximately $40 million in fiscal 2005.
Today, of course, the story is a bit different. While Mac & Jac remains strong, selling in major department and specialty stores, Kensie is rapidly gaining ground. The brand, which…
The Kensie brand has grown to more than $200 million in annual volume from $50 million in just three years.
That’s indicative of how far Kensie has evolved since its acquisition in October 2011 for an undisclosed amount by brand management firm Bluestar Alliance from the former Liz Claiborne Inc., now renamed Kate Spade & Co.
Kensie is part of the young contemporary space, and offers products primarily in sportswear, accessories and footwear. That changes come spring when it introduces a handbag collection. Bluestar, through its subsidiary KMJ Holdings LLC, is working with G-III Apparel Group Ltd. as its long-term licensing partner for the sportswear, dress, suit, activewear, sweater, and handbag lines. Through other licensing partners, the Kensie brand also has collections of intimate apparel, outerwear, sleepwear, eyewear, fragrance and home.
Ralph Gindi, Bluestar’s cofounder, attributed the growth of the brand to G-III and to retailers such as Macy’s Inc. and Lord & Taylor LLC. “The shops-in-shop are key. The Kensie customer has disposable income, she’s fashionable and a repeat customer. Macy’s is very much behind the brand, and the big push has been due to the focus on the creation of shops-in-shop where we can showcase the Kensie lifestyle,”…