Global Brands Group Holding Limited () is a bankrupt

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

that has its own

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

and

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves ...

, as well as being a

brand management In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is pe ...

company. It designs, develops, markets and sells products under a diverse array of owned and licensed brands in a wide range of product categories. In June 2021, despite a series of asset sales, the company's liabilities still exceeded its asset value. Trading in the shares of the financially stressed entity was halted by the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is rep ...

due to its inability to file annual results. In 2022

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...

took full ownership of the joint venture, CAA-GBG Global Brand Management Group (CAA-GBG), a partnership that was launched in 2016. CAA-GBG works with brand owners, retailers, and manufacturing partners to engage new consumers by extending brands into new geographies and product categories. Through this brand management business, the company manages brands as well as celebrities including

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending ...

and

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

. The company works with brands under its four business verticals: Men's and Women's Fashion, Footwear and Accessories, Kids and Brand Management. The products are sold across multiple geographies and through various distribution channels, including

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...

s, hypermarkets/clubs, off-price retailers, independent chains, and specialty retailers. While Global Brands' business is primarily wholesale, the Group also makes strategic investments in direct-to-consumer

retail Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...

. The company designs, develops, markets and sells products under a diverse array of owned and licensed brands, such as

Spyder The SPYDER ("Surface-to-air Python and Derby") is an Israeli short and medium range mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rafael is the prime contractor a ...

Background

The history of Global Brands Group can be traced back to 2005 when

Li & Fung Li & Fung Limited is a Bermuda-incorporated, Hong Kong-based supply chain manager. In 2020, it was reportedly struggling to turn its century-old business around for years. On 13 February 2017, it was removed from the blue chip index: Hang Seng ...

Limited established a wholesale business focusing on private label and branded apparel in order to broaden its relationships with existing and new retailer customers. On 4 December 2013, in preparation for the spin-off from Li & Fung and Listing, Global Brands Group was incorporated in Bermuda. On 13 December 2013, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Li & Fung.Listing Document, Global Brands Group, dated 26 June 2014 On 9 July 2014, Global Brands Group was listed on the Main Board of the

by way of introduction as a result of a spin-off from Li & Fung. Its business is now separate and independent from Li & Fung's trading and logistics businesses. On 3 December 2014, Global Brands Group, together with David Beckham announced the launch of a joint venture, Seven Global, to drive the continued development of all consumer product categories around David Beckham. On 15 June 2016, Global Brands announced a joint venture with Creative Artists Agency for its brand management business called CAA-GBG, which instantly became a global brand management company but post serious financial loss in subsequent years. On 7 September 2016, Global Brands announced a new joint venture with Katy Perry to grow the Katy Perry brand into new consumer product categories with footwear being the first category to launch. In October 2018, Bruce Rockowitz stepped down as CEO after the sale of the company’s North American assets to Nasdaq-listed Differential Brands Group at US$1.2 billion. Richard Nixon Darling was appointed CEO and presided over the beginning of the end of the company. For financial year 2020 the company posted a loss of US$584 million vs a loss of US$388 million in 2019, widening by almost US$200 million. In a mind boggling move, the board has allowed CEO Richard Nixon Darling's remuneration to increase more than 12 fold during this period, from US$516,000 in 2019 to US$6,592,000 in 2020. On 17 June 2021, the sale of Spyder to a Korean investor netting US$19.5 million was completed but at the same time the company issued a warning to investors over its ability to continue to trade as a going concern. On 21 July 2021, trading of the shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange after it was unable to submit its year-end results. Its shares were at HKD 0.189 at the time suspension, making for a market capitalization of HKD 194.4 million, or about $25 million. On 29 July 2021, GBG USA commences voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings and is putting its apparel and footwear brands up for sale with help from a $16 million bankruptcy loan. It owes Kenneth Cole some $6 million in unsecured trade debt, roughly $3.6 million to ABG, $2 million to Sequential Brands and $860,000 Marquee Brands. The company has a $17.3 million stalking horse bid for its Aquatalia brand and is also looking to sell "a substantial portion of its remaining assets" in bankruptcy, including Ely & Walker, Airband, MagnaReady, Yarrow, B New York and Juniper unltd. The bankruptcy comes after the company sold off assets and inventory related to the Frye and Spyder brands. The brands' owner,

Authentic Brands Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchand ...

, recently reassigned those licenses to new operating partners.

Management

William Fung William Fung Kwok Lun OBE JP () (born 21 February 1949) is a Hong Kong billionaire businessman who is the group managing director of Li & Fung Group, one of the largest trading companies in Hong Kong. Early life Fung was born in 1949 in Hong ...

(Chairman)

References

{{Reflist Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Multinational companies headquartered in Hong Kong Li & Fung Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021