Nine West Holdings (formerly The Jones Group and Jones Apparel Group) is an American designer, marketer and wholesaler of
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
ed
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
, shoes and
accessories. In 2019, the company restructured under the new name Premier Brands Group Holdings Llc.
Operations
Nine West Holding headquarters are in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The company also markets directly to consumers through their chain of specialty retail and value-based stores. In addition, it markets
costume jewelry under the
Givenchy brand licensed from Givenchy Corporation and footwear under the Dockers Women brand licensed from
Levi Strauss & Co.
History
In 1970,
Sidney Kimmel founded and became President of the Jones Apparel Division of
W.R. Grace & Co. Together with Grace accountant Gerard Rubin, Kimmel bought Grace's fashion division in 1975, incorporating it as Jones Apparel Group. Jones expanded quickly by bringing out new labels and licensing others, such as
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...
.In the early 1980s, Jones Apparel offered the sweatsuit fashions of
Norma Kamali, and in 1984 they acquired the license for the Gloria Vanderbilt line from Murjani. In the early 1990s, the company expanded with new lines Rena Rowan and Jones & Co. In 2004, the company purchased luxury department store chain
Barneys New York for $400 million, and sold it, in September 2007, to Dubai-based investment firm
Istithmar for $942.3 million.
In December 2013,
Sycamore Partners, which is managed by Stefan L. Kaluzny, purchased the Jones Group for about
US$2.2 billion.
Wesley Card is the CEO of The Jones Group.
In 2014, Sycamore split Jones into six different companies: Nine West Group, One Jeanswear Group, Jones New York, the Kasper Group, Stuart Weitzman and Kurt Geiger. The Jones Group was renamed Nine West Holdings and became parent to Nine West Group and One Jeanswear Group. Later in 2014, Anne Klein, Easy Spirit and NW Jewelry Group were split into separate operating companies of Nine West.
In 2014, Brian Atwood was sold to
Steve Madden. In 2015,
Stuart Weitzman was sold to
Coach and Jones New York was sold to
Authentic Brands Group.
In December 2016, Easy Spirit was sold to Marc Fisher Footwear. The Kasper Group was then purchased and incorporated under the parent company Nine West Holdings in January 2017. In January 2017, the company appointed Joel Oblonsky as the
CEO of the company.
Bankruptcy
Nine West Holdings filed for
chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2018. In July 2018, the namesake Nine West brand, as well as the Bandolino shoe brand, were sold to
Authentic Brands Group. Bondholders have accused
Sycamore Partners, the
private equity firm that purchased Nine West Holdings in 2014, of carving out valuable company assets to sell to itself, thus ensuring a profit for the fund even as the company itself headed toward bankruptcy, and argue that the company could be hurt if Sycamore-owned department store chain
Belk
Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, a ...
threatens to refuse to buy from the company if the bankruptcy settlement isn't approved.
The company emerged from bankruptcy in March 2019 and renamed itself Premier Brands Group. Divisions include One Jeanswear Group, The Jewelry Group, Kasper Group and Anne Klein.
Brands
Nine West Holdings' brands include:
*
Anne Klein
* Bandolino (sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2018)
*
Nine West (sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2018)
**Enzo Angiolini
**Circa Joan & David
*The Jewelry Group (Formerly NW Jewelry)
**
Givenchy Jewelry
**Judith Jack
**
Napier
*ONE Jeanswear Group
**Energie
**Gloria Vanderbilt
**GLO Jeans
**Jessica Simpson Jeanswear
**
l.e.i.
**Bandolino
*The Kasper Group
**Albert Nipon
**Anne Klein
**Evan Picone
**Kasper
**Le Suit
**Nine West
**Martha Stewart
*Daisy Fuentes
*Skinny Girl
References
External links
* Former official websites
**
** {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208004524/http://www.jonesgroupinc.com/ , title=The Jones Group
Clothing companies of the United States
Clothing companies based in New York City
Holding companies based in New York City
American companies established in 1970
Clothing companies established in 1970
Conglomerate companies established in 1970
Holding companies established in 1970
1970 establishments in New York (state)
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
2013 mergers and acquisitions
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018