Authentic Brands Group acquires majority stake in Frye

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Apr 27, 2017

Authentic Brands Group, owner of brands such as Aéropostale, Juicy Couture, and Tretorn, announced on Thursday that it has acquired a 51% stake in Frye from Global Brands Group. The acquisition marks as the first time ABG and Global Brands have co-owned a brand.

 
Founded in 1863, Frye offers handcrafted footwear and bags for men, women and children. Today, the American heritage brand is available at 13 freestanding stores in the US and online, as well as at specialty and department stores such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Dillard’s.
 
ABG and Global Brands Group plan to expand Frye to new product categories and grow its global retail presence with new standalone stores and shop-in-shops, including three locations slated to open in the US in July. Global Brands will develop Frye’s new product categories that include apparel, footwear, belts, bags, cold weather accessories, hosiery, underwear, costume jewelry and soft home goods.

“Frye is an American legacy brand which has been synonymous with quality and style for more than a century,” said Jamie Salter, Chairman and CEO of ABG. “Global Brands is an incredible business partner and we are thrilled to form a partnership with them on such an esteemed brand.”
 
The new acquisition follows ABG’s acquisition of the Greg Norman brand earlier this year and the extension of ABG’s sunglasses license agreement with Safilo for Juicy Couture.
 
In addition, Global Brands, which owns licenses for Under Armour, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole and Cole Haan, will find out on April 27 if its license agreement with BCBG is approved. The agreement includes the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of BCBG Max Azria, BCBGeneration and the BCBG Paris footwear collection.