Jones Group Acquires Brian Atwood Designs
Big things are in store for Brian Atwood.
The footwear designer—who recently expanded to handbags—has sold a majority of his label to the Jones Group for an undisclosed sum, Women's Wear Daily reports.
The Jones Group, which also runs Rachel Roy, Nine West, Stuart Weitzman, and part of Jessica Simpson's fashion empire, will now help the label boost its global profile as it looks to branch out to the jewelry and apparel categories.
"Jones is an industry leader with such an expertise in building and operating global brands,” says Atwood, who will retain a minority stake in the company and stay on as creative director and designer.
"[We will] be able to fully realize my brand’s potential and what it looks like, smells like, and anything about it. For any designer, that’s the dream.”
The celebrity-adored designer had previously entered a licensing partnership with Jones for his offshoot B Brian Atwood contemporary line.
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"Our successful launch of B Brian Atwood has been a gradual building of a long-term partnership, and the collection demonstrated to us that there is strong demand for his vision, which our team can execute brilliantly against his ideas,” Richard Dickson, Jones’ president and chief executive officer of branded business, tells WWD. “We believe he has global demand, and the two companies combined could be that much more powerful.”
As for dabbling with new categories, Atwood says that the possibilities are endless.
"Anything that fits and makes sense for the brand,” he says. “There are really no limits.”
That's what we like to hear!
