The owners of the Karl Lagerfeld fashion brand sold a majority stake to G-III Apparel Group Ltd. for 200 million euros ($210 million) in cash.
G-III said Monday it agreed to buy 81 percent of Karl Lagerfeld from a group of private and public investors led by Fred Gehring of Amlon Capital. G-III had already bought a 19 percent stake in 2016 and also formed a joint venture in North America the year before.
G-III expects the brand’s retail sales could eventually surpass $2 billion.
The brand is named for the late German designer, who created his label in 1984, describing it as “intellectual sexiness.” Lagerfeld, who was creative director of Chanel for more than three decades and also designed products at Fendi, died in 2019 at the age of 85.
Karl Lagerfeld’s lines are considered affordable luxury, with recent pieces including 275-euro cashmere sweatpants and three boxer shorts for 39 euros.
With this purchase, G-III is expanding its portfolio of brands which also includes DKNY, Donna Karan and Sonia Rykiel.
By Angelina Rascouet
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