French Connection Chief Eyes Millions on Sale of Brand He Built
(Bloomberg) -- After more than four decades at the helm of French Connection Group Plc, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Marks is preparing to sell the clothing company he helped create.
The company said it's in the early stages of looking for a buyer, lifting its shares as much as 45 percent. Marks, who has a stake of almost 40 percent, is looking to sell after turning French Connection into one of the U.K.'s most recognizable retail brands before it fell on hard times amid the rise of Amazon.com Inc. and “fast fashion” giants.
Even after Monday's surge, the company is worth only about 54 million pounds ($71 million), with its shares trading at about one-ninth their 2004 peak. French Connection has said, however, that it's making progress toward returning to profitability later this year.
While Marks is the largest shareholder in the company, billionaire Mike Ashley's Sports Direct International Plc holds about a quarter of French Connection. Ashley expanded his U.K. retail presence over the summer with the purchase of department-store chain House of Fraser, after investments in several other store chains in Britain and the U.S. A representative for Sports Direct did not immediately return a request for comment.
French Connection gained notoriety in the 1990s when it launched a marketing campaign that mashed together the initials for the company's name and country of domicile in a cheeky acronym. Selling clothing emblazoned with phrases like “fcuk fashion,” it rode the “Cool Britannia” wave to international prominence before losing ground to bigger, nimbler rivals like Inditex SA's Zara and Associated British Foods Plc's Primark, as well as online sellers like Asos Plc.
Marks said in September that the company remains on track to return to profitability later this year, despite declining sales.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Mathis in London at wmathis2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Marthe Fourcade
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
-
'Never Seen This Level Of Negativity': Sandeep Tandon Says The Next Rally May Be Closer Than You Think
Veteran investor Sandeep Tandon says foreign selling is easing, large-caps are due a comeback and mid-caps are crowded, while he turns positive on gold, power and pharma this Diwali.
-
Indians Stay With Family, Not In Hotels | The Reason Why
India still lacks enough clean, reliable and affordable hotels for budget-conscious travellers.
-
The Economic Imperative: Analysing The Material Driving Force Behind India-Canada Strategic Reset
This economic complementarity is further reinforced by deep institutional investment ties and talent mobility, which form the bedrock of the bilateral framework.
