Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI), one of the world’s largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and accessories, today announced an investment in and licensing agreement with Le TIGRE 360 Global. This is another exciting step forward in the Company’s growth as a brand builder and its plans to double sales of Owned Brands by 2026.
Designer Brands adds Le TIGRE to the Company’s portfolio of Owned Brands, which allows Designer Brands to develop and produce product and provides the Company a unique opportunity to share premium athletic product with its customers. The current portfolio of brands includes Vince Camuto, Reebok, Hush Puppies, Jessica Simpson, Crown Vintage, JLO Jennifer Lopez, Mix No. 6, Lucky Brand and Kelly & Katie. The look and feel of each of these Owned Brands come in many different forms, including ownership, licensing, partnerships, and customized agreements, all of which ensure access, enhanced margins, and collaborative working relationships. The addition of Le TIGRE, along with the recently announced partnership with Reebok, enables the Company to grow Owned Brand dominance in the increasingly important athletic category, further controlling its overall brand destiny while leveraging an industry leading direct-to-consumer infrastructure of coast-to-coast stores, a billion-dollar digital platform and a nearly 30 million member VIP loyalty program.
“Le TIGRE has been a loved American apparel brand since 1977,” said Bill Jordan, Designer Brands president. “Its unique style is the perfect addition to our growing portfolio of Owned Brands that customers have come to expect. We are excited to have yet another way to inspire self-expression.”
Since 2017, the Le TIGRE brand has been owned and managed by joint venture investment partners and brand licensing experts, Infinity Brands and Hilco Inc., which operates as Le TIGRE 360 Global, LLC. As stewards of the iconic brand for the past several years, the Le TIGRE 360 Global team expanded the business with a highly focused premium retail distribution strategy focused on millennial consumers seeking branded apparel reflecting a unique personal style and individualism.
“Le TIGRE 360 Global is thrilled about the strategic partnership with Designer Brands Inc.,” said Ike S. Franco, Infinity Brands chief executive officer. “As a leader in footwear, they will undoubtedly bring inspiring and unique designs to the marketplace, producing and delivering the highest quality products and engaging a large multi-generational audience that will expand the brand’s footprint significantly. This will truly disrupt the footwear marketplace.”
Designer Brands will exclusively design and produce Le TIGRE footwear to be sold primarily through DSW and The Shoe Company direct-to-consumer stores and .com channels, in addition to select wholesale accounts and through letigreglobal.com.
