International News

Acquisitions and Financial News

The biggest story on every international fashionphile’s lips this month was the escalating bidding war between Dubai-based investment fund Istithmar and Japan’s Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. for new ownership of Barneys New York. In the end, Fast Retailing dropped out of the race, meaning Istithmar will pay Jones Apparel Group, parent company to Barneys, US$942.3 million in cash. According to WWD.com, Istithmar plans to earn its investment back by opening new stores throughout the U.S., starting with new flagships in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and perhaps eventually overseas.

Other big news this month is the announcement that Azzedine Alaia will buy back the Prada Group’s stake in his Parisian fashion house. The partnership was originally formed in 2000 as part of Prada’s plan to become an international fashion conglomerate. Though sales at Alaia increased significantly during Prada’s investment, both Alaia and Prada appear satisfied with the deal, unlike what transpired between Prada and Helmut Lang and Jil Sander, two other companies that were acquired during the Group’s acquisition period in the late nineties.