Once a skateboarding shop in New York, Supreme -- known for its red-and-white box logo -- has become an international fashion symbol, known for collaborating with both luxury and mainstream brands. It was founded by James Jebbia in 1994. Jebbia and the brands’ senior leadership team will stay with the company and continue to have creative control. It now has 12 shops from New York to Paris to Tokyo.
Supreme will benefit from VF’s scale, international presence and supply chain. With Supreme’s roots in the skateboard culture, it aligns with VF’s other activity-based brands.
“This partnership will maintain our unique culture and independence, while allowing us to grow on the same path we’ve been on since 1994,” Jebbia said in a statement.
VF plans to learn more from Supreme’s model, which relies on weekly release of new products and frequent collaborations, it said. Supreme has collaborated with retailers including Hanesbrands Inc.’s Champion, Levi Strauss & Co. and even VF’s three biggest brands, drumming up hype and broadening the appeal of the apparel involved. Supreme first teamed with Vans in 1996, and will continue to work with non-VF brands.
“This is also a consumer space we know quite a bit about,” Scott Roe, VF’s chief financial officer, said in an interview. “We’ve got about $3 billion in sales already from that street-inspired intersection between active-athletic and streetwear total addressable market. We do know something about that space.”
Morgan Stanley provided VF with a fairness opinion on the deal, while Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP was the legal adviser.
-With assistance from Jonathan Roeder.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.