Alexander Wang has sold minority stakes to two Chinese investors: Youngor Group and Challenjers Capital. These investments mark Alexander Wang’s first outside investment, an important step for his family-owned brand after allegations of sexual assault were made against him in 2020. Despite the impact of the allegations, the deal has been in the works since before the pandemic.
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Based in Jingbo, Zhejiang Province, Youngor Group ranked fourth among the 10 biggest listed Chinese fashion companies by revenue in 2021. Youngor Group was founded 43 years ago as a men’s tailoring brand. Since then, it has grown into a multifaceted conglomerate with operations in apparel, property development, investment, textile manufacturing, and global trade. Over the past two decades, the brand claims to have dominated the shirting and men’s tailoring in China.
During the past year, the company’s fashion unit, which includes Youngor, Youngor Mayor, Hart Schaffner Marx, and Hanp, made CNY 6.82 billion (USD 1.01 billion). Its previous investments include Norwegian performancewear label Helly Hansen and high-end golf lifestyle store S+G, as well as American streetwear brand Undefeated.
Challenjers Capital was founded in 2014 and has two currency funds, with a cumulative asset management scale of more than CNY 10 billion. So far, it has invested in more than 200 start-ups and many well-known consumer brands.
“When the brand was first established in 2005, I had no idea that it would grow to the scale it has today. Now that the brand’s North American and global retail expansion plans have been launched, I am very excited about the future of the brand and the support from Youngor Group and Challenjers” Wang emphasized in the statement.
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Alexander Wang expands its global presence through retail stores around the world and continues investments in e-commerce, marketing, and innovation. Using the funding and the external expertise that comes with it, Wang expects the company to double its revenue within five years – it currently generates USD 200 million a year. Moreover, Wang claims that the brand has posted double-digit revenue growth and double-digit EBITDA growth since 2019.