Retail in Asia

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PVH buys out Tommy Hilfiger JV in China

US clothing conglomerate PVH Corp. has taken full control of TH Asia Ltd – its joint venture for Tommy Hilfiger in China –  by acquiring the remaining 55 percent interest from its JV partner Apax Partners for about USD172 million, the company said on Wednesday.

Apax Partners, one of Europe’s largest private equity firms, bought Tommy Hilfiger in 2006 for EUR1.2 billion and sold most of it to PVH in 2010 for EUR2.2b except the China unit. The latest deal is expected to add approximately USD100 million of revenue to PVH and be slightly accretive to 2016 earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis.

“This transaction has been envisioned since PVH and the funds advised by Apax Partners established the Tommy Hilfiger China joint venture in connection with the Tommy Hilfiger acquisition in 2010. With the closing of this transaction, our Tommy Hilfiger business can now operate directly its fastest growing market, while leveraging our well-established infrastructure in Asia, our regional leadership expertise and strong brand momentum across both our Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein businesses in the region. We look forward to the continued growth of the Tommy Hilfiger business in China,” said Emanuel Chirico, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PVH Corp.

PVH Corp, which also owns the Calvin Klein and Van Heusen brands, has over 30,000 associates operating in over 40 countries with over USD8 billion in 2015 revenues. The company posted EUR2.1b of sales for the four quarter of 2015 last month – a 7 percent growth from the previous year.

The designer apparel maker said in February that the Tommy Hilfiger business in China has doubled from approximately USD70 million in revenue to a projected USD140 million in revenue for 2015 since 2012, the first full year of operations after the joint venture acquired the Tommy Hilfiger China business from the former licensee. There are over 350 Tommy Hilfiger stores in China, of which 65 are directly operated.

(Source: Yoko Wang)