LVMH is selling Marc Jacobs to WHP Global in a deal announced Thursday, handing the New York-based brand-management firm control of one of fashion’s best-known names for an undisclosed price. G-III Apparel Group will join WHP Global in ownership of the brand, and Marc Jacobs will stay on as founder and creative director after the transaction closes.
The deal is understood to value Marc Jacobs at around $1 billion, and WHP Global said the addition will push its global retail sales above $9.5 billion. G-III said the transaction amounts to an about $500 million investment for the company, which will work with WHP in a 50/50 joint venture that keeps ownership of Marc Jacobs’s intellectual property. G-III will then buy the operating business from the venture and enter a long-term licensing agreement.
The sale marks the end of a 30-year run under LVMH, which bought a majority stake in Marc Jacobs in 1997 after Jacobs had been appointed the first creative director of Louis Vuitton. The brand, founded in 1984 by Jacobs and his business partner Robert Duffy, grew under LVMH from a niche New York label into an internationally recognized fashion house. It is one of the smaller names in LVMH’s stable, and the group does not break out sales for its fashion and leather goods division.
WHP Global, a New York-based firm, already owns Vera Wang and Rag & Bone, and its portfolio also includes G-Star, Joe’s and Express. The company has been building a roster of established consumer brands, and the addition of Marc Jacobs gives it another global label with a long runway in accessories, apparel and licensing.
LVMH chief Bernard Arnault praised Jacobs as a designer of rare creativity and unique vision, and said his impact on fashion was undeniable. He thanked the designer for helping drive the success of the maison and the broader group over the last 30 years, adding that the new chapter should open fresh avenues for the brand and its designer to continue inspiring customers and creators worldwide.
G-III chairman and chief executive Morris Goldfarb called Marc Jacobs one of the most influential names in fashion and said the transaction reflects his company’s long-standing commitment to building a diversified portfolio of iconic, globally relevant brands. Jacobs, for his part, said his meeting with WHP Global chair and chief executive Yehuda Shmidman made it clear that the firm’s respect and affection for the house was genuine, and he thanked Arnault and the LVMH team for their support.
The label’s path has included several reinventions. Marc by Marc Jacobs launched in 2001 and was discontinued in 2015, while Heaven by Marc Jacobs debuted in 2020 and was aimed at a younger audience. With the sale now set, the next phase is less about launching a new identity than about proving that one of fashion’s most recognizable names can keep its pull under new ownership.
