The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Oprah Winfrey and the actress Reese Witherspoon were among new investors in Spanx Inc. as the womenswear brand completed a majority sale to funds managed by Blackstone Inc.
The transaction valued Atlanta-based Spanx at $1.2 billion, according to a statement Thursday.
“To have the support of these smart, thoughtful, world-class female founders who have also disrupted their industries to elevate and support women means everything,” Spanx founder Sara Blakely said in the statement.
Blackstone and Spanx intend to create an all-female board, and women comprised Blackstone’s entire investment team for the transaction, according to the statement.
Blakely often recounts her marketing tactics during the company’s early days, including modelling her own undergarments in pitch meetings to convince retailers to carry the products. Spanx was an early pioneer of shapewear, a category that includes HoneyLove Inc. and Kim Kardashian West’s Skims Body Inc.
Blackstone’s investment follows other acquisitions in companies founded by women, including Whitney Wolfe Herd’s Bumble Inc. and Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media.
By Steve Dickson
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Spanx Receives Majority Investment from Blackstone
With the deal with the private equity firm, the shapewear brand is now valued at $1.2 billion, the companies announced.
Richemont, owner of jeweller Cartier, said on Wednesday it would not inject any cash into online luxury retailer Farfetch, following a report that the latter was exploring going private.
Consumer spending over Thanksgiving Weekend may have exceeded expectations, but shoppers may be stretching their wallets too thin, analysts say.
A small but growing online fashion community is practising a more critical form of consumption, marrying the quiet luxury trend with a desire for value and environmentally responsible products.
With consumers expected to buy less this holiday season, categories poised to outperform the industry include off-price and personal care. But brands can still appeal to shoppers by conveying a sense of value, whether through discounts or a point of differentiation.