Shares in Jimmy Choo rise as the luxury shoemaker puts itself up for sale
Shares in Jimmy Choo soared after the luxury shoe retailer yesterday unveiled plans to put itself up for sale as part of a “strategic review”.
It said in a statement that it had “decided to conduct a review of the various strategic options open to the company to maximise value for its shareholders”, adding that it was “seeking offers for the company”.
Shares in Jimmy Choo, which was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 2014, surged in
morning trading and were up more than 9 per cent by the afternoon, valuing the group at more than £700m.
The move was backed by JAB Luxury, the brand’s largest shareholder, despite the retailer confirming that it had not yet received any approaches or offers. JAB is the investment arm of the Reimann family, which has holdings in a wide range of companies including consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser and doughnut firm Krispy Kreme.
Last month Jimmy Choo reported annual revenue growth rose 15 per cent to £364m in the year to the end of December, while earnings increased by 16 per cent to £59m over the period.
However, analyst said challenging conditions in the luxury retail market at home could be behind it decision to sell the business. “On the surface these are an impressive set of results for Jimmy Choo. However, the retailer’s reported high revenues were largely a result of currency changes during the year, which caused both sales values gains and changes to shopping patterns, as tourists favoured buying luxury items in the UK,” Fiona Paton, retail analyst at GlobalData, said.
“With global like-for-like sales down 0.8 per cent, Jimmy Choo needs to do more to boost brand appeal. Competitors like Burberry have invested in personalised marketing campaigns and teamed up with highprofile stars such as Sienna Miller to create feature-film style content. The retailer should look to create more creative campaigns and hire a well-known brand ambassador to gain more relevance and excitement,” she said.
Jonathan Buxton, partner and head of consumer at Cavendish Corporate Finance, said: “The announcement comes amid a continuing decrease in top-line growth for the luxury shoe maker, which fell to only 2 per cent in 2016, falling by more than half of the 7 per cent growth the firm achieved in 2015.
“The company has faced challenging conditions in the luxury retail market at home, which has seen some brands continue to prosper while others also report disappointing revenues. What remains to be seen is whether growing interest from Asia and the Middle East for luxury UK brands, will see Jimmy Choo receiving offers from foreign buyers searching for well-known British brands.”