G-III Buys Two Women’s Brands

NEW YORK – Continuing to diversify beyond its original base in outerwear, G-III Apparel Group has acquired various assets of two affiliated companies, Jessica Howard and Industrial Cotton, for $8.1 million.

Jessica Howard makes moderate and better dresses under the Jessica Howard and Eliza J brands, as well as through stores’ private labels, and enjoys distribution in US retailers including Macy’s, Dillard’s, Coldwater Creek and Nordstrom. Industrial Cotton specializes in junior denim with distribution in Sears, Kohl’s, Belk’s and JC Penney.

“We will gain some immediate scale in dresses and believe there is an excellent opportunity for us to grow this business through adding new dress licenses and expanding the private label business,” said Morris Goldfarb, chairman and chief executive officer of New York-based G-III. “We will also gain added expertise in sportswear through the addition of Industrial Cotton.”

He said both businesses can be expanded through broader distribution and additional revenue and also can benefit from “improved sourcing, better operational controls and more efficient financial management. At the same time, the additional infrastructure and scale which these businesses will bring to our company should prove meaningful.”

The company didn’t identify the sellers of the assets or whether the acquisition was made for cash or other consideration.

G-III manufactures and markets outerwear and sportswear through its own labels and retailers’ private label programs as well as through licenses with various manufacturers, designers and sports franchises, including the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.