LVMH is reportedly in talks to sell New York brand Marc Jacobs for approximately $1 billion.
Among the potential buyers are a host of brand management groups, including Authentic Brands Group (owner of Vince, Barneys New York, Hunter and Juicy Couture); Bluestar Alliance (owner of Off-White, Limited Too and Brookstone); and WHP Global (owner of Vera Wang and Rag Bone). The French conglomerate acquired a stake in Marc Jacobs in 1997, the same year Jacobs was appointed creative director of Louis Vuitton.
“We will not keep brands if we believe they are not a good add-on, or if we are not the right operator to operate them,” LVMH CFO Cécile Cabanis told investors last week during Thursday’s earnings call, making reference to the company’s sales of Off-White and Stella McCartney in response to a question about whether the company planned to expand or reduce its portfolio in the coming years. LVMH declined to comment for this story, and Marc Jacobs did not respond to a request for comment. While LVMH has not confirmed that it’s seeking a sale of Marc Jacobs, reports first surfaced last year that it was exploring options for the US brand.
If a sale were to materialise, it could serve to create more uniformity in LVMH’s portfolio, says Robin Mellery-Pratt, founding partner at intelligence and strategy company Matter, who works with luxury brands including Chloé and Versace. “The European and craftsmanship-based positioning of LVMH’s leading brands does stand the US-based, culture-first Marc Jacobs operation apart,” he says.
LVMH doesn’t break out sales for Marc Jacobs; on 24 July, the group reported that sales for its fashion and leather goods division were down 9 per cent in the second quarter to €9 billion. The brand is rarely mentioned on the company’s earnings calls, which tend to spotlight its houses worth over €1 billion. But Marc Jacobs’s cachet and legacy with LVMH remains significant.
“As a designer, Marc Jacobs is one of the industry’s pre-eminent culture engines,” Mellery-Pratt says. “Very few designers can claim to have dramatically influenced the zeitgeist in every decade since the 1980s. From his entertainment-first TikTok strategy, to the launch of its Gen Z-focused sub-label Heaven, the Juergen Teller campaign of Victoria Beckham in a carrier bag, the grunge collection at Perry Ellis, all of his work at Louis Vuitton with Stephen Sprouse and Murakami — the list goes on.”
But LVMH may look to offload Marc Jacobs in its bid to create a new ‘super class’ of luxury brands, experts agree, making reference to the company’s elevation plays across its portfolio (most recently, Dior’s price increases for Jonathan Anderson’s first collection). Plus, in the view of Bernstein luxury goods analyst Luca Solca, Marc Jacobs could be better suited elsewhere. “Designer brands with a focus on fashion have never been LVMH’s cup of tea,” Solca says, pointing to DKNY, which LVMH sold off in 2016, as another example.
A sale would mark a new era for Marc Jacobs. Where would this leave the New York brand — and how likely is it that Marc Jacobs will end up in the hands of a company that will best protect its integrity?
Who could buy it?
Some analysts view an acquisition by a brand management company as the most logical outcome. “These groups specialise in acquiring underperforming fashion brands and scaling them through licensing, wholesale and global expansion without requiring heavy creative investments,” Bryce Quillin, economist and co-founder of luxury strategy agency It’s A Working Title, says.
This outcome isn’t without risk. Brand management firms tend to prioritise short-term profitability via licensing, mass retail deals and celebrity collaborations, says Quillin. This can come at the expense of preserving the creative integrity and long-term cultural capital that luxury brands rely on, he adds. Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at Globaldata, agrees; all three are likely to push Marc Jacobs further into the accessible luxury arena, he says.
“They would be less interested in the more esoteric aspects of the brand,” says Saunders. Because of this, some analysts say that the brand would be better off in the hands of a US conglomerate (like Tapestry, now that the Capri deal is off and it’s sold Stuart Weitzman; or PVH which, analysts say, has done a solid job with Tommy Hilfiger). Solca expects that “several American conglomerates” could have interest, as well as private equity firms. As accessible luxury continues to rise as consumers face an uncertain market, Marc Jacobs remains an attractive proposition for its ability to be a “conduit for culture at a more affordable cost”, Mellery-Pratt says.
But private equity firms tend to want a bulkier existing business, not an elevation project, says Jessica Ramírez, co-founder of advisory firm The Consumer Collective. The problem remains the same for a US conglomerate. “Unless someone wants to take on the challenge to rebuild a brand and invest back in the fashion side and the bag side,” she says.
The to-do list
Commercial viability will be the focus for whoever purchases the Marc Jacobs brand. Right now, many analysts highlight the disjuncture between Marc Jacobs’s accessories and licenses (perfume and sunglasses) and its ready-to-wear.
The licenses — Coty for fragrance; Safilo Group for eyewear — are expected to remain intact. Any new owner would likely maintain or expand these agreements as (presumably) reliable revenue streams, Quillin says. Fragrance was the most-referenced aspect of the Marc Jacobs business by analysts, followed by the Marc Jacobs Tote Bag. There’s room to grow the brand’s accessories category, Ramírez says. “There’s been a lot of interest in affordable luxury handbags, and I feel like Marc Jacobs can tap into that,” she adds.
Jacobs’s runway shows — always in New York; always off-schedule — are beloved within the fashion industry, but less considered commercial engines. “Marc Jacobs needs to improve its ability to project its creative into commercial competitiveness,” by making runway collections more wearable, Quillin says.
The brand did lean towards this at its last runway show, where it launched the Christina bag. Just this week, the brand began sending the bag out to editors and influencers alike. Pieces from the Spring/Summer 2025 show in February could also be commercial successes, Ramírez adds, pointing to the pleated pants. But this needs to go further, she says — if not on the runway, in the brand’s commercial apparel offerings.
At present, Marc Jacobs’s ready-to-wear is limited in distribution. Because of this, it’s unlikely to be considered a priority profit centre to develop in the near term under whoever the new owner is, Mellery-Pratt says. That said, despite its critiques, he views the brand’s runway set-up as it stands today a key pillar of the brand’s strategy and an asset for the future.
“The scope of creativity Jacobs is able to employ and amplify each season, the depth of his immersion, and its excellence and fleetingness, is not dissimilar to the interchangeable identity expressions Gen Z and every other native TikToker exhibits,” he says. “The ready-to-wear adds to the cultural authenticity of the brand. That is crucial today, and should not be dismissed as a critical driver in the success of the Tote Bag and other commercial hits that have become seasonless.”
Considering Jacobs’s legendary status in the fashion industry, maintaining that cultural legacy should be a top priority alongside driving sales. Projects like Sofia Coppola’s forthcoming documentary about Jacobs, Marc By Sofia, set to premiere at this summer’s Venice Film Festival, offer insight into the designer’s storied history and impact, and are poised to renew interest in the man and the brand. That should be protected. “If Marc Jacobs is treated primarily as a licensing engine, rather than a living fashion house with a designer-led vision, its distinctness could be diluted,” Quillin says.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
How Magnum ice cream became an It-girl accessory
The new rules of influencer trips
New York Fashion Week partner announces plan for centralised venues
