Marc Jacobs: What are the strengths of the American brand today?

The potential sale of Marc Jacobs by LVMH is back in the spotlight. According to the Wall Street Journal, the No. 1 luxury goods group is in talks with a number of possible buyers, including American groups Authentic, owner of Reebok and Champion, WHP Global, owner of Bonobos and Vera Wang, and Bluestar Alliance. The deal could be worth a billion dollars (850 million euros). But, what is the American brand, founded almost 40 years ago by Marc Jacobs, really worth, and what are its strengths?

In the spring of 2024, the first indiscretions circulated about a probable contact with interested investors, but LVMH firmly denied at the time that it was considering selling Marc Jacobs. Today, with the luxury goods market in sharp decline, this hypothesis seems more than plausible, especially as the group has already recently sold Off-White and Stella McCartney. Moreover, the investments made in Marc Jacobs over the past ten years do not seem to have yielded the expected results.

The luxury house has lost ground “in terms of relevance to the consumer,” according to Bernstein analyst Luca Solca, who believes that “the market would favor greater concentration of LVMH’s activities. Especially at a time when even the main houses seem to be suffering, Dior in particular.”

In almost four decades, the label has had its ups and downs. In the 2010s, in particular, it experienced a decline that led it to restructure in depth and focus on more commercial products. But today, its aura remains intact and it has succeeded in renewing its customer base, appealing to Gen Z.

In 1986, the eponymous designer launched his brand with Robert Duffy via the Jacobs Duffy Design company, backed by the Japanese Onward Group. But it wasn’t until a little later that he took off, co-founding his own Marc Jacobs International design and licensing company with Robert Duffy at the end of 1993, followed in April 1994 by his first collection, described as “grunge, trash and chic.”

The label soon caught the eye of LVMH, who recruited Marc Jacobs in 1997 to launch Louis Vuitton‘s ready-to-wear line. The French luxury goods group subsequently bought a majority stake in the brand. That same year, the label opened its first boutique in the SoHo district of Manhattan.

Buoyed by the ebullient talent of its creator, who stands out for his free-spirited, eccentric, and playful fashion, Marc Jacobs expands on all fronts with his recognizable pop, cool and chic style, blending retro and vintage seventies influences, a touch of punk, and daring couture creations. The brand broadened its audience, notably with its young and accessible Marc by Marc Jacobs line launched in 2001, while multiplying its lines and diversifications (accessories, beauty, perfume, watches, children’s). But the company began to run out of steam after the designer left Louis Vuitton in 2013, after sixteen years as artistic director.

Marc Jacobs restructured, returning to its fundamentals to refocus on a more coherent and simplified offering. Marc by Marc Jacobs is discontinued in 2015, integrating an entry-level and high-end range into its core brand. At the same time, Robert Duffy left the company. In 2017, the men’s line was discontinued. It was at this point that former Kenzo CEO Eric Marechalle, who is still in place, took the helm.

The manager will have to face, among other things, the Covid-19 crisis, which led Marc Jacobs to resize by closing a series of boutiques and reducing its teams, before putting the brand back on track. Today, the brand has 130 mono-brand boutiques worldwide and is distributed through a selection of top multi-brand retailers.

The house continues to parade in New York, winning press acclaim each time, while consolidating its creative image and reputation. Since 2021, this “Runway” couture line has been distributed exclusively by the American chain Bergdorf Goodman, and since this year in Japan by Isetan department stores.

In parallel, in 2019 the company introduces The Marc Jacobs, a more affordable contemporary line with ready-to-wear and accessories, and in 2020 launches Heaven, a more commercial, youthful, and inclusive line of clothing and accessories that breaks away from genres and surfs on nostalgia for the 1990s and 2000s and the craze for grunge style, of which the designer was a precursor. Success followed, resurrecting the brand’s coolness.

During the pandemic, the New York designer also reviewed his approach to digital and social networking. He was one of the first to capitalize on his community on TikTok, giving free rein to the platform’s young influencers to create their own content and make the brand their own. It managed to engage the youngest with all kinds of initiatives, while relying on feedback from the Chinese app’s followers to adjust its offering and better target Gen Z.

Alongside its more accessible clothing offer, the company counts on licenses and above all accessories and beauty products. Very early on, it diversified into the jewelry segment, with fragrances (2001), watches (2004), eyewear (2004) with Safilo, which last year renewed its licensing agreement until the end of 2031, and children’s fashion (2005), while in 2010 the Bookmarc bookstore was inaugurated in New York.

Launched in 2007, the Daisy fragrance is a hit, as is Perfect (2020). In 2014, the label makes its debut in cosmetics with Marc Jacobs Beauty via LVMH subsidiary Kendo Brands. Discontinued in 2021, this beauty line has just been relaunched under the aegis of Coty, the label’s perfume licensee from the outset, which has renewed its contract for a further 15 years in 2023, adding the cosmetics component.

Last June, when he left the company to take up the presidency of Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs merchandising director Robert Rizzolo described his four years at the house as “one of the most profitable and transformative periods of the company.”

“I witnessed Marc’s creative genius behind the scenes every season and helped shape some of the brand’s great moments – the meteoric rise of Tote Bag, the revival of Stam and Beauty, the relaunch of ready-to-wear, shoes, and jewelry, the cultural impact of Heaven,” he wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

While waiting for a change of ownership, the brand should be in the news again soon with the documentary on Marc Jacobs directed by his long-time friend Sofia Coppola, which will be presented at the Venice Film Festival in September.