Tailored Brands announces deal to sell Joseph Abboud trademarks

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 18, 2020

American menswear retailer Tailored Brands, Inc. announced on Friday that it has entered into an agreement to sell the Joseph Abboud trademarks to brand management company WHP Global for a total of $115 million.

 
After the deal closes, Tailored Brands will continue to hold the exclusive rights to sell and rent the Joseph Abboud brand in certain apparel and accessories categories in the U.S. and Canada through a licensing agreement with WHP. The company will also continue to operate its factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
 
According to Tailored Brands president and CEO Dinesh Lathi, the transaction is intended to allow the company to benefit from WHP’s experience in order to unlock value in the Joseph Abboud trademarks.

WHP is expected to focus on building the brand through both international and category expansion, while Tailored Brands will use the proceeds from the deal for debt repayment and to strengthen its balance sheet.
 
“The Joseph Abboud brand has played and will continue to play an important role in the assortment at our retail brands and we look forward to our new partnership with WHP and to the next phase of our relationship with the designer Joseph Abboud,” commented Lathi in a release.
 
As this relationship continues to develop, Abboud himself will be leaving Tailored Brands at the end of January in order to pursue other opportunities in the fashion industry.  
 
Based in New York, WHP is backed by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and also has financing from BlackRock. Its portfolio currently consists of the Anne Klein brand, and once it acquires the Joseph Abboud trademarks, its cross-company revenues are expected to be over $1.4 billion.
 
The deal between Tailored Brands and WHP is expected to close by the end of March, subject to the fulfilment of certain closing conditions.