Japan's Fast Retailing to buy majority stake in denim clothing designer J Brand Holdings for $290 mn

Japan's casual clothing retailer Fast Retailing Co yesterday announced plans to acquire a controlling stake in US premium denim clothing designer J Brand Holdings, for $290 million.

Fast Retailing is buying an 80.1 per cent stake from the management of J Brand and New York-based private equity firm Star Avenue Capital. J Brand management will hold the remaining 19.9 per cent stake in J Brand.

Star Avenue Capital had acquired a controlling stake in J Brand in 2010 for an undisclosed sum.

Los Angeles, California-based J Brand is a leading contemporary fashion company focusing in women's and men's denim apparel.

Founded in 2005 by Jeff Rudes, the company has developed a variety of unique denim brands like Paris 2000, Area Code, the trendy junior line of Lycra knits, and A Gold E, the successful denim sportswear brand in partnership with industry icons Ron Herman and Adriano Goldschmied.

Its products are sold in over 2,000 specialty boutiques and luxury retailers in more than 20 countries worldwide, including at Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Jeffrey and Ron Herman in the US, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges in London, Le Bon Marche in Paris, Biffi in Milan, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, and Tsum in Moscow.
 
J Brand reported revenues of a $124 million for the fiscal year ended December 2011.