Jimmy Choo Ltd

This article is about the Jimmy Choo brand and company. For the designer who gave his name to the company, see Jimmy Choo.
Jimmy Choo
Subsidiary
Industry Consumer goods
Founded 1996
Founder Tamara Mellon OBE,
Jimmy Choo OBE
Headquarters London, England
Key people
 Peter Harf, Chairman
Pierre Denis, Chief Executive Officer
Sandra Choi, Creative Director and designer
Jonathan Sinclair, Chief Financial Officer
Products Shoes, handbags, accessories, fragrances
Revenue £317.9 million (2015)[1]
£29.8 million (2015)[1]
£19.4 million (2015)[1]
Parent JAB Holding Company
Website www.jimmychoo.com

Jimmy Choo is a British high fashion house specialising in shoes, handbags, accessories and fragrances. The company, J. Choo Limited, was founded in 1996 by couture shoe designer Jimmy Choo and Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon OBE. The brand claims to have been a favourite of Princess Diana.[2] It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

History

A pair of green Jimmy Choo shoes

The brand traces its roots to a bespoke shoemaker named Jimmy Choo, based in the East End of London in the early 1990s, who catered to the global jet set, including Diana, Princess of Wales. The Jimmy Choo company was founded in 1996, with Mr Choo’s niece, Sandra Choi, who had been heading up design in the East End atelier, coming on board as Creative Director, a position she holds to this day. Mr Choo departed the company in 2001.

Choo sold his 50% share in the Jimmy Choo company to Equinox Luxury Holdings Ltd. in 2001. Lion Capital acquired a majority shareholding in November 2004,[3][4] and the company was sold in 2007 to TowerBrook Capital Partners for £225 million. In 2011 it was sold to Labelux (which was integrated into its parent company, JAB Holding Company in July 2014) for £525.5 million.[5]

J. Choo Limited is currently run by ex-LVMH executive Pierre Denis.[6]

Jimmy Choo’s IPO was announced in September 2014. In October 2014, Jimmy Choo announced it would price its London Stock Exchange listing at 140 pence a share, giving the firm an equity value of £546 million.[7]

Shoes under licence

Separate to the Jimmy Choo ready-to-wear brand, Mr. Jimmy Choo began Jimmy Choo Couture Limited in late 2006 to continue his work on the exclusive Jimmy Choo Couture shoe line, which is produced under license from J. Choo Ltd., available by appointment only at Connaught Street in London. [8]

Stores

Jimmy Choo boutique at Woodbury Common

The first Jimmy Choo store was opened in 1996 on Motcomb Street in London. Two years later, the company expanded to the US, opening two stores in New York City and Beverly Hills. Over the following years, Jimmy Choo expanded its store portfolio by opening directly operated stores and with local partners. Over 2011 and 2012, Jimmy Choo took control of the majority of its Asian operations in China,[9] Hong Kong[10] and Japan.[11] Several boutiques are to be found in secondary outlets such as Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as smaller boutique stores on shopping estates such as Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York.[12]

Awards

The brand has won awards for its products, including the British Fashion Council Awards Designer Brand category in 2008,[13] the Accessories Council Brand of the Year 2008,[14] the Footwear News Brand of the Year Award, and the 2009 Nordstrom Partners In Excellence award.[15]

Enforcement

J. Choo Ltd. has over 400 design patents to its name.[16] The company has brought several prominent cases for copyright and trademark infringement, as well as being the target of "knock-off" counterfeit imports in the UK, the US and Australia.[17][18][19] The company has sued Oasis, Warehouse and Marks & Spencer for copying shoes and bags.[20][21]

In December 2008 the company threatened to sue a New Zealand website, Kookychoo.com, for trademark infringement.[22] Kookychoo is a company which sells products unrelated to shoes; items such as toys, jewellery and bean bags. Kookychoo's owner stated, "It's terrifying to be honest because I'm feeling really bullied. There was never any malice intended, we just wanted to start a small New Zealand business so it's quite frightening."[23]

Cultural references

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Preliminary Results 2015" (PDF). Jimmy Choo. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Moss, Hilary (9 November 2009). "Jimmy Choo: I was Princess Diana's Shoemaker". Huffington Post. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Andrew (30 June 2014). "JAB Takes Control of Jimmy Choo-Owner Labelux as CEO Steps Down". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Arthurs, Deborah (14 November 2011). "Tamara Mellon leaves Jimmy Choo (but walks off with £85m in her bag)". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Jimmy Choo sells for £525.5 million". London Evening Standard. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "Pierre Denis, CEO of Jimmy Choo". elitetraveler.com.
  7. ↑ Jimmy Choo set to price London IPO at 140 pence a share. Reuters, 16 October 2014
  8. ↑ "As H&M launches a Jimmy Choo collection for the mass market, the original Choo tells Roya Nikkhah why he's happier designing for a small and exclusive clientele.". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Jimmy Choo takes control of Chinese distribution". retail-week.com.
  10. ↑ Claer Barrett (September 6, 2011). "Jimmy Choo buys out Hong Kong partner". Financial Times.
  11. ↑ "Jimmy Choo to acquire Japan operations". My-Retail Media.
  12. ↑ "Woodbury Common". Jimmy Choo. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "2008 Award Winners". 25 November 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Jimmy Choo awarded brand of the year award by the Accessories Council". TowerBrook Capital Partners L.C. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  15. ↑ Ramey, Joanna (26 May 2009). "Nordstrom Honors Ugg, Jimmy Choo". Footwear News. Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "IPEXL.com Applicant/Assignee - J Choo". ipexl.com.
  17. ↑ "Counterfeit goods seized at port". BBC News. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  18. ↑ Bay City News (19 May 2008). "Customs Officials Seize $22 Million In Chinese Merchandise At Port Of Oakland". Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  19. ↑ AAP (4 March 2011). "Fake fashion worth $2m seized". news.com.au. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  20. ↑ Muspratt, Caroline (19 December 2006). "Jimmy Choo handbags M&S". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  21. ↑ Mesure, Susie (1 November 2009). "Designer tie-ups: A high street love affair". The Independent. London. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  22. ↑ "Jimmy Choo threatens to sue NZ website". Stuff.co.nz. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  23. ↑ "Jimmy Choo kicks up a fuss over NZ based 'KookyChoo' website". 3 News. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  24. ↑ Elliott, Hannah (16 June 2011). "The 15 Most Iconic Jimmy Choos". Forbes.
  25. ↑ Binkley, Christina (30 April 2014). "How a Jimmy Choo Shoe Became a Global Best Seller - WSJ". WSJ.
  26. ↑ "The Devil Wears Prada - Movie Quotes - Rotten Tomatoes". rottentomatoes.com.
  27. ↑ Julia Jones: The Salt-Stained Book, 2011, Golden Duck, ISBN 978-1-899262-04-5.

Further reading

External links

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