PARIS — Courreges, one of the most iconic brands of the Sixties and still a giant business in Japan, is in play, WWD has learned.
According to market sources, the firm, owned by founder Andre Courrèges and his wife, Coqueline, has been approached with at least one offer and the couple is evaluating market interest. The identity of potential buyers could not be learned.
Given the brand’s wide renown, which contrasts with a limited geographic distribution, the company is expected to attract a wide range of possible suitors and could attract bids of more than 100 million euros, or $127 million at current exchange.
Today, Courrèges operates a global flagship on Rue François Premier in Paris — the only outlet in the world for its fragrances — and coordinates a massive licensed business in Japan.
Courrèges retail sales in Japan are estimated at around 400 million euros, or $508 million at current exchange, reflecting the brand’s popularity there, according to market sources. Courrèges is considered ripe for expansion in Asia, particularly in China and South Korea.
Reached on Thursday, a Courrèges spokeswoman declined all comment on a possible sale of the company — while offering press materials on a futuristic concept car designed by the firm.
Courrèges abruptly ended wholesale distribution of its fashions and accessories in 2002, cutting ties with such U.S. retailers as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Jeffrey, which had generated good business with a brand they characterized as “fun.” “There was a lot of untapped potential there for really doing something with the brand,” Jeffrey Kalinsky said at the time.
Founded in 1961, Courrèges is synonymous with go-go boots, short dresses and a futuristic logo. As it if were frozen in time, the all-white Paris boutique is a step back to the Space Age Sixties, with its Perspex fixtures and racks displaying patent jackets and iconic handbags.
The house is said to have a vast and meticulously preserved archive of clothing and leather goods — and wields tight control over the design of all products.
Coqueline Courrèges, an energetic, impulsive woman of 71, has headed the business for more than a decade. In recent years, she has staged unusual “happenings” to show her designs, once putting a boiling pot of tar in her Paris boutique and casting a jacket in resin.
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She also canceled a fashion show at the last minute in 1995, fearing others would copy her designs.
Courrèges has long been eyed by fashion conglomerates. During the height of the acquisitions frenzy in the late Nineties, many suitors came knocking, ranging from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to Gucci Group, sources said.
However, the asking price and terms of sale were said to be off-putting.