Jessica Simpson wanted her billion dollar fashion label back, and she once considered “borrowing against her homes” to do so. In a lon...
Jessica Simpson wanted her billion dollar fashion label back, and she once considered “borrowing against her homes” to do so.
In a long interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, the business mogul has revealed the desperate steps she has taken to save her fashion empire.
“Even if I have to move to a very small place in Ireland, I will,” said Simpson, 41.
The decision to take over his business came at an already dramatic period in his life.
In 2019, when she was 34 weeks pregnant with her third child, Simpson was hospitalized with severe bronchitis as her daughter’s condition began to deteriorate.
“Her oxygen levels were dropping. I couldn’t breathe,” said Simpson, to whom an oxygen machine was hooked up. Although his health and that of his daughter had stabilized, it was time to turn his attention to the problem. health of his empire.
The company she launched in 2005, the Jessica Simpson Collection, had hit $ 1 billion in sales in 2014, but in the years that followed it was slipping into financial ruin.
His decision on a hospital bed to take back control of the business would mark the start of a two-year battle with Sequential Brands Group Inc., which bought the majority of the business in 2015, leaving Simpson and his mother behind. , Tina, with a minority stake of 37.5%.
But after a few years, it was clear that her affordable lifestyle brand, which produces shoes, clothing, perfumes and other items for women, would not grow under Sequential as they had promised the youngster. star.
The business was in financial difficulty, and Simpson knew that the business she had created from scratch was in danger.
“My name was on it,” Simpson said. “I never stray from my name.”
One of the houses she was willing to abandon to save her inheritance? A six bedroom, 10 bathroom Hidden Hills mansion that spans 11,000 square feet and sits on over 2 acres of land. Simpson bought the house in 2013 for $ 11.5 million from Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
“We’re ready to go into the trenches,” Simpson continued. “Pay it off and earn it ourselves. “
Sequential bought the Jessica Simpson collection for $ 353 million at the time – their biggest acquisition by far. But those who had a stake in the brand quickly realized that they had taken the lead.
“How, in the name of God, are they going to make enough money from the licenses to cover the costs?” Michael Stone, chairman and co-founder of brand licensing agency Beanstalk Group LLC, told Bloomberg. “I couldn’t do the math.”
By August 2021, Sequential Brands Group Inc. would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
And a month later, Simpson reportedly offered to buy out the bankruptcy brand for $ 65 million.
In October, before she knew it, Simpson was CEO of the Jessica Simpson Collection after her determination to reclaim the brand.
“It means the absolute world to me to be able to take full ownership of my brand,” said Simpson. Shoe News in a separate interview.
“After 16 years of activity, I feel ready to face this next exciting phase with open arms. I know the sky is the limit when my mom, our amazing team and I get completely locked into our clients.
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