Dive Brief:
- Authentic Brands Group has entered a partnership with Baozun Inc. for its Hunter Boot Limited property in the Greater China and Southeast Asia regions, the company announced Monday.
- Under the deal, Baozun has acquired a 51% interest in Hunter’s intellectual property across the regions, and Baozun will design, manufacture, market and distribute Hunter products there.
- Authentic bought Hunter’s intellectual property in June as part of its strategy to diversify its portfolio outside of the United States.
Dive Insight:
When Authentic acquired the British heritage brand, it also deepened its partnerships with the Batra Group and Marc Fisher Footwear to handle the distribution of Hunter in Europe and the U.K. and the U.S., respectively.
At the time, Authentic teased it would be announcing further partnerships for the Hunter brand in Canada, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and the Asian Pacific region.
“This strategic move is in line with our strategy to think global and act local,” Jamie Salter, founder, chairman and CEO of Authentic said in the release. “By partnering with Baozun, a leader in digital and e-commerce experiences in China and Southeast Asia, we are able to combine our expertise in brand management with their deep understanding of the local market nuances and cultural trends.”
The Baozun and Authentic partnership is an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement, and it will be assigned by ABG Hunter LLC to Hunter IP Holdco as the licensor across the region.
Baozun Inc. serves more than 400 brands across industries and operates e-commerce, brand management and digital commerce lines, per the release. Earlier this year, it bought Gap Greater China and currently operates the Gap brand business through stores and e-commerce for China and Hong Kong under a franchise agreement. Some of its other brand deals include Philips, Nike and Microsoft.
“This marks another milestone in our transformation where all three business lines will cooperate together to deliver an extraordinary suite of services to leading global brand companies in China and other Asian markets,” Vincent Qiu, chairman and CEO of Baozun, said in the release.
Beyond Hunter’s signature Wellington boot, the 160-year-old company also sells men’s, women’s and children’s waterproof and weatherproof footwear, outerwear, bags and accessories.
Authentic, a company known to buy struggling businesses, has been on a recent deal making streak. One of its joint ventures, the SPARC Group, struck a deal last week with fast fashion giant Shein that will allow Forever 21 and Shein to distribute each other’s products through both companies’ digital and retail channels.
Authentic holds more than 50 lifestyle, entertainment and media brands, including Nautica and Reebok. In addition to Hunter, it recently bought the intellectual property of Vince, Boardriders and Rockport.
