Deckers Outdoor Corporation acquired upscale casual footwear maker TSUBO, LLC for approximately $6 million in cash plus a potential future earn-out, the footwear company said. TSUBO had sales of roughly $10 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2007. The deal wont affect Deckers previously announced diluted earnings per share outlook for the remainder of the year.
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, TSUBO makes a full line of sport and dress casuals, boots, sandals and heels. TSUBOs use of a proprietary bubble outsole and eco-friendly materials should fit nicely in the specialty channels, where Deckers already plays. In the U.S., the shoes are sold primarily at department stores. Overseas, TSUBO is already sold in more than a dozen countries.
“TSUBO represents an ideal complement to our existing portfolio of lifestyle brands,” said Angel Martinez, president and CEO of Deckers. “TSUBOs target consumer, product selection, industry niche and relative under-penetration in the marketplace make it an extremely good fit for us. In addition, TSUBO's commitment to quality distribution and its unique Performance Comfort platform allow us to develop a compelling brand story for the global marketplace. We are confident that we can leverage our design, marketing and distribution capabilities to grow TSUBO into a meaningful business over the next few years, consistent with our mission to build niche brands into global market leaders.”
Deckers sales have more than tripled to $448.9 million since 2003, largely on the strength of a successful global expansion of the UGG brand.
