Liz Claiborne Inc. is selling its namesake brand and several others to concentrate on its Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand and Kate Spade labels. The company, which hasn't had an annual profit since 2006, said it will change its name to reflect that emphasis.
“Over the past few years, we have worked diligently to turn this into a more efficient, dynamic, brand-centric, retail-based company,” CEO William McComb said. “Today marks the culmination of these efforts.”
Liz Claiborne said it will sell the domestic and international trademark rights for both its Liz Claiborne brands and the U.S. and Puerto Rico trademark rights for the Monet jewelry brand to department store operator J.C. Penney Co. for about $288 million. The Liz Claiborne brands include Liz Claiborne, Claiborne, Liz, Liz & Co., Concepts by Claiborne, LC, Elizabeth, LizGolf, LizSport, Liz Claiborne New York (LCNY) and Lizwear brands.
It is also selling the Kensie brands – which includes Kensie, Kensiegirl and Mac & Jac – to Bluestar Alliance and completed the sale of its Dana Buchman brand to Kohl's Corp. on Monday, with both transactions bringing in proceeds of about $40 million.
Liz Claiborne expects to generate about $328 million from its sales of the Liz Claiborne and other brands. It anticipates using its proceeds to lower debt further.
Liz Claiborne anticipates closing on the sale of its Liz Claiborne, Monet and Kensie brands in the fourth quarter.
