Steve Madden completed the acquisition of the privately-held Schwartz & Benjamin Inc. family of companies, which specialize in the design, sourcing and sale of licensed and private label footwear.
Founded in 1923, Schwartz & Benjamin distributes its fashion footwear to wholesale customers, including better department stores and specialty boutiques, as well as the retail stores of its brand partners. Schwartz & Benjamin’s current brand partners include Kate Spade, Rebecca Minkoff, Alice + Olivia and Avec Les Filles. Schwartz & Benjamin also designs and sources private label footwear for various retailers. Schwartz & Benjamin’s trailing twelve month net sales as of December 31, 2016 were approximately $87.6 million (unaudited).
The acquisition was completed for cash at closing plus an earn-out provision based on financial performance through January 31, 2023. The transaction is expected to be approximately neutral to EPS (excluding one-time transaction and integration costs) in fiscal 2017 and to be accretive thereafter.
Edward Rosenfeld, chairman and chief executive officer, commented, “We are very pleased to complete the acquisition of Schwartz & Benjamin, a company known for its outstanding capability in designer and accessible luxury footwear. We see opportunity to expand the business by combining Schwartz & Benjamin’s strengths – which include premier execution in the design and sourcing of high-quality footwear as well as a strong portfolio of brand partners – with our proven business model and infrastructure. We are particularly pleased that Chief Executive Officer Danny Schwartz, Chief Creative Officer Barbara Schwartz and President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Shapiro will remain with Schwartz & Benjamin and continue to lead the business into its next phase of growth.”
Danny Schwartz, chief executive officer of Schwartz & Benjamin, added, “We at Schwartz & Benjamin are excited to be joining forces with Steve Madden. We are proud of our 93-year history of creating footwear that satisfies the needs of our brand partners, wholesale clients and consumers, and we look forward to continuing to do so for many years to come with the added support and resources of Steve Madden. Barbara and I are pleased that Schwartz & Benjamin will operate as a stand-alone business with its current management team and employees, resulting in the transaction being seamless to our valued clients and business partners. Schwartz & Benjamin has tremendous opportunity for growth, and we look forward to working with Steve Madden to help the company reach its potential.”
