New owner looks to revive Bill Blass

Posted Dec 30th 2008 7:15PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Marketing and Advertising

Peacock International Holdings LLC has acquired the Bill Blass label for $10 million from NexCen Brands (NASDAQ: NEXC) and plans to restore it to some level of its old glory.

In the late 1990s, Bill Blass was doing over half a billion dollars per year in sales, but a series of sales and mergers has left the brand somewhat of an orphan.

Scott Patti, Peacock's executive vice president of licensing and sales told The Wall Street Journal that the brand still enjoys extremely strong brand recognition and added that Peacock hopes to bring the brand back with a high-end collection in nine to twelve months.

The price is certainly right: When Peacock began negotiating with NexCen six months ago, the price was $25 million but the recesion apparently lopped $15 million off that number. Even if they're unable to bring back the brand at the high end of the market, the strong brand recognition might make it a good candidate for a private label type deal with a mass merchandiser.

Tags: Bill Blass, BillBlass