Apax Partners

Redefining the Group’s focus to reflect the brand’s global presence, premium brand image and positioning

Unleashing the potential of a global fashion brand

Tommy Hilfiger is a leading lifestyle brand and one of the largest designer brands globally. Distributed in 65 countries, the group’s products can be found in its network of dedicated retail stores in Europe, the United States and Canada, as well as in leading specialty and department stores throughout Europe and North America.

With approximately 5,400 employees worldwide, the Group designs, sources and markets men’s and women’s casual wear, sportswear, jeans, children’s wear and footwear. In addition, the Group’s business includes approximately 35 product licences and eight geographic licences worldwide, through which a broad array of apparel, accessories, fragrance and home furnishings are offered and distributed.

The company story began in 1982 when designer Thomas J. Hilfiger founded the company, which subsequently went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1992.

During this period the Company grew in different directions in the US and Europe and analysts based their assumptions on the performance of the company in its domestic market. In reality, the US brand had been devalued by a move into highstreet sportswear, while the European arm retained a reputation as a luxury fashion label. Frustrated by this dislocation, the European management began to investigate the possibility of acquiring the company.

“We developed the idea to make an offer for the company because we didn’t agree with the global strategy. In the US things had been going down for a while and we didn’t think that management, at that time, had the ideas to fix that. They had the wrong perspective on the business entirely.” Fred Gehring, CEO

In May 2006, Tommy Hilfiger’s European management, acting together with Apax Funds (AEVI and USVII), acquired Tommy Hilfiger for a purchase price of approximately US $1.6bn. Upon completion of the management buyout, Fred Gehring and Ludo Onnink, both of whom had been with the European business since its inception in 1997 and had been instrumental in its success, were appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer of the Company, respectively.

Since the management buyout, an important part of the group’s strategy has been to redefine the group’s focus to reflect the brand’s global presence, premium brand image and positioning, and to improve operating efficiencies and eliminate loss-making activities.

The group has undertaken a number of key initiatives including the revitalisation of the corporate culture in the US and the extension of successful European products into the US market. The US brand has been repositioned and the wholesale organisation has been rationalised.

In terms of CSR, the company supports various initiatives through the Tommy Hilfiger Foundation which is funded by annual company donations and is managed by three full-time company employees. In addition, the company implemented a strict code of conduct that covers the following areas: forced labour, child labour, harassment or abuse, discrimination, health and safety, freedom of association, wages and benefits, work hours, overtime compensation, contract labour and legal and ethical business practices.