TowerBrook Capital Partners LP (New York) has completed its $835 million acquisition of True Religion Apparel Inc. (Vernon, Calif.) and installed David Conn as new ceo.
David Conn has been president of VF Corp.’s Retail Licensed Brands Group since 2009. He will report to Andrew Rolfe, managing director of TowerBrook, who will become chairman of True Religion.
As reported by Women’s Wear Daily, Eric Bauer, who was chief operating officer of The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. (Secaucus, N.J.) until June 2012 and previously executive vp of brand operations and chief operating officer of Gap North America (San Francisco), has been appointed to the dual role of chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the premium denim brand. Pete Collins, True Religion’s cfo for the past six years, will retire.
Lynne Koplin, president of the company for the past two years and interim ceo since the departure of founder Jeffrey Lubell in March, will assume the new post of chief merchandising officer. Lubell was told in March that his contract would not be renewed in June, when it was due to expire, and he subsequently left the company.
“True Religion is a very strong brand with a very well defined business in the market and a business model that doesn’t really require tweaking,” Conn told WWD. “We’re going to focus on e-commerce and digital and growing as a multichannel brand. We have great relationships with some of the best retailers in the U.S. and around the world and we are looking to build on those partnerships, too.”
The $500 million business has a sizeable retail component, with 90 full-price and 40 outlet stores in the U.S. and another 33 outside the U.S.
In 2007, TowerBrook acquired the Jimmy Choo high-end shoe brand for about $300 million and sold it four years later for roughly triple the price.