Wilson's E-commerce Sold to G-III Unit
Minneapolis-based Wilsons The Leather Experts Inc. sold its outlet stores and e-commerce assets to G-III Apparel Group subsidiary AM Retail Group Inc. for approximately $22.3 million. Under terms of the deal, AM Retail Group bought $18.5 million in inventory and acquired fixed assets and intellectual property related to Wilsons’ outlet store and e-commerce divisions. The leases for 116 Wilsons Leather outlet stores were assigned to AM Retail Group. According to Wilsons Leather, the sale will help the company launch its new mall accessories store concept. Wilsons Leather also announced plans to change its name to PreVu Inc. “We are excited about this acquisition, which will enable us to have a significant vertical retail operation,” said Morris Goldfarb, G-III’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We expect to be able to leverage our strong portfolio of brands and our sourcing expertise to re-merchandise the Wilsons stores in order to improve sales and increase margins.” AM Retail has hired former Wilsons Chief Executive Officer Joel Waller as president of G-III’s outlet store division.
