Italian-French corporation EssilorLuxottica, which owns the legendary sunglasses and eyeglasses brand Ray-Ban, has acquired streetwear maker Supreme from VF Corporation in a $1.5 billion deal.
The acquisition comes as a surprise, considering that EssilorLuxottica is primarily known for its eyewear business. But in a statement released after the acquisition, the company said that Supreme, its first apparel brand acquisition, “perfectly aligns with our innovation and development journey, offering us a direct connection to new audiences, languages, and creativity.”
The all-cash deal is expected to be closed by the end of 2024.
Founded in 1994 in New York City, Supreme became synonymous with urban fashion and skateboard culture. The brand is known for its limited production runs, which often boost the demand for Supreme products and make them highly sought-after on the secondary market. It also has a limited number of flagship stores, with most of its sales coming through online channels.
In 2020, VF Corporation, which owns another popular streetwear brand Vans, acquired Supreme in a $2.1 billion deal. At the time, it was seen as a way to diversify VF’s portfolio and help its other brands to draw inspiration from Supreme’s unique selling tactics. However, the move didn’t pan out, and VF opted to cut its losses in time.
“Given the brand’s distinct business model and VF’s integrated model, our strategic portfolio review concluded there are limited synergies between Supreme and VF,” VF said in a statement.