Tommy Hilfiger

Country: Netherlands

Region: Noord-Holland

Investors: Apax Partners

In a highly competitive fashion market, brands are constantly seeking to innovate and gain a unique, niche position in the market. When Tommy Hilfiger took on investment from Apax Partners in 2006 the business was suffering in the US and had lost its clear positioning. There was a need to revive the brand.

Apax invested heavily in growth and were able to crystallise the value in this iconic brand. By the time the firm came to exit in 2010, Tommy Hilfiger was back on top, having nearly doubled its number of stores globally, added more than 1,000 new employees and revived its brand position. The business moved to the next chapter of its story under the stewardship of the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation.

Fred Gehring

CEO - Tommy Hilfiger

Apax’s depth of knowledge of the sector, coupled with their great operational insight and financial expertise allowed us to put the business in the position it is today.

1.5x

net debt at exit – down from 4.3x at entry

1,000

employees added during the investment period

What did the business need?

Strategic change to reflect global presence and premium brand positioning
Rebuilding of the business in North America
Organic store expansion

How did private equity backing create lasting value?

Introduced new management structure
Repositioned and restructured the business, consolidating supplier base
Outsourced operations to specialist outlets enabling greater resource focus on core values
Optimised e-commerce potential through relaunch of online function, in partnership with D+S – another Apax business
More than ¤400m invested in the growth of the business
Entered into a ground-breaking exclusive department store distribution agreement with Macy’s in the US