Liz Claiborne to sell Ellen Tracy

By the looks of it, American fashion company Liz Claiborne Inc. is about to sell clothing brand Ellen Tracy to an investment group led by Windsong Brands. The rumours were picked up by Womens Wear Daily (WWD) and other American media. According to the sources the deal is pretty much signed for, although both Liz Calriborne and Windsong refuse to comment.

In 2007, Ellen Tracy was bought for an amount of £79.5 million by Liz Claiborne Inc, which also owns Mexx and Juicy Couture. The buy made an end to an era of 53 years family owned business by Herbert Gallen and Linda Allard. Gallen and Allard stayed on as respectively Director and Head of Design, until in 2003 they resigned. Gallen passed away in September 2007 at an age of 92 years old.

Ellen Tracy flourished with an anual profit of £132 million, but by the time it was bought by Liz Claiborne it had dropped to £88 million. After the take over, the brand became less populair. Appearantly Windson Brands is wanting to relaunch Ellen Tracy and bring it back to the top.