Authentic Brands Group (Authentic) has announced a partnership with Baozun Inc. for the British heritage brand Hunter, famous for its iconic Wellington boots. Through Authentic’s newly formed subsidiary ABG Hunter LLC, Baozun and Authentic are entering into a joint venture for the brand in Greater China and Southeast Asia, under which Baozun will acquire a 51 percent interest in Hunter’s intellectual property in those regions. Authentic and Baozun have also entered into an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement through which Baozun will develop, manufacture, market and distribute Hunter brand products in Greater China. The license agreement will be assigned by ABG Hunter LLC to Hunter IP Holdco as the licensor in the region.
Founded in 2007, Baozun is a brand e-commerce service, brand management, and digital commerce service company serving more than 400 brands from various industries and sectors around the world, including East and Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. “We are excited to share our recent partnership with Authentic Brands Group,” said Vincent Qiu, Chairman and CEO of Baozun. “This marks another milestone in our transformation where all three business lines will cooperate together to deliver an extraordinary suite of services to leading global brand companies in China and other Asian markets.”
Last June, Authentic acquired the intellectual property of Hunter, a brand with a 160-plus-year heritage that has evolved from a rubber boot to a lifestyle brand offering an extensive footwear collection, outerwear, bags and accessories. Following the acquisition, Authentic expanded its relationships with two longtime partners, Batra Group and Marc Fisher. Batra will thus become the main licensee for Hunter in the UK and continental Europe, while Marc Fisher, a leading US fashion footwear company, will become the main partner for Hunter in the USA.
