Payless ShoeSource, the big American shoe retail chain, announced plans to acquire Collective International, a privately held brand development, management and licensing company, for $91 million. The move is in line with the American retailer’s vertical integration strategy. If completed it would give it control of the Airwalk, Vision Street Wear, Sims and Lamar brands – all of which are in Collective’s portfolio.
Collective will remain based in Colorado and its executive, design and licensing teams will remain intact. All its brands have gone through multiple vicissitudes in international markets lately. The French-based Groupe Royer, which recently acquired the rights to the Kickers brand worldwide, except for Itraly and Belgium (more in Shoe Intelligence), has the rights to the Airwalk brand for all of Europe except in the UK, where Pentland Group recently decided not to renew its Airwalk contract.
Payless operated a total of 4,572 stores as of Feb. 3, which marked the end of its latest fiscal year. The company has been led over the last few years by Matt Rubel, the former chief executive of Cole Haan, a property of Nike (more in Shoe Intelligence).
