Snipes, the sneaker retail chain owned by the Deichmann Group, has agreed to acquire Jimmy Jazz, an American chain of sneaker stores with a hip-hop vibe and headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey. The deal was signed on Dec. 1 and should close before the year is out. Terms remain undisclosed.
Founded in New York City, the target company is about a quarter-century old and, according to its website, operates “more than 170” stores in the U.S., about 30 of them in the Greater New York area.
Snipes already has 100 stores in the U.S., with the greatest concentrations in the states of New Jersey (27), Pennsylvania (23), Michigan (19) and New York (18), with Philadelphia ranking first among the major cities where it has presence. The deal – Snipe’s largest acquisition on record – will come close to tripling Snipe’s American retail footprint.
Snipes has been part of the Deichmann Group since 2011. Before its latest move in the U.S. market, Snipes took over two other sneaker chains in the country in 2019 - Kicks USA and Mr. Alan’s Men’s Bootery.
Founded in 1998 and based in Cologne, Snipes operates mostly in Europe, with more than 350 stores spread through France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Poland. It made its entry into Eastern Europe earlier this year with the takeover of Distance, a Polish chain of 31 stores with a web shop that can be accessed from 20 European countries.
In addition to its eponymous banner and Snipes, Deichmann owns Dosenbach, Ochsner Shoes, Ochsner Sport, vanHaren, OnYGo, the MyShoes online shop and, in the U.S., Rack Room Shoes and Off Broadway.
