The iconic American men’s clothing brand Brooks Brothers is looking for a new investor, MF Fashion reports. The company is actually burdened by a debt of around 550 million euros, to which the repercussions of the coronavirus have been added. Following the pandemic, at the end of March 2020 the company converted its factories in New York, North Carolina and Massachusetts to produce medical supplies for healthcare workers engaged in the fight against COVID-19 in America (see MF Fashion).
Brooks Brothers was founded by Henry Sands Brooks in Manhattan in April 1818. In 1988 it was taken over by the English group Marks & Spencer, who in 2001 sold it to the Retail Brand Alliance (which changed its name to The Brooks Brothers Group), ann investment vehicle owned by Claudio Del Vecchio, current ceo of the company and son of Leonardo, founder of Luxottica group.
Brooks Brothers’ attempted sale began last year. According to rumors, 18 years after the acquisition, Mr. Del Vecchio would have carefully evaluated the possible sale of the brand last November (see MF Fashion). Shortly thereafter, it was announced that the company would mandate New York investment bank PJ Solomon to probe some options (see MF Fashion)).
