"Tamara Mellon, whose 17% stake in Jimmy Choo was recently valued at £85m. Photograph: Richard Young/Rex Features"
Its killer heels are de rigueur for Hollywood actresses on the red carpet - and this weekend luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo was sold for an A-list price tag of £500m.
The business founded by the eponymous Hackney cobbler and former It girl Tamara Mellon is being gobbled up by Labelux, the luxury goods group backed by Germany's billionaire Reimann family, for nearly three times the sum paid by its private equity owners four years ago.
Mellon said the deal was "wonderful news for the women who are, or who aspire to become, part of the Jimmy Choo lifestyle".
It is also good news for the stiletto queen's bank balance. The sale will deliver a multimillion-pound pay day for the recently appointed government trade envoy who owns a 17% stake recently valued at £85m.
The entrepreneur started the company with Choo in 1996 with a £150,000 loan from her late father Tommy Yeardye who co-founded the Vidal Sassoon hair products empire. Choo sold his interest in the company that bears his name in 2001 but Mellon stayed aboard and her personal fortune is today put at £150m.
The deal marks the fourth time Jimmy Choo, whose shoes cost up to £1,000 a pair, has been sold in 15 years. It was acquired by TowerBrook Capital Partners for £185m in 2007 and under its ownership has expanded overseas and broadened its appeal beyond killer heels to include trainers - albeit leopard print and patent - as well as handbags, jewellery and perfume. It has also doubled the number of stores around the world to 120. Last year sales hit £150m and the company said sales were currently up more than 10% as it rode the boom in demand for luxury from Asia, especially China.
The glamorous Mellon, who is as famous for her rock and roll lifestyle as her business acumen, remains the face of the brand and will continue as creative director alongside chief executive Joshua Schulman who also stays on once the sale process is completed. Both are reinvesting in the business. With a flair for marketing Mellon once said every woman should have "a great open-toed platform shoe in a pale gold fabric, a chic wedge for any on-grass event, and a perfect flat shoe in a neutral colour for every day".
Last year she was photographed wearing only a strategically placed cat and a pair of her stilettos. She has had a string of famous boyfriends including Christian Slater and Kid Rock.
Jimmy Choo's rocketing value reflects the strength of the luxury goods industry. After a two-year hiatus caused by the financial crisis, global demand for designer handbags, watches and champagne is expected to roar to new highs this year. Last year global luxury goods sales recovered to pre-financial crisis levels and are expected to hit a record €185bn (£160bn) in 2011.
The Reimann family may not be a household name in the UK but their substantial fortune is derived from a consumer goods empire whose less rarefied products include Mr Sheen and Windolene. Labelux's other investments include Swiss luxury brand Bally and the Derek Lam fashionlabel. Its chief executive Reinhard Mieck said it saw "substantial potential" for the brand, particularly in Asia: "Jimmy Choo is an outstanding brand with enormous growth potential."
Zoo Wood ( 22 May, 2011). Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/may/22/jimmy-choo-sold-labelux-500m
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