Labelux

>> Tamara Mellon, who cofounded Jimmy Choo in 1996, has severed her ties with the brand. She recently served as chief creative officer, but no longer had any financial interest in Choo following its $800 million acquisition by private Italian luxury goods group Labelux in May.

According to Labelux, Mellon left “to pursue [an] independent career,” and the company has no plans to replace her as chief creative officer. “The creative side of the company is extremely strong and the design direction will continue,” said Reinhard Mieck, Labelux’s chief executive.

>> After two months of seeking offers, Jimmy Choo is being sold to German luxury goods company Labelux — which also has holdings in Bally and Derek Lam — for an undisclosed price.

Labelux is said to have paid more than 500 million pounds ($811 million) for Choo. The brand was originally valued at 549 million pounds ($889.4 million), and had net sales of 150 million pounds in 2010.

The current Jimmy Choo management team, including CEO Joshua Schulman and chief creative officer Tamara Mellon, a co-founder of the company, will remain in place. Mellon, who retains a 17 percent stake in the brand, is understood to have made tens of millions of pounds from the deal, and she and Schulman are expected to make an investment alongside Labelux.

“Jimmy Choo is a perfect fit for us, and we see ourselves as long-term strategic investors,” said Reinhard Mieck, CEO of Labelux. “Joshua, Tamara and the management are going to need to deal with us for a very long time. We are thinking about strategies today that will take us beyond this generation to the one after that."

Labelux plans to increase Jimmy Choo's brand presence in China, as well as in men's shoes and handbags.

>> Namesake designer Jimmy Choo and LVMH are no longer in the running to buy the Choo label — which is said to be valued at between £400 million and £500 million (or up to $813.4 million) — but Jones Group (which owns Nine West and last year bought Stuart Weitzman) reportedly is. Although a Jones Group spokeswoman declined comment on the matter, the company is said to be one among three potential buyers, the other two of which are German luxury company Labelux, which owns Bally, and US buyout firm TPG. The next bids are expected in mid-May. [WSJ, Reuters]

>> Those rumors last September of Brian Atwood stepping down from Bally have proven to be correct: the designer just presented his last collection for the label for Fall 2010 and is moving on to focus on his own label.

Atwood was hired in 2007 to revamp and revitalize the Swiss brand's image — but in April 2008, Bally was sold to Labelux Group, which has also recently purchased stakes in Derek Lam, Solange Azagury-Partride, and Zagliani, and it sounds like Atwood was asked to leave. It's rumored Labelux wants the brand more focused on its Swiss heritage, as exemplified by the Spring 2010 Bally ad campaign, featuring Christy Turlington against a background of Alps.

Labelux is also on the prowl for acquisitions »