Pepe Jeans

Pepe Jeans London is a denim and casual wear jeans brand established in the Portobello Road area of London in 1973, and now based in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. it is currently owned by M1 Group, a holding company in Beirut, Lebanon.

Carlos Ortega was the CEO, and owns more than 20% of the company.[1][2][3]

History

Pepe Jeans was founded in 1973 by three brothers who ran a weekend stall at Portobello Road Market in London, before expanding to a store in Carnaby Street and then into Europe in the 1980s.[4]

In 1988, Pepe Jeans was owned by Arun Shah, Nitin Shah, Milan Shah and Farook Jamal.[5]

In February 2015, Pepe Jeans and Hackett London (part of the Pepe Jeans Group) were bought by the Lebanese M1 Group, and the LVMH subsidiary, L Capital Asia. These companies were previously owned by Torreal Funds (31 per cent), Artá Capital (16.4 per cent), L Capital Europe (11.5 per cent), and its managers.[6]

In 2015, Pepe Jeans announced that the Group was adding a new brand, Norton Clothing, as a tribute to the British motorcycle brand founded in 1898.[7]

In 2016, the group acquired the French fashion brand Façonnable.[8]

In September 2019, Marcella Wartenbergh became CEO of Pepe Jeans Group.[9][10] Also in 2019, Dua Lipa became a global ambassador for the brand.[11]

In September 2023, Pepe Jeans celebrated its fifty years of existence in London with a photo exhibition of its many campaigns and a dinner in honor of its new ambassador, Lila Moss.[12] Later, in December, Pepe Jeans announced its aim to develop in the Indian market, where it is already present with around 200 stores.[13] Indeed, it plans to open over 100 new stores in the country over the next three years.[13]

Sponsorship

Pepe Jeans has been a sponsor of Red Bull Racing (RBR) in Formula One since 2010. In 2024, Pepe Jeans signed a title partnership deal with RBR to form the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme aimed at supporting RBR's entrants in F1 Academy, a female-only single-seater racing championship founded by Formula One.[14]

References

  1. Pepe Jeans Said to Hire Morgan Stanley to Sell Business Bloomberg, 2014-07-28, retrieved 2016-05-11^
  2. Pepe Jeans London might be sold Sportswear-international.com, retrieved 2016-05-11^
  3. Pepe Jeans has already found a buyer | The Luxonomist - Lujo, economía, moda, lifestyle Theluxonomist.es, 2015-02-04, retrieved 2016-05-11^
  4. Pepe Jeans: from Portobello Road to private equity sale? telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 21 August 2017^
  5. Close-Up Preview: Raoul Shah drapersonline.com, 9 October 2013, retrieved 21 August 2017^
  6. Pepe Jeans Group bought by LVMH subsidiary and Lebanese group FashionUnited, February 11, 2015, retrieved June 18, 2015^
  7. Pepe Jeans Group launches Norton Clothing Sportswear International, July 31, 2015^
  8. Pepe Jeans acquires Façonnable FashionNetwork.com, retrieved 2024-08-20^
  9. Prachi Singh. Marcella Wartenbergh named CEO of Pepe Jeans fashionunited.uk, September 4, 2019^
  10. Brands: Meet Pepe Jeans Group's new CEO sportswear-international.com^
  11. Clarins s’associe à Dassault Systèmes pour booster l’efficacité de ses usines Fashion Network^
  12. Pepe Jeans a fêté ses cinquante ans avec Lila Moss Fashion Network, retrieved 23 April 2024^
  13. Pepe Jeans veut ouvrir plus de 100 boutiques en Inde dans les trois ans Fashion Network, retrieved 23 April 2024^
  14. Oracle Red Bull Racing. Oracle Red Bull Racing and Pepe Jeans London announce a debut ready-to-wear collection for Summer 2024 Red Bull Racing, 8 March 2024, retrieved 16 March 2024^