Catch all the latest news about footwear industry acquisitions, and licensing and distribution agreements here. Got a deal in the works? Tell us at [email protected].

July 7, 2022: Gap is coming to India. The San Francisco-based company has inked a new partnership agreement with Reliance Retail Limited, India’s largest retailer, to bring the Gap brand to the country. Through the long-term franchise agreement, Reliance Retail has become the official retailer for Gap across all channels in India. Reliance Retail will introduce Gap through a mix of exclusive brand stores, multi-brand store expressions and digital commerce platforms. “We look forward to growing the Gap business across key international markets,” Adrienne Gernand, managing director of international, global licensing and wholesale at Gap Inc., said in a statement. “Partnering with regional experts, like Reliance Retail in India, allows us to deliver our relevant, purpose-driven brand to customers around the globe, while continuing to diversify our business portfolio through our partner-based model.”

July 1, 2022: Wolverine Worldwide has settled a lawsuit with HanesBrands. Under the agreement, Wolverine will sell its Champion trademarks for footwear to HanesBrands for $90 million. However, Wolverine will still be able to use the Champion trademark on specific shoes such as the Keds Champion.

June 30, 2022: Third-generation independent shoe retailer Stan’s Fit for Your Feet has added another store to its roster. The business, which has locations in Brookfield, Glendale and Greenfield, Wis., has purchased Waxberg’s Walk Shoppe in Niles, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Waxberg’s — also a third-generation retailer founded in 1919 — will continue to operate under its own name, according to Jim Sajdak, president of Stan’s Fit for Your Feet. “We can appreciate the importance of the Waxberg’s brand name in the community, since they’ve established a wonderful heritage over the past 100 years,” he said. “We are also really proud to have their team joining our family in an effort to continue Waxberg’s legacy.” This marks the Sadjak family’s first foray outside the Greater Milwaukee area. In addition to three Stan’s Fit for Your Feet locations, they also operate two New Balance stores and a Vionic branded shop.

June 22, 2022: Autumn Adeigbo found new investors in Hollywood stars Cameron Diaz, Mila Kunis and Gabrielle Union. In 2020, Adeigbo, then a one-woman show, secured $1.3 million of institutional investments. She made headlines as the first eponymous fashion brand led by a female, Black designer to raise more than $1 million in venture capital funding. Then, in September 2021, she secured additional funds of nearly $3 million, led by venture capital firm Offline Ventures, bringing her total investments to more than $4 million. “Personally, it means so much for these women who I have so much respect for, to believe in me,” Adeigbo told FN. “Business-wise, it means the world to us that our brand has incredible support from women who have excelled in their individual illustrious careers in Hollywood, and are also passionate about entrepreneurship.”

June 22, 2022: eBay Inc. has acquired non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace KnownOrigin. The acquisition, according to eBay, is important in its tech-led reimagination, and will help usher in “a new era of digital collecting to the world’s top destination for collectibles.” KnownOrigin, which was founded in 2018, enables people to create, buy and resell NFTs via blockchain-support transactions. eBay began allowing the buying and selling of NFTs in May 2021. The companies signed and closed the deal today, and the details of the deal were not disclosed.

June 15, 2022: Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR), which supports underrepresented Black and Latinx designers, has announced a new partnership with LVMH North America to work on improving diversity in fashion. As part of the partnership, the fashion house has committed to addressing diversity, equity and inclusion via different summits and retreats in connection with HFR. “Through this partnership, HFR and LVMH North America look forward to continuing their mission of giving designers of color access to individuals and organizations that can help shape their future” said Brandice Daniel, CEO and founder of HFR.

June 13, 2022: Europe-based online fashion and lifestyle platform Zalando has acquired a majority stake in Highsnobiety. According to a statement, Highsnobiety will act as a strategic and creative consultant to help Zalando develop inspiration-focused spaces and formats, and the Zalando Group will allow for Highsnobiety to leverage its resources to fuel its e-commerce capabilities. Highsnobiety, according to the statement, will retain its editorial autonomy and will continue to be led by managing directors David Fischer and Jürgen Hopfgartner. Also, Highsnobiety founder David Fischer will retain a minority stake in the business. Both Zalando and Highsnobiety agreed not to disclose financial details of the deal.

June 9, 2022: Apple Original Films, Nike’s Waffle Iron Entertainment and production company Makeready have inked a deal to produce films related to athletes and sports, Deadline reported. Apple will oversee financing and distribution while Nike’s Justin Biskin and Makeready’s Brad Weston and Collin Creighton will produce the films, which will center on themes regarding the power of sport.

June 8, 2022: Puma has entered into a licensing agreement with United Legwear & Apparel Co. LLC (ULAC) to produce, market, sell and distribute Puma Swimwear in North America. Under the agreement ULAC will launch Puma’s swimwear line in Q1 of 2023 in stores across the U.S. and Canada. “As a company, we strive to be at the forefront of performance, innovation and style,” said Bob Philion, president and CEO of Puma North America. “Partnering with ULAC for this strategic growth initiative in North America will allow us to expand our offerings to our customers while staying true to our core values and focus as a brand.”

June 8, 2022: K-Way has inked a new deal with Bluebell Group to enter the Hong Kong market. Following the brand’s in-market digital launch in June, the new mono-brand physical store opening is planned for October 2022 at Pacific Place under the Swire Group, one of Hong Kong’s most premium shopping malls. K-Way will be introduced to Hong Kong consumers first through its online K-way.com.hk and a planned physical store in October. Targeting the active young local audience, offering a mix of technical meets fashion apparel, the brand’s footprint is expected to grow further in Hong Kong and into mainland China later this year. “We have no doubt K-Way will become an anchor brand for us in Hong Kong, where retail today is geared solely on local consumption,” Samy Redjeb, Bluebell Group managing director for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, said in a statement. “The brand offers a desirable and accessible lifestyle unisex fashion and kids wear, which is one of our core focus for the development of this market.”

June 6, 2022: Oofos is now the official recovery footwear of the Cape Cod Baseball League, an amateur baseball league based in Massachusetts. The partnership, according to Oofos, will allow the brand “to support the country’s top players as they compete and prepare for their careers at the next level in the Major Leagues.” Breaking down the sponsorship further, Oofos said it will provide a pair of active recovery footwear to all players in the league “to help promote recovery and enhance performance throughout the summer season,” Also, Oofos said it will be on-site at the Cape League All-Star game in July and will sponsor the Cape Cod Baseball League Awards at the end of the season.

June 3, 2022: After launching her womenswear label 19 years ago, Nili Lotan is making her entrance into menswear for pre-fall 2022, a natural progression for the designer who originally comes from a menswear design aesthetic. Lotan’s inaugural offering will include a range of classic shirting, pants, jackets, and occasionwear ranging in price from $185 for cotton jersey tees to $2,195 for a leather jacket. The collection will be available in July on NiliLotan.com and in Nili Lotan’s retail stores in East Hampton, Tribeca, Madison Avenue and Palm Beach. The collection will also be available at select retailers including Mr Porter, Matches Fashion, SSENSE, Saks, and Shopbop. Bergdorf Goodman and TNT will carry the men’s collection starting with fall in September.

May 25, 2022: Unlimited Footwear Group (UFG) has inked a new strategic licensing partnership with Paul Frank to design, produce, market, and distribute Paul Frank branded footwear in 50 countries including the entire European Union, Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Scandinavia. UFG said in a statement on Wednesday that the collections will embody Paul Frank’s youthful, fresh, fun, and accessible approach with a spark of humor, pleasant sarcasm, and everyday cleverness. The Heritage Footwear Company, part of UFG, will manage the footwear collections for Paul Frank. The Heritage Footwear Company plans to launch two collections a year at a mid-price level and will distribute through its international sales network of both multi-brand fashion and sports retail and through wholesale and various online platforms. The first Paul Frank footwear collection for men, women, and kids is scheduled to launch in spring/summer 2023.

May 16, 2022: Resale technology platform Recurate has secured $14 million in new Series A funding. This funding round was led by Jump Capital, and includes industry leaders Gradient Ventures, XRC Labs, Victress Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Fund, and AngelList Early-Stage Quant Fund, as well as executives from Brooks Brothers, Chubbies, and Klaviyo, among others. The new investment brings Recurate’s total funding to over $17.5 million. According to Recurate, the company will use the funding to power a new suite of services and integrations including image-based product recognition, advanced merchandising, and robust data analytics. Founded in 2020, Recurate now currently works with over 40 brands in the fashion, accessories, outdoor, and footwear categories including Steve Madden (Re-Booted), Frye (The Frye Exchange) and Mara Hoffman (Full Circle Marketplace) and expects this number to grow to over 100 brand partners by the end of the year.