UK Retailer Next Ups Stake in Reiss as Warburg Pincus Exits

Fall fashions are displayed at a JCPenney store in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Fall fashions are displayed at a JCPenney store in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
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UK Retailer Next Ups Stake in Reiss as Warburg Pincus Exits

Fall fashions are displayed at a JCPenney store in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Fall fashions are displayed at a JCPenney store in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Britain's Next agreed a deal to raise its stake in upmarket fashion chain Reiss Group to 72% from 51%, after the retailer teamed up with the Reiss family to buy Warburg Pincus's shares for 128 million pounds ($162 million).
Next, one of the UK's biggest clothing chains, has added a number of well-known brands to its stable in recent years, including parts of retailers such as Cath Kidston, Joules and Made.com.
Following the latest deal, the Reiss family's holding will rise to 22% and the management team will hold 6%.
Next said on Friday that Reiss had performed "exceptionally well" since it first invested in March 2021 and as such it decided to snap up the stake being sold by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
In the 12 months to the end of January, Reiss's sales rose 26% year-over-year to 325 million pounds, while pre-tax profit was 51% higher at 52 million pounds.
Reiss's online operations are contracted to Next through its Total Platform business, which also provides warehousing and distribution services to Reiss, helping drive Reiss's growth overseas.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, Next said.



Bold Looks Among Boulders at Michael Kors’ New York Fashion Week Show 

A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in New York on September 10, 2024. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in New York on September 10, 2024. (AFP)
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Bold Looks Among Boulders at Michael Kors’ New York Fashion Week Show 

A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in New York on September 10, 2024. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in New York on September 10, 2024. (AFP)

Fashion sometimes involves risk and designer Michael Kors would tell you some risks aren’t worth taking. Last year, his September show was held outside and the weather did not cooperate, so he decided his spring/summer 2025 collection at New York Fashion Week would bring nature inside instead.

Kors and his team created a unique runway in a cavernous raw space in a midtown building, with stark metal benches lining the rectangular walls and gigantic faux black rocks scattered in the center and sides, similar to the rocky beaches of the Amalfi Coast. The drama of Italian cliffs in an urban setting was part of Kors’ abstract inspiration.

Kors says he’s “glued” to pop culture and was especially fascinated by the recent Netflix series “Ripley,” based on Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel, “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” The dark story is set in coastal Italy where a man who covets a friend’s wealthy life kills him and takes over his identity, killing anyone else who threatens his new persona.

“Seeing this romantic, moody, dark story shot all in black and white, I thought it brought something very different to the romance of it,” Kors told The Associated Press backstage before the show. “There was this sort of dark side of romance that’s not sweet, not insipid, and mysterious. And then also, this is my 35th anniversary of working with Italian artisans and I really wanted to play up all of the incredible tailors and craftspeople in Italy.”

The result was a show that used stark lighting and a haunting instrumental score to set the mood for a lot of black and white and muted colors with looks that evoke Ripley’s 1950’s hybrid style of city and resortwear.

“There’s lots of texture, black raffia, white embroideries. Everything is very tactile,” Kors explained. “It’s all the colors that you would find in the Mediterranean. So all of the natural colors have very soft browns and creams. And then of course, there’s going to be blue.”

The brand’s craftsmanship was on display with intricate peekaboo lace dresses and skirts and several dresses, skirts and coats adorned with flower applique’. Accessories stood out in the collection with leather handbags, hats and shoes teeming with black raffia that looked like leather straw. Nearly every look had a belt — some styled loosely but extra-long and knotted to dangle, and others wide and tight at the waist. The ever-present trench coat appeared for men and women on the runway, mostly oversized and slouchy.

This season’s shows brought guests and media to all corners of the city and surroundings, showing off its beauty and designers’ creativity — from a horse ranch in the tony Hamptons for Ralph Lauren, to a giant ferry boat docked on the East River for Tommy Hilfiger, to an old Domino sugar factory in Brooklyn for Tory Burch.

The show’s front row was packed with celebrities, including Kerry Washington, Mary J. Blige, Shailene Woodley, Mindy Kaling, and Lindsay Lohan.

“I’m always really inspired by the simplicity, the craftsmanship. He has a real kind of a love for women that is so kind of understated, but just so consistent,” Olivia Wilde said. “I always feel so beautiful in his clothes.”

Suki Waterhouse was wearing a pink lace Kors dress and matching fluffy coat. “The straw shoes with the matching bag was my absolute favorite,” the actor and recording artist said after the show. “I need to book a holiday to be able to wear those things.”