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Skagen's popular designs could soon fall under the Fossil banner
Fossil to acquire Skagen Designs
 4.9 k views | Posted January 12, 2012 | By Aaron Weinman
Fashion accessories company Fossil announced plans yesterday to acquire jewellery and watch manufacturer, Skagen Designs.
In a bid to expand its portfolio, Fossil agreed to purchase the Danish brand Skagen and some of its global partners for approximately USD$225 million (AUD$219 million) in cash and 150,000 Fossil shares.
According to the agreement, Skagen’s owners may get an additional 100,000 Fossil shares if its products surpass certain revenue targets. It is expected the acquisition will be completed by February, subject to regulatory consent.
Although originally a Danish company, Skagen is now headquartered in Reno Nevada and co-owner Charlotte Jorst believes Fossil’s global distribution network will enable Skagen to reach different markets and create new opportunities for growth.
“Going from 60 countries to 120 for example – we’ll be able to get our jewellery out in many more retailers,” Jorst told US news media. “We’ll do handbags, shoes, clothes – everything with the Skagen name. They’ll make it a much bigger company!”
Fossil CEO Kosta Kartsotis said the company was privileged to join Skagen saying the Danish company has “enormous potential as a lifestyle brand.”
“Skagen is unique,” Kartsotis added. “We see many similarities of our two companies and look forward to creating something great together.”
Nils Rasmussen, managing director of Jarass, Skagen Denmark’s Australian and New Zealand distributor, said he was well aware of the offer but given it was only announced yesterday it would be unwise to speculate how it would affect the local market and until more is known its business as usual.
“We have worked with Skagen Denmark for 15 years and taken the brand from unknown to a major industry player,” Rasmussen said. “We have advised all stockists of the development and committed to keep them up to date as relevant information becomes available to ensure that they are well informed. Right now our focus is the Winter 2012 strategy that we’ve been working on for the last four months and are about to launch.”
As well as the watch range, Jarass recently launched Reflections, Skagen’s range of stackable rings, which Rasmussen said had performed very well over Christmas.
While the acquisition potentially enhances Fossil’s portfolio, Skagen could benefit from Fossil’s range of wholesale customers including high-end sellers Neiman Marcus and low-price retailers like Target and Wal-Mart.
Sold in 75 markets worldwide, Skagen also operates regional offices in Denmark, Hong Kong, Germany, the UK and Canada.
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