Dockers to be sold to Bluestar Alliance

Dockers, which is owned by Levi Strauss & Co., is close to being sold to Bluestar Alliance. The news was reported by WWD.

It has been a merger and acquisitions frenzy in fashion as company’s are working on selling off assets after a tough year for retail due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Ralph Lauren Corp. sold Club Monaco. Adidas is also seeking a buyer for Reebok.

Dockers has found themselves on the potential sale block before. Levi’s first attempted to sell the company in 2004 in order to help pay off debt. The deal to sell the brand to Vestar Capital Partners was never finalized, and Dockers remained in Levi’s portfolio.

Despite being a known brand, Dockers represents a very small piece of Levi’s volume at just 7 percent of the parent company’s bottom line. Levi’s no longer reports figures for individual brands, but in a January 2020 earnings call it was addressed that Dockers sales declined in 2019.

Bluestar Alliance currently counts brands in portfolio such as Hurley, Bebe, Tahari, Catherine Malandrino, Nanette Lepore, English Laundry, and Limited Too. They manage over 300 licensees and 100 stores globally.

FashionUnited has reached out to Levi’s and Bluestar Alliance for comment.