Alexander Wang Receives Funding From Chinese Investors
LONDON — Alexander Wang has sold minority stakes to two Chinese investors: fashion conglomerate Youngor Group, and venture capital firm Challenjers Capital.
The financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
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The American Chinese designer, who staged his last show in the Chinatown section of Los Angeles, California, said Monday the investment is “an important milestone for Alexander Wang and a strong testament to the brand’s continued global expansion.”
“When the brand was first established in 2005, I had no idea that it would grow to the scale it has today. Now that the brand’s North American and global retail expansion plans have been launched, I am very excited about the future of the brand and the support from Youngor Group and Challenjers,” Wang said in a statement.
With the investment, the Alexander Wang brand said it will continue to expand its global presence, with a focus on global retail stores and continued investments in e-commerce, marketing and innovation.
Based in Jingbo, Zhejiang Province, Youngor Group scored the fourth spot in the ranking of the 10 biggest listed Chinese fashion companies by 2021 revenues. The list is compiled by Chinese market intelligence firm Askci. Youngor raked in 13.6 billion renminbi, or $2.02 billion, in revenues last year.
Youngor Group started as a men’s tailoring brand 43 years ago. It since has become a multifaceted conglomerate with businesses in apparel, property development, investment, textile manufacturing and global trade.
The brand claims that it has had the highest market share in the shirting and men’s tailoring categories in China for more than two decades.
The company’s fashion unit, which includes Youngor, Youngor Mayor, Hart Schaffner Marx and Hanp, made 6.82 billion renminbi, or $1.01 billion, last year.
Prior to investing in Alexander Wang, it partnered with Norwegian performancewear label Helly Hansen to expand in China, and has invested in the high-end golf lifestyle store S+G, and American streetwear brand Undefeated.
Challenjers Capital was founded in 2014 and has dual currency funds in Chinese renminbi and U.S. dollars with a cumulative asset management scale of more than 10 billion renminbi. It has invested in many well-known consumer brands and more than 200 start-ups so far.
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