Brands
Arvind signs Indian JV with PVH for Calvin Klein
NEW YORK and BANGALORE: PVH Corp. [NYSE: PVH], the owner of the Calvin Klein trademarks worldwide and Arvind Limited announced that Arvind Brands and Retail Limited, a subsidiary of Arvind Limited, has replaced PVH’s prior joint venture partners in Premium Garments Wholesale Trading Private Limited, the licensee of the Calvin Klein trademarks in India. In connection with the transaction, Calvin Klein, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH, entered into a new license with Premium Garments to distribute Calvin Klein Jeans apparel and accessories and Calvin Klein Underwear products in India.
This new arrangement takes advantage of PVH’s control of the brand vision for these two Calvin Klein product categories resulting from its acquisition of The Warnaco Group, Inc. in February 2013 and Arvind’s operational expertise in the region, and is intended to maximize the market opportunities for these product categories throughout India.
The joint venture will focus on the expansion and enhancement of the existing Calvin Klein Jeans apparel and accessories (including belts, bags, and small leather goods) and Calvin Klein Underwear (including sleepwear and loungewear) businesses.
PVH and Arvind are also partners in a joint venture that licenses PVH’s Tommy Hilfiger brand in India.
“By having Arvind – a true leader in the Indian apparel industry and established PVH business partner – join this venture, we believe we are well-positioned to execute against and expand upon the growth strategy for the Calvin Klein brand in India,” said Tom Murry, Chief Executive Officer of Calvin Klein, Inc.
Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman & Managing Director of Arvind Limited said, “Calvin Klein is one of the strongest fashion brands in the world and we are delighted to be JV partners with PVH for Calvin Klein in India. This relationship also strengthens our 20 years association with PVH, which started with the ARROW license and since has been extended to our joint venture with PVH for the Tommy Hilfiger business and the license for IZOD”.
“Calvin Klein substantially strengthens our rich portfolio of brands, said J. Suresh, Managing Director and CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd. “By combining the strengths of the Calvin Klein brand and Arvind’s operational capabilities in the Indian market, we believe we can build Calvin Klein into India’s largest lifestyle brand over the next five years.”
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
