Jimmy Choo high heels, seven major shareholders and several key friends

Peng Song, Partner at Midas Capital, focuses on research and investments in the consumer industry and Chinese brands going global.

In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, how would Americans, who were deeply shocked, change their spending at Jimmy Choo's US stores, a new luxury footwear brand?
 
More information can be provided. This is the fifth year since shoe designer Jimmy Choo co-founded the Jimmy Choo brand with British lady Tamara Mellon. The brand is already well-known and was one of the favorite shoe brands of the recently deceased Princess Diana. It was also featured multiple times by the female lead in the hit 1998 TV series "Sex and the City," and is becoming one of the most popular high-end shoe brands.
 
According to the statements made by the buyer's committee representative in public interviews, in the week following the incident, sales at Jimmy Choo's US stores actually increased by 30% to 40% year-on-year (but in fact, Jimmy Choo's overall business growth in 2001 compared to 2000 was roughly at that level...).
 
On the very day of 9/11, the investment committee of the newly formed UK-based fund, Phoenix Capital, had approved a controlling investment in the Jimmy Choo brand. However, as the committee members left the meeting room, they received news of the 9/11 attacks. Should they proceed with the deal?
 
The growth data from US stores in the week following the attacks boosted buyer confidence. The decline in valuations of publicly traded luxury goods companies after 9/11 provided a better opportunity for a price correction. Ultimately, Phoenix Capital acquired a 50% stake in founder Jimmy Choo at a valuation of approximately £18 million. Founder Jimmy Choo will continue to maintain his eponymous bespoke shoe business but will no longer be involved in the future of the Jimmy Choo brand.
 
In fact, in the more than 20 years since then, the brand has undergone several changes in controlling shareholders and senior management, but the business as a whole has been steadily growing. In the most recent fiscal year, the business size was about 600 million US dollars. Compared with the business of 11 million pounds in 2001, the compound annual growth rate of revenue after currency conversion is 16.3%, which can be said to have stood the test of time.
 
The origin of the brand and its first major shareholder
 
The legendary journey of the Jimmy Choo brand begins with its founder, Jimmy Choo himself. His parents immigrated from Guangdong to Malaysia, working in the shoemaking industry. They were able to support Jimmy Choo's studies in London, attending the prestigious Wiener College (which later became part of the University of the Arts London). After graduating in 1983, Jimmy Choo remained in London working in the shoemaking industry. Around 1985, he started his own small shoe workshop, the precursor to the Jimmy Choo brand, with Jimmy Choo as the first major shareholder. He tried creating other brands, such as Lucky Shoes, but despite their exquisite craftsmanship, they failed to gain traction.
 
Then the gears of fate began to turn, and the first key figure took the lead. This was Elizabeth Stuart-Smith, Jimmy Choo's classmate from college. This British woman had also founded her own shoe brand, which was quite successful and had begun using the Italian shoe supply chain. She also had friends in the most authoritative fashion media, Vogue, and she recommended Jimmy Choo to the editors of Vogue. After providing a lot of support to Vogue magazine in terms of footwear, in 1988, Jimmy Choo got a golden opportunity, being featured in a special issue of Vogue magazine on British designers, and from then on, he began to gain recognition. As the business entered a growth trajectory, in 1989, Jimmy Choo also took in his wife's niece, Sandra Choi, to join the workshop as an apprentice to help.
 
The even more legendary story surrounding Jimmy Choo unfolded suddenly in 1990. Around the summer of 1990, the FIFA World Cup was being held in Rome, Italy, and shoemaker Jimmy Choo suddenly received a call from Kensington Palace, inviting him to meet Princess Diana and commission new shoes for her.
 
It's reasonable to speculate that Princess Diana intended to support a new British shoe designer, and a Vogue magazine report and some of Jimmy Choo's early bespoke shoe clients played a role in this recommendation. After meeting, Jimmy Choo's exquisite craftsmanship, sincere communication, and service attitude won Princess Diana's approval, and she placed an order for six pairs of shoes on her first visit. Afterward, the Princess had new orders from time to time until Princess Diana's tragic car accident in the summer of 1997. According to Jimmy Choo's recollection, he designed and made approximately 100 pairs of shoes for the Princess over those seven years.
 
By deeply serving Princess Diana, a world-class cultural icon, Jimmy Choo had acquired the most valuable elements of a legendary brand. However, before 1996, in terms of business scale, Jimmy Choo's women's shoe business was still just a small workshop serving a select few high-end clients. 
 
The female editor who lost her job and the brand's new shareholder
 
In 1995, Tamara Mellon, a British heiress who had been addicted to drugs and parties, lost her job as an accessories editor at Vogue magazine. Her father, Tom, had no choice but to send her to a rehabilitation center for treatment and often prayed that she would get back on track soon.
 
During life's low points, new perspectives and feelings may emerge, along with a stronger determination to prove oneself. In 1996, Tamara Mellon, in her early twenties, met Jimmy Choo and realized it was a significant opportunity. After some persuasion, Jimmy Choo agreed to partner with Tamara Mellon to develop and expand the Jimmy Choo brand. Tamara invested £150,000, borrowed from her father, Tom, and began handling marketing and promotion, designing products with Jimmy Choo's niece, Sandra Choi, and, with her father's assistance, opening the first Jimmy Choo store. Their family's shareholding in the new company became 50/50 with Jimmy Choo. According to publicly disclosed information, this marked the first change in actual control of the Jimmy Choo business, from 100% ownership by Jimmy Choo himself to joint control by Jimmy Choo and Tamara's family.
 
Tamara's father, Tom, rose to wealth through experience in both the entertainment and consumer industries. He was a partner in Vidal Sassoon's hair business until Mr. Sassoon sold it to Procter & Gamble. Tamara's mother was a former model for luxury brands. Tamara's striking appearance and familiarity with fashion and entertainment led to the Jimmy Choo brand's rapid expansion and business growth after she joined the company. For example, during the 1998 Academy Awards, Tamara and her team took a large number of white Jimmy Choo high heels to Los Angeles, providing on-site dyeing and finishing services to numerous female celebrities. Coupled with repeated product placements in the hit TV series "Sex and the City," Jimmy Choo became a rapidly rising and dazzling brand.
 
In 2000, Tamara's personal life may have reached a peak. The Jimmy Choo brand, which she co-founded, was booming. That year, she married Matthew Mellon, a handsome heir to a wealthy American family, in New York. He was one of the real heirs to the Old Money Mellon family (in fact, one of dozens of heirs, a big name, receiving a small allowance from a trust, but not actually able to access much of the assets personally). However, in the same year, her conflict with Jimmy Choo reached an irreconcilable point. How should they interpret their current success? Tamara probably felt that the excellent situation was entirely due to her efforts; while Jimmy Choo felt that Tamara was constantly putting on a show and spending a lot of company money, and their philosophies were too different. Their consensus was that they could no longer cooperate, needed to find an investor quickly, and one of them had to leave completely.
 
Exceptionally successful and thriving businesses often only become attractive to external investors when partners have a falling out or one party wants to adjust the shareholding structure. Frankly, our fund has participated in one or two similar transactions in the past, where our involvement helped some early founding shareholders exit with their funds.
 
The new CEO's debut began with an in-depth strategic plan.
 
In 2001, the Jimmy Choo brand was a profitable and rapidly growing business with annual sales of ten million pounds. Many recognized the potential of this opportunity, but the most astute and decisive was Robert Bensousan, a veteran executive in the fashion industry. At 43 years old, his career included managing overseas sales for the German brand ESCATE, serving as CEO of LVMH's Christian Lacroix for several years, and from 1999 to 2000, serving as CEO of the Italian haute couture house Gianfranco Ferre, responsible for the brand's relaunch following a share transfer.
 
The Ferre brand's transaction followed a similar logic, which Bensusan had just learned about. The brand was jointly owned by designer and founder Ferre and his business partner Mattioli, who were equally divided. Because Mattioli was retiring, he needed to sell his shares. An Italian consortium intervened, acquiring a total of 90% of the shares. The designer retained 10% and veto power over design decisions. Bensusan, recruited by the Italian consortium as a senior executive, served as CEO for over a year, gaining valuable experience throughout the entire process.
 
Around April 2001, Ben Susan, having heard about the potential deal for Jimmy Choo, called Tamara directly without an introduction, introducing himself and stating that if he led the investment, the business would multiply several times within three years. While discussing the deal with Tamara, he also thoroughly investigated Jimmy Choo's situation, and simultaneously took charge of raising funds. With a rapidly growing luxury brand project and an experienced CEO solution ready to take over operations immediately, Ben Susan successfully entered into a deep partnership with the newly established Phoenix Capital. As a partner with a small investment, he would serve as the brand's CEO after the transaction and share in the profits as a project partner.
 
During the handover process, Jimmy Choo's niece, Sandra Choi, also faced a life choice. In 1991, she made another important decision: to continue working with Jimmy Choo in shoe design, she dropped out of Central Saint Martins, a top design school she had worked so hard to get into. This time, she chose to stay with the Jimmy Choo brand, assisting Tamara and taking on the main responsibility for shoe design. This may have caused some emotional conflict; it's said that for several years, she lost contact with her mentor, Jimmy Choo. However, they later reconnected, and Choi continues to publicly thank her mentor and has even attended some events together, which aligns with Asian family values.
 
Businesses continue to rise despite continuous changes in controlling stakes
 
Following the 2001 transaction, the brand's third controlling shareholder structure became Phoenix Capital holding 51% and Tamara's family holding 49%. Bensusan became CEO, overseeing business operations, Tamara became CMO, managing product and marketing, and her father continued as chairman. Over three years, through overseas expansion, deepening supply chain outsourcing to Italy, and other operations, the company's highly scarce brand value, coupled with skillful business operations, led to rapid growth of over 60% in business and a significant increase in profits. At this point, Phoenix Capital decided it was time to sell.
 
In November 2004, the small fund Phoenix Capital sold its entire stake in Jimmy Choo to the newly formed mid-sized fund Lion Capital for approximately £100 million. Excluding debt leverage, the return was roughly four times over three years, with substantial cash inflows and outflows and a very respectable DPI (Dependency on Investment). This case was highly successful and extremely beneficial for raising the next fund. That same year, Lion Capital had just raised a new £800 million fund and needed to invest in a star project. In fact, this project was likely to receive strong support from all investment committees. For example, committee members would go home and ask their wives, "Should we buy this brand?" Believe me, the feedback would be overwhelmingly positive.
 
The post-investment process was straightforward. Bensusan was willing to remain CEO, and the Tamara family, having reduced their stake by a few percentage points, were also willing to continue as co-founders. With LION Capital's support, the Jimmy brand opened multiple stores across Asia and launched bag products, licensed perfumes, eyewear, and other categories, resulting in continued significant revenue and profit growth. Then, in early 2007, the fourth controlling shareholder, LION Capital, sold its shares to the newly formed large fund, TOWERBROOK, for a valuation of £180 million. In less than three years, including dividends, LION Capital's returns nearly doubled. While not exceptionally high, it was still quite good, essentially a successful buy-and-sell transaction. They hadn't had to worry much or encounter any major setbacks; in terms of cost-effectiveness, it was quite high.
 
The TOWERBROOK fund, managed by a group of seasoned equity investment experts, was formerly the equity investment team of Soros Fund Management, only beginning to operate independently in 2005. Ramez Sousou, co-head of the fund's European operations, had met with Ben Susan in 2004 and had considered pushing for the acquisition of Jimmy Choo through Soros Fund Management, but Lion Capital beat him to it. To some extent, the most direct driving force behind this controlling stake transfer, which began to brew in 2006, was the tension between key figures.
 
The complexity of human issues and how money solves problems
 
The beautiful and successful Tamara faced significant challenges in her personal life starting in 2004. That year, her father, Tom, passed away, leading to a strained relationship with her mother over inheritance issues. Her marriage to wealthy American heir Matthew Mellon was also nearing its end (the official divorce was finalized in 2005). Following Tom's death, the power struggle between Tamara and Bensusan within the company intensified. Bensusan sought mediation from the new major shareholder, LION Capital, but the new shareholder suggested that the core management handle the matter themselves, or perhaps Tamara should find a solution.
 
Perhaps money can solve most problems. Bensousan planned to bring in a new major shareholder to further reduce the Tamara family's shareholding, thereby gaining more support on the board. Lion Capital agreed with this idea; now it was just a matter of who would become the brand's fifth controlling shareholder. Bensousan continued to lead negotiations with potential investors, but major luxury groups such as Gucci and Burberry showed little interest, leaving him to seek funding. When Bensousan contacted Ramez of Towerbrock again in September 2006, he received a very positive response. In fact, Bensousan had managed the business quite well in recent years, reaching £65 million in 2006. Due diligence went smoothly, and £185 million wasn't a problem for Towerbrock. However, balancing the core management personnel arrangements took several more months.
 
Tamara and Bensusan—only one can remain. Interviews revealed that Tamara remains a key creative leader at the fashion company and is not easily replaced, so it's best to keep her. Bensusan's high-level management, however, could be supplemented by hiring other executives. Ultimately, money was the deciding factor. Ramez offered Bensusan a substantial equity incentive (a considerable sum), stipulating that he could retain his board seat (to save face) and gradually expand into new brand investment ventures. The official press release announcing the deal stated the same: core executives would remain, and Mr. Bensusan would be involved in more brand investment matters in the future.
 
Now only one question remains: who will replace Ben Susan? For TOWERBROOK, whose initial fund manages nearly £3 billion, the resources at their disposal are plentiful. They have a new partner, Andrew Rolf, with extensive experience in the consumer industry. For example, from 1998 to 2003, he served as CEO of the British sandwich chain Pret a Manger (a star company whose star logo is ubiquitous in bustling streets), where he brought in McDonald's investment. However, in 2003, due to disagreements with the founder, he was dismissed by the board and subsequently took a job at the American company GAP, serving as President of International Business for three years, before joining TOWERBROOK in 2006.
 
When Andrew was in GAP's international business department, he had a colleague who reported directly to him. Andrew felt this former colleague was suitable to succeed Jimmy Choo as CEO. This candidate was Joshua Shulman, a graduate of New York University and Parsons, and a former executive who rose through the ranks from the Gucci Group. Those familiar with the fashion industry may know that this man later held several important positions in the fashion world, serving as global CEO of American brands COACH and MICHAEL KORS, and currently as global CEO of the British luxury brand BURBBERRY. Jimmy Choo is his first real CEO opportunity.
 
The background check and interviews took considerable effort. Once the intentions were clearer, Andrew happened to know Domnick, who had left his position as CEO of the GUCCI Group a couple of years prior. He directly called Domnick for advice: "Do you think Joshua can run a company well?" "I think so," said Domnick, Joshua's former boss and longtime partner at TOM FORD. Then, TOWERBROOK specifically hired the top headhunting firm Egon Zehnder, not primarily to get recommendations, but to conduct a more detailed background check on Joshua. A few days after the official announcement of TOWERBROOK's acquisition of Jimmy Choo, Joshua came to London for an interview with Ramez, TOWERBROOK's managing partner, along with Tamara and Ben Susan. Joshua discovered that he and Tamara had both attended the same elementary school in Beverly Hills, though Joshua attended about seven years later.
 
ONE TRANSFER AFTER ANOTHER
 
TOWERBROOK Fund became the fifth controlling shareholder of the Jimmy Choo brand. Undoubtedly, as a fund, they would need to resell it sooner or later. Their newly appointed CEO, Joshua, proved highly effective, leading to continued growth in the company's performance over the next few years. In 2010, the Jimmy Choo brand had approximately £150 million in sales revenue and over £25 million in EBITDA, making it a valuable and stable luxury goods business.
 
For this sale, TOWERBROOK directly hired Goldman Sachs and UBS as financial advisors, simultaneously preparing for an IPO and launching a public offering. The sale information was sent to approximately forty potential buyers globally whom the financial advisors deemed suitable. At that time, JAB, the well-known German family fund specializing in consumer investments, was preparing to further expand its presence in the luxury goods industry. JAB had been investing in the luxury goods sector since 2007, acquiring the century-old Swiss brand BALLY for $650 million in 2008. It was managing the brand well and had a strong interest and confidence in the luxury goods industry, along with ample cash, making it an ideal buyer.
 
Within months, by early 2011, the £526 million deal was completed cleanly and efficiently—a true business transaction. Joshua remained in his position for a year to assist with the transition, while Tamara initially intended to stay, but soon encountered numerous strategic disagreements with the new shareholders, and her shares had already been sold in the transaction. With tens of millions of pounds in cash at her disposal, and finding it even harder to tolerate disagreements, Tamara resigned a few months later. For brand businesses of this size, there are many senior executives capable of handling sophisticated operations. Within the industry, large multi-brand groups such as LVMH and Kering have a sufficient pool of professional executives available for collaboration.
 
This time, JAB appointed Pierre Denis, a veteran who had worked for the LVMH Group for many years, as CEO. He had served in the LVMH Group for many years, working in the perfume business and also overseeing overseas operations at Dior. His last job was as CEO of the ready-to-wear, perfume, and accessories business of the eponymous brand of British designer John Galliano (also under the LVMH Group). Coincidentally, the wildly successful designer John Galliano made anti-Semitic remarks in a bar in 2011, causing a huge uproar. LVMH's Arnault had no choice but to dismiss him from his position as creative director at Dior, and the eponymous brand was shut down. Pierre Denis also suffered an undeserved blow, as the business he managed suddenly collapsed. This may have been an opportunity for him to accept the invitation from JAB Group, a newcomer to the luxury goods industry, to become CEO of Jimmy Choo. Spoiler alert: Pierre Denis served in this position for eight years, and his successor was promoted from within Jimmy Choo in May 2000. If we start from Tamara, who appeared out of nowhere with £150,000, the Jimmy Choo brand has been managed by parachuted-in CEOs for 25 years; if we start from Bensusan, it has been 19 years.
 
During Pierre Denis's tenure, the Jimmy Choo brand shed its last trace of founder influence (Tamara left after two months), bidding farewell to sentimentality and focusing on raising funds, opening stores, and expanding its product range. By 2013, Jimmy Choo's sales revenue had exceeded £280 million, with EBITDA of approximately £47 million, making it large enough to be listed independently. In October 2014, Jimmy Choo listed on the London Stock Exchange, becoming another luxury goods company to go public. The listing was conducted through the transfer of existing shares; JAB sold approximately 25% of its existing shares, recovering £140 million in cash, with a valuation slightly higher than the valuation when it was acquired three years earlier.
 
Becoming a luxury goods business under JAB, a super-wealthy European conglomerate, and becoming a publicly listed company himself—was this a peaceful ending to Jimmy Choo's story? Unfortunately, within the OLDMONEY sector, the JAB Group has spent the last thirty years aggressively making deals and constantly exploring new strategic possibilities. For investment banks, JAB was a truly golden client, but for Jimmy Choo, JAB's strategic thinking had undergone a significant shift; they wanted to exit the luxury goods industry and quickly became another ex-boyfriend.
 
The story of JAB could be a separate article. Here's a brief overview: In 1823, Johann Adam Benckiser bought a chemical factory in Germany. Later, Mr. Lehmann married their daughter and took over the business, primarily manufacturing and selling household cleaning products. In 1996, the Lehmann family split their household chemical business into two main parts: one focused on perfumes and fragrances, the predecessor of the COTY Group; the other, a sizable household cleaning business, lacked major consumer brands. In 1999, it was acquired by the British household cleaning and personal care company Reckitt & Colman through a share swap. The Lehmann family's household cleaning business was valued at over £500 million in exchange for approximately 15% of the shares in the merged company. The merged company was renamed Reckitt & Benckiser, the well-known European household cleaning giant, whose famous brands include Dettol, Durex, Enfamil (Mr. Muscle formula), and Move Free. Over the next two decades, the Lehman family gradually reduced their holdings and received dividends, bringing back approximately £6 billion in cash from Reckitt Benckiser. This became the primary source of cash for JAB's various investments. Of course, the reduction of its stake in COTY also contributed another portion of cash.

After a decade of experimentation and exits in the luxury goods sector, JAB currently primarily holds coffee businesses, such as Peet's Coffee and Green Mountain Capsule Coffee, as well as food and beverage businesses, such as selling Jimmy Choo and later acquiring the Pret a Manger chain. Their decade-long exploration in the luxury goods industry hasn't resulted in significant losses; for example, they made a profit from the sale of Jimmy Choo. Bally was almost sold in 2018, with the Chinese company Shandong Ruyi Group acquiring it during a supposed economic upswing. However, Ruyi Group's cash flow dried up, and the deal fell through. Therefore, JAB still owns the Bally brand and is continuing to seek opportunities to divest it.
 
JAB, the sixth controlling shareholder of Jimmy Choo, initiated a sale of its controlling stake in 2017 and successfully found a new buyer: Michael Kors Holdings, an American company with a fascinating history (more on that later). For European luxury groups, acquiring a brand of Jimmy Choo's size wasn't particularly attractive. However, for Michael Kors, which was planning to build the multi-brand group Capri, it was a genuine opportunity to acquire a brand that reached luxury status. For an American group focused on accessible luxury, this was certainly appealing. Ultimately, the sale cost approximately $1.3 billion, privatizing and delisting Jimmy Choo. The year before the acquisition, Jimmy Choo had approximately £360 million in revenue and £60 million in EBITDA (its core business was truly strong). CEO Pierre Denis happily joined the Capri system and served for several more years. In 2000, Pierre Denis left the company, and an internally promoted executive took over as CEO of Jimmy Choo.
 
In 2023, under its seventh controlling shareholder, Capri, the company's revenue reached £600 million for the first time. However, it then encountered a growth bottleneck and declining profits. The situation has been similar for the past two years, with stagnant revenue growth and deteriorating profits. Rumors circulated again that Capri was considering selling the Jimmy Choo brand again, sparking various speculations. However, several months ago, Capri officially responded to the rumors, stating that Jimmy Choo is not for sale. (I suspect this was just informal speculation, without any reliable buyer interest or reasonable price. Indeed, if a sale were to occur, it would be better to do so when the business is on a growth trajectory.)
 
 
End
 
Founded by Asian designer Jimmy Choo, Jimmy Choo has achieved remarkable success over its legendary 30-year history, becoming one of the most influential luxury brands. But what about those who participated in the creation of this important brand? What are they doing now?
 
Princess Diana, a legendary customer of the brand, passed away unexpectedly in 1997. As a cultural icon, her influence and legend continue to resonate widely.
 
Jimmy Choo, the renowned shoe designer from the East, continued to be active in the industry as a design master, fashion industry educator, and creative director after leaving Jimmy Choo in 2001. However, he did not directly establish a large-scale fashion brand afterward. His fashion education academy, JCA, has contributed a new generation of talent to the fashion industry, much like how he brought his niece, Sandra Choi, into the field.

Sandra Choi, after thirty years, is still working at Jimmy Choo as Creative Director. Just a few months ago, she spoke in an interview as the company's Creative Director. This is perhaps the most enduring personal story in a company with constantly changing shareholders and core management.
 
Elizabeth, Jimmy Choo's college classmate and one of the earliest key figures in introducing him to Vogue, though her own shoe brand failed to achieve great success. Today, searching her name in the fashion industry primarily yields results related to Jimmy Choo's recollections of receiving her help and recommendations.
 
After leaving Jimmy Choo in 2011, Tamara attempted to launch her own eponymous high-end footwear brand, TAMARA MELLON, investing in it herself and attracting considerable external investment. At its peak, it reportedly achieved sales of $40-50 million, but it likely never turned a profit, facing bankruptcy at one point. It may still exist today, but it lacks presence and commercial value. In my limited understanding, the beautiful female customers of high-end brands are rarely interested in buying from another sexy and beautiful female designer. You can be sexy and beautiful like Fan Bingbing, or a great designer like Miu Miu, but if you try to be both, like Victoria Beckham, your business won't last long. After news broke that Capri was considering selling the Jimmy Choo brand, Tamara stated publicly that she was the most suitable buyer and was considering inviting investors to participate. Well, her business judgment is outdated.
 
Following the successful acquisition of Jimmy Choo, Bensouzan continued his active involvement in investment and management within the fashion industry. He participated in numerous projects through fund investments and involvement in industry operations or empowerment, and was also invited to join Lululemon's global board as a seasoned industry professional. However, in one project most similar to Jimmy Choo, the LKBennett brand, Bensouzan suffered his largest financial loss. The similarities lie in collaborating with designers from shoemaking families and both being favorites of princesses, but their price ranges, product structures, and the times they represent differ. LKB's founder, Linda Bennett, sold her controlling stake to a consortium organized by Bensouzan in 2007, working alongside him. While Kate Middleton enjoys high popularity in the UK, her style is more down-to-earth. Princess Diana, though also from a commoner background, had an influence on a different level. The different price ranges of their products meant that LKB's profit margins were narrower, and its positioning between high-street and accessible luxury required a distinct operating model. Furthermore, in terms of product category structure, LKB also had some ready-to-wear clothing, posing a greater challenge to inventory management. Ultimately, after more than a decade of effort, the brand lost all of its investors' money. During the bankruptcy auction a few years ago, a former Chinese distributor, reportedly the wife of a listed company owner, bought the brand under a small personal name, Jin'e. Ben Susan himself estimates a loss of 30 to 40 million pounds in this case.

 
This is the story of the Jimmy Choo brand that I know.

The inspiration for this story came from a visit to JCA College in London this summer, directly opposite the VOGUO building. Like Pop Mart, every wildly popular brand has several crucial turning points. The first few years of a brand's life are critical, establishing its core framework and influencing whether it becomes a legendary brand, a mass-market brand, or a brand that can be discontinued. Respecting industry norms and operating professionally can ensure that a company's operations remain on a positive track even after a change in ownership. Director Shao Yihui's film *The Myth of Love* left a particularly deep impression on me regarding the Jimmy Choo brand.

Several AI applications have greatly helped me in collecting data, but also created many illusions and confusions. The monograph *The High Heel Empire* by several American authors provides a lot of content and framework, but I don't entirely agree with some of the logic. Most of the facts in the text have been verified multiple times and should be largely accurate; I am responsible for the underlying logic. Herodotus, the author of *The Histories*, a pioneering work of Western historiography, wrote in the opening that his book aims to explore the truth of things and the reasons behind them. Within the scope of the consumer industry and sociology, exploring the truth, seeking solutions and answers, and verifying the underlying logic—this is also my next goal.

Of course, I also look forward to the opportunity to participate in some very interesting brand transactions in the future.