MW Tapestry is selling Stuart Weitzman footwear brand to Caleres to focus on Coach and Kate Spade

By Ciara Linnane

Move comes just months after a judge backed FTC efforts to block a merger of Tapestry and Michael Kors parent Capri

Tapestry Inc.'s stock dipped premarket Wednesday, after the company announced it's selling its Stuart Weitzman footwear brand to Caleres Inc. for $105 million in cash.

Tapestry (TPR) will retain its two other brands - Coach and Kate Spade, famous for handbags, accessories and clothing. Caleres $(CAL)$ is home to a portfolio of footwear brands, including Famous Footwear, Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds, Naturalizer and Vionic.

"Importantly, as diligent stewards of our portfolio and disciplined allocators of capital, this transaction ensures that all our brands are positioned for long-term success and that we maintain a sharp focus on our largest value creation opportunities," Tapestry Chief Executive Joanne Crevoiserat said in prepared remarks.

The news comes just months after a federal judge blocked Tapestry's planned $8.5 billion acquisition of Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings Ltd. $(CPRI.UK)$, agreeing with regulators that the deal would hurt competition in the handbag industry.

Capri is the parent of the Versace and Jimmy Choo brands.

The Federal Trade Commission had sued to block the deal in April. In November, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon said the merger would result in "loss of head-to-head competition" and found "persuasive additional evidence of unilateral effects of the merger causing anticompetitive harm."

Tapestry said at the time it was disappointed at the ruling and planned to appeal.

The FTC, under former head Lina Khan, had taken an aggressive stance on a number of deals, including Kroger Inc.'s $(KR)$ attempt to merge with rival grocery chain Albertsons Inc. $(ACI)$

That move, which also had the support of nine attorneys general - from Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming and the District of Columbia - came on the back of concerns it would stifle competition, raise already-high grocery prices and harm workers and product quality.

Tapestry's stock has gained 93.9% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 22.5%.

-Ciara Linnane

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2025 07:52 ET (12:52 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.