I confess, Led Zeppelin is one of my favorite bands and ‘Black Dog’ is one of my play favorites.

It’s filled with such classic-rock lines like:

“I don't know, but I been told,

A big legged woman ain't got no soul.”

Which makes me think about the acquisition market for luxury brands. Well, not all luxury brands, but two in particular – Kate Spade and Jimmy Choo – both brands that, to my mind, ‘ain’t got no soul.’ Obviously, Kate Spade has found its ‘Black Dog,’ but JAB-owned Jimmy Choo still is looking.

By now you’ve probably heard that ‘Black Dog’ Coach paid $2.4 billion for Kate Spade. Quite a step up from the $574 million it put out for the Stuart Weitzman shoe company two years ago.

Jimmy Choo, like Kate Spade, is just a brand, heavy on the marketing, but low on authenticity. And authenticity is something luxury consumers are high on. They want the real deal, not poseurs.

I confess, Led Zeppelin is one of my favorite bands and ‘Black Dog’ is one of my play favorites. It’s filled with such classic-rock lines like:

“I don't know, but I been told,

A big legged woman ain't got no soul.”

Which makes me think about the acquisition market for luxury brands. Well, not all luxury brands, but two in particular – Kate Spade and Jimmy Choo – both brands that, to my mind, ‘ain’t got no soul.’ Obviously, Kate Spade has found its ‘Black Dog,’ but JAB-owned Jimmy Choo still is looking.

By now you’ve probably heard that ‘Black Dog’ Coach paid $2.4 billion for Kate Spade. Quite a step up from the $574 million it put out for the Stuart Weitzman shoe company two years ago.

But unlike Kate Spade, a brand running ‘soul-less’ since 2006 when its founder left, designer Stuart Weitzman is quite literally the ‘shoemaker’s child.’ He has shoes in his blood and personally guided the company through the rough patch since Coach took over. While he just retired, he leaves his ‘child’ in the very able design hands of Giovanni Morelli, coming from Loewe, the LVMH-leather goods brand, and previous stints at Prada, Burberry, Marc Jacobs and Chloe. While Deborah Lloyd, chief creative officer, has done a fair job of copying the ‘Kate Spade’ flair, her CV with stints at Daniel Hechter, Kenzo, Banana Republic and Burberry, hardly matches that of Morelli’s.

I’m no expert at brand valuations, but it looks to me like Coach got a lot more for its money with Stuart Weitzman than with Kate Spade. No doubt, Coach’s play has the JAB folks burning for their own panting ‘Black Dog.’

But Jimmy Choo, like Kate Spade, is just a brand, heavy on the marketing, but low on authenticity. And authenticity is something luxury consumers are high on. They want the real deal, not poseurs. Both brands have been able to prop themselves up after losing their namesakes, but I don’t think the magic will last.

Source: forbes.com