Author | Zheng Qiao
Editor | Wang Xiaojun
The once &#34;internet celebrity shoe king&#34; Stuart Weitzman has now reached a crossroads in its fate.
Recently, the American luxury group Tapestry announced the sale of its high-end footwear brand Stuart Weitzman to footwear company Caleres for $105 million, with the transaction expected to be completed in the summer of 2025. This also marks the impending end of the decade-long marriage between this globally popular &#34;bare-leg artifact&#34; brand and Tapestry.
Tapestry Group CEO Joanne Crevoiserat has repeatedly emphasized that Tapestry will continue to focus on market opportunities that can create the greatest value, continuously enhancing its competitiveness. This sale also signifies Tapestry's further focus on its core brands Coach and Kate Spade, simplifying its business structure and enhancing market focus.
Behind the transaction lies Tapestry's strategic adjustment of its brand matrix, as well as the reflection of Stuart Weitzman's recent performance decline and changes in the market environment.
The relationship between Stuart Weitzman and Tapestry began in 2015. At that time, Tapestry (then known as Coach, Inc.) acquired Stuart Weitzman from private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $574 million, aiming to expand Tapestry's business footprint in the high-end footwear market and enrich its brand portfolio.
Previously, Stuart Weitzman gained popularity among domestic consumers with its iconic 5050 over-the-knee boots, which became a hit in Europe and the United States. With the rise of celebrity street photography, these boots quickly broke into the mainstream, becoming a model for imitation on social media. This &#34;celebrity style&#34; effect was amplified in the social media era, further solidifying Stuart Weitzman's &#34;internet celebrity&#34; status.
In 2014, Stuart Weitzman's revenue approached $300 million, with an annual growth rate of 10%. The 5050 boots were once in short supply in the Chinese market, selling for as much as 5,000-6,000 yuan and still being snatched up, even giving rise to a purchasing agent industry.
In 2019, the brand signed Yang Mi as its spokesperson, further tapping into the young consumer group in China, leading to a surge in the number of stores in the Chinese market to 63, accounting for the vast majority of its overseas market.
Despite once being a sensation, Stuart Weitzman's performance growth has gradually slowed in recent years due to intensified market competition and changes in consumer preferences, failing to achieve the expected growth.
The problem primarily lies in the product structure. Stuart Weitzman heavily relies on a single blockbuster product—the 5050 boots—but as the market becomes increasingly saturated and counterfeit products proliferate, the brand's growth has stagnated
From 2015 to 2020, Stuart Weitzman failed to launch new products that could compete with the 5050 boots, with its designs criticized as &#34;conservative&#34; and &#34;lacking innovation,&#34; leading to a lack of creativity. At the same time, the long inventory turnover days of Stuart Weitzman made discount promotions the norm, severely weakening the brand's pricing power.
In addition, after 2020, with the rise of remote work and the athleisure trend, consumer preferences shifted towards comfortable casual shoes, while the demand for Stuart Weitzman's sexy high heels and over-the-knee boots sharply declined, with many consumers viewing its products as &#34;tears of the times.&#34; This change in market trends further exacerbated the brand's predicament.
In the fiscal year 2024 (ending June 29, 2024), Stuart Weitzman's revenue fell 13% year-on-year to $241.5 million, with an operating loss of $21.2 million, making it the only loss-making brand in the group. By the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 (ending December 28, 2024), Tapestry Group's overall revenue reached $2.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5%, with the Coach brand contributing 76.4% of the revenue, Kate Spade accounting for 20%, while Stuart Weitzman's revenue share was only 3.6%, and it continued to shrink.
From a regional market perspective, Tapestry achieved a 2% growth in the Greater China region, and the European market grew by 42%, while Stuart Weitzman, despite having a large number of overseas stores in the Chinese market, showed overall weak growth. In terms of strategic adjustments, Tapestry accelerated the process of digitalization and omnichannel integration, while Stuart Weitzman, despite attempts to expand its sneaker and men's shoe product lines, saw little effect.
Additionally, Tapestry Group faces dual pressures. On one hand, in August 2023, Tapestry announced the acquisition of Capri Holdings (which owns brands such as Michael Kors, Versace, and Jimmy Choo) for $8.5 billion, but the deal was blocked by a preliminary injunction from the court in October 2024 due to a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on the grounds of &#34;monopolizing the affordable luxury market.&#34; Selling Stuart Weitzman could not only raise funds for the group but also simplify the brand portfolio and improve the chances of merger approvals.
On the other hand, the growth demand for Tapestry's core brands is also urgent. Although Coach's sales exceeded $5 billion for the first time in fiscal year 2024, and revenue grew by 10% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, Kate Spade's performance was disappointing, with a 10% decline in revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025. The group needs to concentrate resources to consolidate Coach's market leadership and revitalize Kate Spade's market performance
For Tapestry, selling Stuart Weitzman is a rational choice of &#34;amputation for survival&#34;; for Caleres, it is a gamble filled with challenges and opportunities.
Analysts point out that this transaction is a wise move for the Tapestry Group. On one hand, it brings considerable cash flow to Tapestry; on the other hand, it allows the company to further focus on the development of its core business. For the acquiring party, Caleres Group, the addition of the &#34;old internet celebrity&#34; brand Stuart Weitzman will expand its product matrix and enhance brand influence.
Caleres is an American footwear group with a history of 150 years, with brands including Dr. Scholl’s, Naturalizer, etc., specializing in the operation of mass-market footwear. Jay Schmidt, President and CEO of Caleres, stated that Stuart Weitzman will become Caleres' leading brand, and it is expected to contribute nearly half of the revenue and profit after integration.
The complementary nature of Caleres and Stuart Weitzman’s product categories is an important consideration for this acquisition. Caleres focuses on affordable comfort shoes, while Stuart Weitzman’s high-end positioning can fill the gap in its light luxury market. Additionally, channel synergy effects are expected to emerge—Caleres' extensive retail network is likely to help Stuart Weitzman expand into lower-tier markets.
Caleres is also attracted to Stuart Weitzman's brand value. Despite a decline in performance in recent years, the brand still enjoys high recognition and a consumer base in core product areas such as over-the-knee boots. Caleres can leverage its brand assets to drive growth through category and channel expansion.
However, balancing Stuart Weitzman's &#34;high-end tone&#34; with Caleres' mass-market operational capabilities will be a key challenge that Caleres will face in the future.
The streamlined Tapestry Group and the reshaped Stuart Weitzman will each embark on new development paths. However, whether both parties can find a new direction in the red ocean of the light luxury market remains to be seen over time.
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American luxury group Tapestry announced the sale of its high-end footwear brand Stuart Weitzman to Caleres for $105 million, with the transaction expected to be completed in the summer of 2025. This marks the end of a decade-long partnership between Stuart Weitzman and Tapestry. Tapestry will focus on its core brands Coach and Kate Spade, simplifying its business structure. Stuart Weitzman has seen a decline in performance in recent years, and changes in the market environment have prompted this strategic adjustment

- Tapestry has announced the sale of its high-end shoe brand Stuart Weitzman to Caleres for $105 million, marking the end of a decade-long partnership.  
- This decision reflects Tapestry's strategic shift to focus on its core brands, Coach and Kate Spade, amid declining performance and changing market conditions for Stuart Weitzman.  
- The acquisition presents both challenges and opportunities for Caleres, as it aims to integrate Stuart Weitzman into its portfolio while balancing its high-end positioning with its mainstream operations.

The generation of "internet celebrity shoe king" SW is about to be sold