Opening Ceremony opens capital to equity fund

By

Anaïs Lerévérend

Published
Apr 23, 2014

Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, the founding duo of Opening Ceremony, are taking the next step. While now also serving as creative directors of Kenzo, they haven’t lost focus on developing Opening Ceremony and its retail network. And so they have just persuaded the private equity fund Berkshire Partners to take up a minority stake in their company, the value of which has remained undisclosed.

For the retailer, which has five permanent multi-brand stores in New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles and London, the investment will help strengthen its global reach: a priority placed on improving its e-commerce capabilities, but also on strengthening the label’s own collections as well as its monobrand and multi-brand retail network.

Since opening its first multibrand store in SoHo in 2002, Opening Ceremony’s scope has widened, and now it must adapt to its new size. In addition to investment by Berkshire Partners, the company has announced the establishment of a board of directors. While the creative duo will remain at the helm, Glen T. Senk, the former CEO of Urban Outfitters, will become the board’s non-executive chairman.