Who Is Jimmy Choo?
Jimmy Choo is a couture shoe designer. Born into a family tradition of shoemakers, his expertise led him to co-found Jimmy Choo Ltd., a British company that sells luxury shoes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Early Life and Career
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Choo, of Chinese ancestry, was born in 1961 in Penang, Malaysia. His shoemaking talents manifested early; at 11, he had already made his first shoe, and he excelled at Cordwainers' Technical College in London, England while working at restaurants and cleaners to help pay his tuition.
After graduation in 1983, Choo rented an old hospital building near his alma mater, and eventually opened a workshop in 1986. From the next 10 years, he built his reputation with his craft, getting his creations featured in a 1988 issue of Vogue magazine and receiving patronage from Diana, Princess of Wales, by the beginning of the 1990s.
Founding Jimmy Choo Ltd.
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In 1996, Tamara Mellon, then accessories editor at British Vogue, approached Choo with the idea to capitalize on the potential demand for luxury shoes. The consultation resulted in a partnership. With financial help from Mellon's father, Vidal Sassoon co-founder Tommy Yeardye, they established a stand-alone boutique on Motcomb Street in London, with sourced factories in Italy to produce the shoes on a larger scale. Yeardye continued to fund the company as chairman of Jimmy Choo Ltd. until his death in 2004.
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Success
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By 2000, the Choo company had opened stores in New York and Los Angeles, its shoes becoming a premier choice among Hollywood's stars. Also by this time, the company had acquired more than 100 wholesale clients that included Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. In 2007, a deal involving an 83 percent stake purchase by private equity house TowerBrook Capital valued Jimmy Choo Ltd. at £185 million ($304 million).
Departure
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In April 2001, Choo sold his 50 percent stake in the company for £10 million during the company's forging of a new partnership with Equinox Luxury Holdings Ltd. Robert Bensoussan, Equinox's chief executive, became CEO of Jimmy Choo Ltd. According to a Tamara Mellon profile in the British daily newspaper The Guardian, Mellon facilitated Choo's departure from the company.
Today
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Choo currently runs the exclusive Jimmy Choo Couture line, which is produced under license from Jimmy Choo Ltd. He still lives in London.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit kitmeout.com
