The Tamesis
Authentic Brands Group acquired Guess for an undisclosed amount, making it the second-largest brand in Authentic’s portfolio after Reebok and bringing the holding’s annual retail sales to $38 billion.
Through this transaction, Authentic will split Guess’s intellectual property and operations, with Authentic owning 51% of the intellectual property. Paul and Maurice Marciano co-founded the company in 1981, along with Nicolai Marciano and Guess CEO Carlos Alberini will own the remaining 49% of the shares and 100% of the company’s operations. The brand’s leadership position is not expected to change. The deal will take the global fashion brand, which first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996, privately held.
Authentic founder and CEO Jamie Salter believes his company can build Guess into a $10 billion business. In 2025, Guess reported revenue of $3 billion, up 8% year over year.
“I’m very confident that this brand is undervalued,” he said. “It’s going to take some time, but I’m confident we can get there.”
Guess co-founder and chief creative officer Paul Marciano said the market has changed in the 30 years since Guess was launched. “Things are not the same in the ’90s as they are in 2026. You lose awareness of the value of the brand. After we’ve established it, it’s unfair, it’s not right, and we have no obligation to be public,” he said. But previous discussions about a sale did not make any progress. “A lot of people tried to buy the company, refinance it through private equity — blah, blah, blah. Nothing worked. We wanted to protect our independence and freedom and not burden the company with debt.”
Then he met Jamie Salter.
“The lights are on. Oh, gee. What are we going to do together? He is an animal. He is a beast. His mind was racing at 1,000 miles an hour. You have to tell him to slow down. What he’s built in 15 years is unreal,” Marciano said. “He knows things that I have no idea about, like entertainment, sports, hospitality. All I know is products, licensing, partnerships. When you put them together, you see the potential. Marciano said he’s seen a change in Authentic’s direction over the past few years, with “real, functioning” brands like Reebok and Champion coming on board. That appealed to him.
Authentic owns fashion companies that are past their prime, such as JCPenney, Barneys, Nine West, Billabong, Brooks Brothers, Forever21, Roxy, Lucky Brand and Eddie Bauer. It is in the business of acquiring once-loved but now dusty brands and breathing new life into them through licensing deals that often extend well beyond merchandise into hospitality, entertainment, residential and sports, and drive marketing campaigns, category launches and international expansion through a shared platform model. “People like nostalgia brands,” Salter said.
Salter said the most important factors in the acquisition process were that the brand had global visibility and had room to grow by category and market. “That’s the most important part,” he said. “Then we look at the archives. Does this brand have great staying power? Guess, Reebok, Champion — all of these are legacy great brands with great archives. Today, brands need a heartbeat. That’s critical. We are bringing Guess back to younger generations, and we’re going to do it at scale.”
Salter and Marciano said they see growth opportunities for Guess in markets such as India, Brazil and China, as well as new licensing deals in categories such as fragrance. Following its acquisition of Rag & Bone last year, Guess itself is considering more acquisitions. As for Authentic, Salter said that following this acquisition, the company has announced another acquisition.
“We are big believers in the fashion industry,” Salter said. “You have to invest in these brands. That’s why this model works.”
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