Kontoor Brands, which owns the Wrangler and Lee denim brands, has closed its acquisition of outdoor and workwear brand Helly Hansen, the company announced Monday.
Kontoor paid US $960 million for Norway-based Helly Hansen, which it acquired from Canadian Tire.
Helly Hansen is expected to contribute approximately $425 million to Kontoor’s 2025 revenue, an estimated $37 million to 2025 adjusted operating income, and about 20 cents to 2025 adjusted earnings per share. Additionally, Helly Hansen is expected to contribute approximately $50 million to 2025 cash flow from operations.
“Today marks an exciting step forward for Kontoor as we expand our portfolio of iconic consumer brands,” Kontoor Brands CEO Scott Baxter said in a statement. “The acquisition of Helly Hansen will increase our growth profile, drive greater category, channel and geographic diversification, and increase our penetration in the attractive outdoor and workwear markets.”
Baxter has significant experience in the outdoor market. He worked at VF Corp. for 11 years, and The North Face and other outdoor brands reported directly to him from 2016 to 2018. Baxter left VF in 2019 when VF spun off its jeanswear business and created Kontoor, now a publicly traded company.
Baxter previously noted that that Helly Hansen hasn’t been owned by an apparel company in more than 20 years.
“We know the business and speak the same language,” Baxter said on an earnings call in May. “They have been executing at a high level on their own, but I am more confident than ever in the significant benefit of a more synergistic global brand owner.”
Kontoor, which has deep relationships with high volume retailers through its Wrangler and Lee brands, sees a big opportunity for Helly Hansen to grow in the U.S., where the brand is under penetrated.
“The U.S. remains very under-penetrated relative to (the brand’s) global peers – this is one of the key factors that attracted us to Helly Hansen,” Baxter said on a call in February when the acquisition was first announced. “This (the U.S.) is the single largest growth opportunity for Helly Hansen.”
Baxter also believes the outdoor market in the U.S. needs some newness and excitement.
“I’ve felt like the last few years that there hasn’t been enough innovation in the category since I know it fairly well,” Baxter said in February. “I felt like someone could come in and be a little bit of a disruptor, and I think that’s us.”
