7 Businesses That Went From Black-Owned To Corporate Entities
- By
MadameNoire
Phat Fashions – bought by Kellwood in 2004 for $140 million
Phat Fashions was founded in 1992 by Russell Simmons as an urban fashion brand with Phat Farm, a men’s urban apparel line, as its flagship venture and expanded to include the Baby Phat women’s clothing line by Simmons’ then wife, Kimora, in 1999. The company’s annual revenue was approximated to be $200 million at the time of the merger. Russell and Kimora Simmons continued in their leading roles at the company following its acquisition by Kellwood. According to Kellwood CEO Hal Upbin, the company had been interested in expanding into the urban apparel market since the late 1990s, but was not convinced of its long-term viability until shortly before the Phat Fashions acquisition.
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