The sector could see a surprise or two on the mergers and acquisitions front in 2026.
That surprise in 2025 came from the $9 billion take-private deal for Skechers Inc., when it inked its deal with Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital, representing the biggest footwear buyout in the industry’s history. Foot Locker, Golden Goose and Stuart Weitzman also changed hands in an active year.
“Every company is for sale if the price is right,” according to Spurwink River analyst Matt Powell. “I think owners are always evaluating their portfolio and considering shedding unproductive assets.”
Understanding whether the price is right isn’t an exact science. Sometimes management and their boards can get tripped up, thinking that a company or brand should be valued higher than what someone is willing to pay and a potential deal goes nowhere. Other times they might reject an offer because they’re confident in their business plan and think they can do a better job in building on that strategy.
In a discussion hosted by S&P Global Markets Intelligence last month, Andrea Guerzoni, global vice chair at EY-Parthenon, Strategy and Transactions, characterized 2025 as a complicated year due to geopolitical issues and tariffs. And while the back half of the year has “showed signs of improvements” momentum [for M&A deals] is not there.” Moreover, private equity still has a “huge amount of backlog.”
But acquirers could be coming off the sidelines now that interest rates are “pretty much down everywhere.” That means there’s a greater potential that deals that were impossible two years ago could become more probable now.
In the footwear sector, sale speculation has surrounded Puma SE since September over the possibility that Artemis, a 29 percent equity holder, might be looking to shed its investment to a strategic buyer. And while there’s been no shortage on rumblings over who might be interested, the struggling German sportswear brand is clearly focused on its turnaround strategy. A turnaround that is able to right the ship would garner a higher valuation, correlating with higher offers if a sale were to eventually occur. Reuters reported last year that Artemis, the parent firm that controls Gucci-owner Kering, would not sell its stake at current valuations.
In the third-quarter earnings call last October, chief executive officer Arthur Hoeld told investors that management recognized the brand’s shortcomings and issues, as well as “what is holding Puma back to succeed,” including the notion of lack of brand heat.
“We’re certainly a brand that doesn’t command the same attention of brand love or brand heat that is required to succeed in the market,” he admitted, adding that of its global top 10 retail accounts, three are in the category of mass merchants.
Hoeld reiterated that 2025 was the year for reorganization, requiring an execution of its strategy that would last “well into 2026 with rebuilt momentum and the confidence in our brand and in our operation.” And the CEO emphasized that the company’s goal and commitment “is to grow again as a brand in 2027.”
The German athletic firm last month secured a bridge loan of 500 million euros and additional confirmed credit lines of 108 million euros, with both facilities designed to provide interim liquidity to refinance an existing Revolving Credit Facility of 1.2 billion euros.
Other names that could resurface on the M&A front include Nike’s Converse, Capri Holding’s Jimmy Choo and VF Corp.’s Timberland.
BNP Paribas Equity Research senior analyst Laurent Vasilescu on Monday suggested that Nike may be considering a sale of its Converse brand, given the challenges that it faces and because its “underlying health” might be “more precarious” than first thought. The analyst also pointed to the 44 percent decline year-over-year in demand creation versus down 6 percent year-over-year in the first quarter.
Demand creation typically includes expenses related to marketing a brand. “We’ve never seen a 44 percent decline in demand creation for a brand,” Vasilescu wrote. “With Nike pulling back on so much demand creation, Nike may be evaluating strategic alternatives for Converse.”
Executives at Nike did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The thinking last April was that Prada was in line to ink a deal with Capri at 1.5 billion euros to buy both Versace and Jimmy Choo. But U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan, and resulting trade war, put the kibosh on the sale of the shoe brand. Prada did go on to acquire Versace for 1.25 billion euros. Meanwhile, Jimmy Choo cofounder Tamara Mellon was one name that surfaced as a possible buyer for the brand.
Capri CEO John Idol told investors last August that Jimmy Choo is not for sale, adding that the firm is “excited” about the shoe brand’s growth opportunity. Still, sale speculation has continued.
That is true too for the Timberland brand, one of VF Corp.’s three key pillars, along with Vans and The North Face. VF also is one of those rare apparel firms that has a regular practice that entails evaluating its future and what direction it should head toward for growth. And depending on what that path is, VF doesn’t hesitate to shed brands, even divisions, that no longer fit with its vision.
A portfolio review in 2023 following weak earnings reports saw VF rejigger its brand portfolio. The sale of Kipling, Eastpak and JanSport backpack businesses was already in the works in late 2022, and the Dickies, Supreme and Timberland brands were thought to be possibilities for the chopping block at the time. VF sold streetwear brand Supreme to EssilorLuxottica in 2024 and the Dickies workwear brand to brand management firm Bluestar Alliance in 2025.
The shoe industry also could see PE firms sell their minority stakes as they begin to divest some “vintage” holdings. One example last year was L Catterton’s 30 percent stake in the Zanotti brand that it acquired in 2014. Company founder and majority stakeholder Giuseppe Zanotti bought back the stake in his namesake brand. The industry could also see family-owned businesses deciding to put their firm up for sale, such as the decision last year by the family behind the Mystique Sandals brand to sell the 26-year-old brand.
And on the restructuring or distressed side, there could be a bankruptcy or two that could set the stage for new ownership. One example is Italian luxury footwear brand Moreschi, which was declared bankrupt in 2024, and was taken over by Glam Srl and the Imerman Family Office fund via a court auction.
