Harvey Jacobson has put his faith in Marubeni Corporation to maintain jobs and investment as the brand famous for football and Britpop changes hands

Gola, the 120-year-old British trainers brand sported by footballers and musicians, has been sold by its third-generation family owner to a Japanese conglomerate.

Harvey Jacobson has agreed to sell Jacobson Group, the footwear business behind Gola and other brands, to Marubeni Corporation for an undisclosed sum. The Tokyo-listed group is one of Japan’s largest trading houses, with operations spanning energy, food, infrastructure and consumer brands.

Jacobson Group, based in Lancashire, supplies footwear to most major UK retailers and owns brands including Lotus and Ravel, alongside a sizeable own-label operation. Gola is the group’s most valuable asset, benefiting recently from renewed demand for heritage trainers and positioning itself as a less saturated alternative to mass-market retro styles such as the Adidas Samba.

The transaction marks the end of almost 30 years in charge of Gola for the Jacobson Group, whose roots in the footwear trade stretch back more than 80 years.

Jacobson, 69, the founder, owner and executive chairman of Jacobson Group, decided to retire after a lifetime in the industry and sought a buyer that would provide a long-term home for the business and its brands.

The advisers Alvarez & Marsal were appointed to run a competitive sale process, which is said to have attracted interest from several bidders. People familiar with the deal said Marubeni was selected in part because of its commitment to maintaining all 84 jobs and investing in the business for growth.

The group traces its origins to Jacobson’s grandfather, a Russian immigrant who arrived in Manchester in 1910 and worked as a cobbler. As a teenager, Jacobson worked in his father’s shop in Moss Side and at indoor markets in Stafford and Manchester, learning the trade at a time when footwear retail was still highly fragmented.

After joining the family business full-time, he and his brother Melvyn took over a small wholesaler in north Manchester before opening their first trade cash-and-carry outlet in Lancashire.

The business expanded rapidly through the 1980s and early 1990s, shifting from wholesaling into importing and brand ownership, building relationships with national retailers. The pivotal moment came in 1996 with the acquisition of Gola, which has since become the group’s bestselling brand.

Founded in Leicester in 1905 as Joseph Leeson & Sons, Gola began as a British sporting brand best known for football boots. Its products were worn by figures including Bill Shankly and Alf Ramsey, before the brand found a second cultural life in the 1990s when it was adopted by musicians such as Paul Weller and the Gallagher brothers.

“I didn’t realise what I had bought and didn’t understand the branded market. I thought I’d bought a sitter,” Jacobson told The Jewish Chronicle in 2011. “Then I realised I’d bought gold, and now I realise I had actually bought platinum.”

Further acquisitions followed including Lotus, Frank Wright and the Lonsdale distribution licence for the UK and Ireland in the early 2000s, followed by Ravel in 2008, as Jacobson Group built a portfolio of heritage footwear labels.

Today it supplies retailers including John Lewis, Next, Marks & Spencer, Schuh, Selfridges and Urban Outfitters, as well as US department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s.

The group reported revenues of £36.4 million and pre-tax profits of £3.94 million in its most recent financial year, according to filings with Companies House.

Jacobson stepped back from day-to-day management in 2011 after more than 30 years in charge, becoming chairman and handing operational control to Tony Evans, who was then branded sales director and is now chief executive.

Evans will continue to run the business following the acquisition. He said the deal would provide the group with greater international reach while preserving its culture.

“We have never been in a stronger position and joining this platform will allow us to build on that momentum, while remaining true to the values that make Jacobson Group so special,” he said.

Under the deal, Jacobson Group will sit within Marubeni Consumer Platform US, part of the Japanese group’s Next Generation Corporate Development division, which was established in 2022 to target long-term shifts in global consumption. The platform is anchored by RG Barry Brands, whose portfolio includes labels such as Dearfoams and Baggallini.

Marubeni, which has a market cap of ¥7.5 trillion (£35.5 billion), has sought to expand its exposure to consumer brands in recent years as part of a broader strategy to build new sources of growth beyond its traditional trading businesses. The group operates in 67 countries and has more than 120 offices worldwide.

Evans, 58, said the transaction marked a turning point for the company. “This acquisition represents a major milestone for the business and I look forward to working closely with the RGB and Marubeni teams to drive growth across the globe,” he said. “I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all our Jacobson employees as we celebrate this landmark achievement.”

Jacobson said: “It has been a privilege to steward these iconic British footwear brands and I would like to thank all our employees for the commitment and dedication they have shown to our family business over many decades.”

He added: “As we look to the future, Marubeni and RGB Brands offer the ideal platform, vision and long-term commitment to take Jacobson’s brands into their next phase of growth. I am confident the business will continue to go from strength to strength and I wish everyone at Jacobson, RGB and Marubeni every success as they embark on this exciting new chapter together.”

In its latest accounts, Jacobson Group said trading during the current year had been “extremely positive” and that it was confident the business would “continue on a positive trajectory”. The company is understood to have identified China as a potential growth market. No dividend was paid in the most recent financial year.

Originally Published: https://www.thetimes.com/business/companies-markets/article/gola-sold-japan-jacobson-marubeni-k879snzmd, The Times