Barington Capital Group, the activist hedge fund, is advising fashion company, Jones Group, to sell off part of its asset portfolio. The incident was reported by the Wall Street Journal citing an anonymous source with knowledge on the matter.
The hedge fund owns about 2% of the company's shareholdings and aside from the divestment, other options include cutting costs and expanding the number of directors on the board. The newspaper reported that Jones Group CEO Wesley Card had met with Barington representatives upon the latter's request earlier in the month.
The Jones Group carries such brands as Nine West and Jones New York and the New York based firm had bumper profit during the holidays in February. The profit came from shoes and and jeans sales in the department stores in the United States.
Another reason for increased profits was that there have been efforts to improve margins, such as retaining too much inventory for the year.
Barington had urged the Jones Group to hire financial advisers to focus on its core brands and foster emerging ones. The shift comes after the acquisition of named brands such as Stuart Weitzman and Kurt Geiger.
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