A global apparel company, continuing a yearslong strategy of streamlining its portfolio, is selling off one of its luxury lingerie brands after turnaround efforts failed to reverse sales declines.The decision comes as retailers increasingly shed underperforming brands to focus investment on their strongest businesses amid softer consumer spending and higher operating costs.The latest decision adds to a growing list of retailers making similar moves.Calida Group sells CosabellaCalida Group has sold Cosabella to New York-based brand management and private equity firm Crown Brands Group through an Asset Purchase Agreement that closed on July 23, 2026. The transaction includes the Cosabella trademark, related intellectual property rights, and the inventory. Financial terms were not disclosed.Crown Brands Group specializes in acquiring consumer brands and expanding their reach through licensing partnerships, retail distribution, and long-term brand development.Calida Group acquired Cosabella for $80 million in 2022 as part of an effort to strengthen its department store and digital businesses across the U.S. and Europe.Founded in Miami in 1983, Cosabella is known for its Italian-inspired luxury lingerie.Why did Calida Group sell Cosabella?Founded in 1941, Switzerland-based Calida Group owns and operates premium apparel and intimate apparel brands.The company has steadily simplified its portfolio in recent years. After owning as many as seven brands, it has been divesting businesses since 2020 and now focuses primarily on Calida and Aubade, according to its website.In 2024, Cosabella underwent a major restructuring that included repositioning the brand and implementing cost-cutting measures to improve performance. However, those efforts failed to reverse its decline and ultimately weighed on the group’s overall results.According to Calida Group’s half-year report 2026, net sales fell nearly 8% year over year, while net income declined roughly 12%.Cosabella’s net sales dropped approximately 37% to 4.3 million Swiss francs (about $5.25 million), accounting for just 4.6% of the group’s total revenue.The company said the first half of 2026 was marked by a persistently challenging retail environment, with performance slightly below expectations. It cited weaker consumer confidence, ongoing economic uncertainty, and heightened price sensitivity, particularly across European markets, as key factors weighing on demand.Selling Cosabella marks the latest step in the company’s multi-year effort to simplify operations and improve profitability after several years of portfolio restructuring.”With the sale of Cosabella, the Calida Group is further simplifying its brand portfolio and reinforces its focus on the strategic development of its core brands, Calida and Aubade,” said Calida Group CEO Thomas Stöcklin in the company’s shareholder letter. “At the same time, the transaction creates additional operational and financial flexibility to further develop the brands and strengthen their positioning in the premium segment in a targeted manner.”
Calida Group sells Cosabella.Bennett Raglin/WireImage for Journelle
What’s next for Calida Group and Cosabella?Looking ahead, Calida Group expects consumer sentiment to remain subdued across core markets while anticipating continued structural changes throughout the retail distribution landscape.”We are confident that the strategic and operational measures we have initiated will gain increasing traction,” said Stöcklin. “Our focus remains on systematically delivering on our strategy.”Here’s some of my previous coverage of store closures:Former retail giant closes more storesFormerly bankrupt 200-year-old retailer brings back iconic line88-year-old retailer closing 75 stores, slows expansionFor 2026, the company projects improved operating contributions from its Calida and Aubade brands, as well as an operating EBIT margin of more than 6% of sales.”The completion of the transaction represents a further step towards simplifying the group structure and focusing on the Calida Group’s core brands,” Stöcklin added.Under its new ownership, Crown Brands Group will oversee Cosabella’s global brand strategy, marketing, and licensing through a licensing-focused operating model.”Cosabella gives Crown a clear leadership position in premium intimates, and it validates the model we set out to build: acquire authentic heritage brands, pair them with best-in-class operating partners, and invest in their next chapter of growth,” said Crown Brands Group CEO Raymond Dayan, WWD reported.”Intimates is our first vertical, and Cosabella strengthens our foundation there as we look ahead to new categories.”Crown Brands Group plans to expand Cosabella’s presence through department stores, specialty boutiques, e-commerce, and international markets.Currently, about 85% of Cosabella’s business comes from the U.S., while international markets account for the remaining 15%. Dayan also said opening freestanding stores, particularly overseas, is under consideration, as the brand currently operates no standalone retail locations.The acquisition gives Crown Brands Group an established luxury intimates brand to expand globally, while allowing Calida Group to continue narrowing its focus on its remaining core businesses as both companies pursue very different growth strategies in an increasingly challenging retail environment.Related: Sportswear giant continues store closures nationwide