4 • Footwear Insight ~ January / February 2022 footwearinsight.com
BY BOB MCGEE
P
rivately held Deichmann
S E , b a s e d i n E s s e n ,
Germany, founded in 1913
and reportedly the largest
footwear retail operator
in the European Union,
made more noise in the U.S. market in late
2021, as Deichmann-controlled SNIPES
acquired sneaker chain Jimmy Jazz. In
addition to SNIPES, Deichmann is also
the parent company of Rack Room Shoes,
which celebrates its 100th anniversary
in 2022, and its Off Broadway/Shoe
Warehouse subsidiary. Financial terms
of the SNIPES-Jimmy Jazz deal were
not disclosed. SNIPES entered U.S. coast
markets in May 2019 when it acquired
the 62-door KicksUSA chain.
SNIPES is a multichannel sneaker and
streetwear retailer with roots in hip hop
culture. e SNIPES-Jimmy Jazz union
immediately vaults SNIPES into a more
significant position in the U.S. fashion
sneaker and streetwear business. e deal
grows SNIPES' global store network from
about 450 locations to more than 600
with a deeper penetration in the fashion-
forward New York market where it will
face other large rivals in UK-based JD
Sports and Foot Locker. e acquisition
will approximately triple SNIPES' door
count in the United States, as the retailer's
store network will grow from just over
100 stores to almost 270. Jimmy Jazz,
based in Secaucus, NJ, operates nearly
170 stores along the Eastern Seaboard,
in the Midwest and Southeast.
"In SNIPES, we've gained a strong,
global partner who shares our passion
and who will appropriately continue our
legacy as well as our investment in our
teams and stores," said Jimmy Khezrie,
owner of Jimmy Jazz, in a statement. n
German Co. Is Behind the
SNIPES-Jimmy Jazz Union
RETAIL ACQUISITION
THE FOOTWEAR EYE
Sneaker retailer SNIPES has acquired Jimmy Jazz.
