Moose Knuckles announces Victor Luis as its Executive Chairman and investor

Canadian luxury outerwear brand Moose Knuckles has announced industry veteran Victor Luis has made a “significant investment” in the brand and has become its Executive Chairman.

Luis, the former CEO of Tapestry, Inc., the company that owns Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, is partnering with Moose Knuckles’ founders and Co-CEOs, Noah Stern and Ayal Twik and their families, along with global investment firm Cathay Capital to be an investor in the company.

Moose Knuckles has experienced significant double-digit year-over-year growth during the past five years and, under Luis’ guidance, it plans to broaden and accelerate its expansion.

Luis, an independent director of Farfetch Ltd. and Deckers Outdoor Corp, has decades of experience in global brand building. After a long career with French luxury firms Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Baccarat, he joined Coach in 2006 as President and CEO of Coach Japan. He became CEO of Coach Inc in 2014 and went on to lead the revitalisation of the Coach brand and the transformation of Coach Inc. to Tapestry Inc.

Luis said: “I have long been attracted to the opportunity in the fast growing and highly fragmented luxury outerwear space, and Moose Knuckles is uniquely positioned to take a leadership position in this market. I am extremely excited to support Noah, Ayal and the global Moose Knuckles team as we leverage the strong foundation they have already built to bring our tradition of superior quality, unique design and brand narrative to fans across the world.”

In a statement, Moose Knuckles founders Stern and Twik, commented: “We are extremely excited to partner with Victor on our brand’s next chapter. He has a proven track record of growing brands globally at an unprecedented rate.”

Cathay Capital has offices in Paris, New York, Shanghai, Munich, San Francisco, Beijing and Singapore. In another statement, partners of Cathay Capital, Mark Woods and Andre Puong, said: “Victor is a world-class, visionary leader who brings extraordinary luxury experience on a global basis. As Cathay Capital and Moose Knuckles’ incredible founders look to significantly scale the company globally, we believe our partnership with Victor will propel Moose Knuckles further as a top modern luxury outerwear player.”

From 2016 through Q1 2021, Moose Knuckles saw a compound annual growth rate of nearly 50%. In the past year, the brand experienced a nearly triple-digit increase in direct-to-consumer sales along with a strong start to its development in China, despite the pandemic.

The company has offices in Montreal, New York, Milan, London and Shanghai and distribution in the finest luxury retailers including Selfridges, Holt Renfrew, Saks Fifth Avenue, Isetan, Lane Crawford and others across more than 30 countries. Moose Knuckles operates 11 bricks and mortar stores, including three in China, with plans to open an additional 10 stores by the end of 2022.