C. Wonder Sells 10% Stake to Fidelity, Valuing Company at $350 Million

Photo: New York Times

Fidelity, the investment firm, took a 10 percent stake in C. Wonder, a company started by Chris Burch. Chris Burch is the ex-husband of Tory Burch with whom were involved in a nasty lawsuit which has since been settled.  Fidelity paid $35 million for its 10 percent stake which gives the company a valuation of $350 million with only 10 retail locations.  However, C. Wonder has aggressive expansion plans with its sight on 50-100 more stores by end of next year. It looks like we will be seeing a lot more of C. Wonder's colorful preppy apparel and home collection in the future.

Also, apparently Fidelity which is known for being one of the largest mutual fund operators has a fashion investment unit which makes investments in companies such C. Wonder and has made investments in Lululemon and Michael Kors in the past.  Perhaps Fidelity is on to something as Michael Kors is now worth nearly $11 billion and Lululemon almost $10 billion.

Read More:
WWD (subscription red'q): Christopher Burch Sells C. Wonder Stake to Fidelity
Business Insider: Tory Burch's Ex Is Quickly Gaining Momentum With His Rival Brand

Is Tory Burch the Height of Originality? Vanity Fair Thinks Not

With the lawsuit between Tory Burch's eponymous label and that of her ex-husband/business partner Chris Burch's label C. Wonder all over the news lately, Vanity Fair dug a little deeper into the question of who's copying who?

To recap, Tory Burch and Chris Burch are engaged in a lawsuit in which she claims he misappropriated confidential information in the creation of C. Wonder, which is also really a knock-off of her label but at a fraction of the price while he claims she tortiously interfered with his business and sale of his stock in Tory Burch.