Music mogul Pharrell Williams snagged a deal to reclaim control of the Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream brands, which he founded with Bape creator Nigo in 2005.
Over the years, management company Iconix Brands Group acquired a 50 percent interest in the brands’ owner, BBC Ice Cream LLC. Today, WWD reported that Iconix turned over its share to Pharrell and his BBC Miami partners. Billionaire Boys Club ad Ice Cream have since then disappeared from Iconix’s corporate profile, where the two were listed as the company announced a financial reassessment in their most recent quarter results.
Iconix Brands Group’s portfolio holds streetwear brands like Ecko, Rocawear, and Zoo York. According to a representative for the company, Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream were not as profitable as the rest of their acquisitions. The spokesperson said, “The sale of our interest in BBC and Ice Cream was a strategic decision to rationalize smaller noncore assets in the Iconix portfolio, allowing us to focus our time and resources on the larger cash flow generating brands. BBC and Ice Cream represented less than 1 percent of our total business.” Releasing the brands to Pharrell and his partners also eased the company’s financial troubles currently being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A spokesperson for Pharrell told WWD that he plans to use his control to expand the brands. The producer has risen as an innovator in fashion and received the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Icon Award last year. In addition, top brands in the industry reaped success through collaborations with him, notably Timberland and adidas. We look forward to see where Pharrell will take Billionaire Boys Club, its spinoff Billionaire Girls Club, and Ice Cream.