The Independents is buying The Sunshine Company, a consultancy and creative agency based in London and Los Angeles, the fashion communications company announced on Wednesday.
The Sunshine Company has worked with brands across fashion and beauty, including Gucci, Diesel, La Mer and Victoria’s Secret. It specialises in helping brands engage in entertainment-centric projects, and played a key role in “Victoria’s Secret: The Tour ‘23″ documentary that premiered last year and was meant to serve as a replacement for its legendary-but-controversial fashion show, which was last staged in 2018. It also was behind “Fracture,” a TV series that was created in partnership with the UK’s Channel 4 that was designed to showcase Balmain’s Autumn/Winter 2021 collection.
Isabelle Chouvet, CEO of The Independents, said that the acquisition comes at a time when more brands, particularly in luxury, are looking to experiment more with bringing their brands to life through entertainment. With Sunshine under their wider umbrella, Chouvet said The Independents will seek to ink partnerships with major streaming platforms and more.
“The acquisition of Sunshine is highly strategic — the team’s track record in developing brand and entertainment strategy for luxury businesses is unique,” she said in a statement. “Their understanding of the new entertainment landscape is a huge advantage for the group.”
The news marks the second acquisition The Independents has made in 2024: It bought event production firm Kennedy in March. As well, it acquired six additional agencies last year and another in 2021. The company has raised a total of $580 million in the past year — $400 million was announced in June 2023, with an additional $180 million raised in December — with the goal of doubling in size by 2025. The Independents had revenue of $600 million in 2023, 70 percent growth over 2022.
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