SUPREME IS NOW OWNED BY ESSILORLUXOTTICA, NOT VF CORP

Supreme is owned by EssilorLuxottica, the European eyewear group behind Ray Ban and Oakley. It bought the brand from VF Corporation for $1.5 billion in cash, a sale VF's SEC filings date to October 1, 2024, with the companies' joint press release following on October 2. James Jebbia, who opened the first Supreme store on Lafayette Street in April 1994, was named in the announcement as staying with the brand he founded.

Four Owners in Thirty Years

Supreme has had four owners since 1994, and the last three deals happened inside seven years. Jebbia held it alone until 2017, Carlyle bought half that October, VF bought the company in December 2020, and EssilorLuxottica took it in 2024.

| Year | Owner | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 to 2017 | James Jebbia | Opened for under $15,000, reportedly |
| 2017 | Carlyle Group, 50 percent | $500 million |
| 2020 | VF Corporation | $2.1 billion base price |
| 2024 | EssilorLuxottica | $1.5 billion in cash |

$500 Million for Half of a Skate Shop

Carlyle paid $500 million for 50 percent of Supreme in October 2017, which valued the equity at about $1 billion. A shop that reportedly cost under $15,000 to open on Lafayette Street between Prince and Houston had become a unicorn in 23 years, on a weekly Thursday drop schedule that has run at 11 AM Eastern since the early 2000s.

The scarcity model got its loudest proof in 2017 too, when Supreme sold a Louis Vuitton collection through temporary stores in cities including Paris, Tokyo, London and Los Angeles. That collaboration is also where the idea that Louis Vuitton owns Supreme comes from. LVMH does not own it, and Supreme denied the 2017 rumor that LVMH had bought the brand.

December 28, 2020: VF Pays $2.1 Billion

VF Corporation, parent of The North Face, Vans and Timberland, completed its purchase of Supreme on December 28, 2020 at a base price of $2.1 billion. Supreme had already collaborated with Vans, The North Face and Timberland, so the buyer was a familiar partner.

VF framed the purchase as a push toward a consumer focused, digital business. Its own filings show how the bet went. In fiscal 2023, the year ended March 2023, VF booked $735.0 million of Supreme impairments, made up of $394.1 million of goodwill and $340.9 million of trademark value. The charges came in two steps: $421.9 million at the second quarter test and $313.1 million at the annual test in the fourth quarter.

July 2024: A $600 Million Haircut

EssilorLuxottica signed on July 16, 2024 and paid $1.5 billion, $600 million under VF's base price. VF's final accounting shows net proceeds of about $1.506 billion and an after tax loss on the sale of $126.6 million. VF put $1.0 billion of the cash toward a term loan and repaid $450 million of commercial paper.

Jebbia's statement in the sale announcement is the closest thing to a mission statement for the new owner: "In EssilorLuxottica, we have a unique partner that understands that we are at our best when we stay true to the brand and continue to operate and grow as we have for the past 30 years."

The Calendar Did Not Move for the Third Owner

The A.PRESSE collection of ten pieces landed on September 10, 2026 in the United States and September 12 in Asia, and a 48 page Larry Clark zine shipped on September 3, 2026 as part of the same Fall Winter season. Both ran on the weekly Thursday cadence that predates every owner in the table above.

What has grown is the footprint. A second South Korean store opened in Seongsu-dong on September 12, 2026, three years after the first one in Gangnam-gu. Retail expansion in Asia is the part of the business an eyewear group with thousands of doors worldwide is built to speed up.

The product side stayed in character. A working red branded ATM went on sale for $8,998 in Week 6 of Spring Summer 2026, and the Paris store's tenth anniversary was marked with one box logo hoodie sold only at 20 Rue Barbette on May 7, 2026. The box logo itself still borrows from Barbara Kruger's work, and the collaboration record is the asset each buyer paid for.

The Stussy Alumnus on His Third Owner

Jebbia managed Stussy's New York flagship before starting Supreme, and Stussy versus Supreme traces how far the two paths split. Stussy stayed in private hands: Frank Sinatra Jr bought out Shawn Stussy in 1996 and the family still runs it. Supreme went from founder to private equity to an apparel group to an eyewear conglomerate. The 2020 price of $2.1 billion has not been matched since, and the 2024 sale closed $600 million below it.