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Warren Buffett-backed Marubeni has bought British heritage sportswear brand Gola, as the Japanese trading house bets on the growing global popularity of retro trainers.
Marubeni’s US subsidiary RG Barry, which owns several footwear and handbag brands, sealed a deal to buy Jacobson Group, owner of Gola and other shoe brands, the Japanese company said on Wednesday. It paid more than ¥10bn ($64mn), according to people familiar with the terms.
Founded in 1905, Gola rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as a leading sportswear brand donned by Bill Shankly’s Liverpool Football Club and World Cup-winning England manager Alf Ramsey.
The brand struggled in the 1990s with the rise of Nike and Adidas, even as the Gallagher brothers of the band Oasis wore its classic Harrier trainers during the height of Britpop.
Marubeni is hoping to emulate the success of Adidas, which upgraded its profit forecast in October on the back of strong demand for retro trainers. Japanese group Asics has seen surging popularity for its classic Onitsuka Tiger brand.
The Jacobson Group, which acquired Gola in 1996 and owns or operates licences for six other brands, including Dunlop and Lonsdale, reported a 38 per cent rise in sales to £36.3mn in 2024, led by Gola in Europe and the US, according to Companies House filings. Pre-tax profit grew more than fivefold to £3.9mn in 2024, following a decade of losses before that.
The company said in September that it expected 2025 revenues to grow 40 per cent.
Marubeni’s acquisition comes as chief executive Masayuki Omoto, who took the helm in April, seeks to move the company away from trading commodities to building businesses focused on sales within particular regions.
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has been an enthusiastic backer of Japan’s trading houses, which traditionally secured commodities for the resource-poor country but have since expanded to investing in assets.
Berkshire last year raised its stakes in the five largest trading houses, including Marubeni, after first disclosing its holdings in 2020. Buffett said in February his “admiration for these companies has consistently grown” and that Berkshire planned to hold the stakes for “many decades”.
Marubeni’s acquisition of the UK trainer brand is “the first roll-up transaction” by RG Barry, the company said, as the unit tries to focus on growth in the US market, cutting production costs and quadrupling sales to $1bn by 2030 through further deals.
The Japanese group aims to sell Gola products in the US through channels and distribution networks established by RG Barry, which owns Dearfoams, one of America’s biggest slipper brands.
