Iconix Brand Group (ICON, Financial) is a brand management company and owner of a diversified portfolio of global consumer brands across women’s and men’s fashion, entertainment and home segments. Iconix has endured a complete change of senior management with the CFO, COO and CEO all leaving in the first half of the fiscal year. In addition, the company has had to adjust earnings expectations down, as continued disappointment in the men’s division and a shift in timing of revenue from the anticipated November launch of The Peanuts feature film made meeting original guidance difficult. We have revisited our key assumptions behind our Iconix investment and are comfortable that the underlying asset-lite, high margin, licensing business model remains intact. While investors have become nervous about the company’s high leverage, Iconix has minimum revenue guarantees from many of its licensees which provides a reliable stream of free cash flow. Our continued due diligence including conversations with interim CEO Peter Cuneo, who has extensive consumer product licensing experience, provides comfort that Iconix is headed in the right direction. We added to our position over the calendar year on price weakness.
From Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio)'s Partners Value Fund commentary for third quarter 2015.
