Tommy Hilfiger Taken off the Sales Rack by Phillips-Van Heusen

After years of bouncing back and forth between sales and pullbacks, popular fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger has been bought, finally, by fashion conglomerate Phillips-Van Heusen today. According to the New York Times, the sizeable price tag that Phillips-Van Heusen agreed to totaled $3 billion, with $138 million in liabilities. Don’t worry, it is also reported that Tommy Hilfiger himself will stay on as “principal designer and visionary,” according to the PVH flack.

The fish that bit already owns big fashion brands such as Izod, Van Heusen, Arrow, Bass, and Calvin Klein. Women’s Wear Daily reported Phillips-Van Heusen already owned the license to make Hilfiger’s shirts and neckwear prior to the buyout. The all-American brand also has considerable stock in Europe, with two-thirds of its company based on the continent.

Apax, which originally bought the luxury label in 2006, had considered the option of an initial public offering long before PVH even considered taking over the Hilfiger brand (twice before, to be exact), most recently in June of 2008, but the thought of the sale was never off the table.

Remember a similar story related to fellow famous fashion brand Prada? I figure, as long as we can still get our Tommy Hilfiger (and Prada) fix, we don’t care who ends up taking it.