Top creative management agency Jed Root Inc. is shutting down, leaving numerous artists and agents around the world struggling to secure unpaid fees and salaries. The rueful news was confirmed by Jed Root’s Swiss parent company RPRT AG.
IMAGE INSTAGRAM/jedroot
In a statement to Women's Wear Daily, RPRT chief executive officer Oliver Fietcher said: “The legacies of Jed Root were too big and heavy. At the time of the acquisition, we bought a company based on profitable numbers. But after a review of an expert from the U.K., we recognized that Jed Root had—at the time of the transaction—an accumulated loss of [more than] $6.5 million. We did several cash injections to stabilize the business, unfortunately, without success. The Jed Root companies owe RPRT $3.6 million in loans and [more than] $4.5 million in management fees. The group liquidity of Jed Root based on our daily cash book is $90,000, therefore, I have to freeze the operative business by tomorrow and try to protect the debtors of all local subsidiaries of the Jed Root Group.”
IMAGE INSTAGRAM/jedroot
The company reportedly went on a downwards spiral starting from June 2015—back when RPRT first aquired the agency from founder Jed Root—and culminated last Friday, March 31, when all of the employees in the company’s New York and Los Angeles offices were suddenly fired. "I received a one line email from Oliver [Fiechter] at 1pm on Friday instructing me to dismiss all of the employees of Jed Root Inc," confirmed a source in an interview with Business of Fashion.
IMAGE INSTAGRAM/jedroot
In the aftermath, the company remains unable to pay invoices to artists and vendors, racking up millions in pending bills. Much of Jed Root's downfall also stems from mismanagement, causing their key talents to leave the agency one by one.
IMAGE INSTAGRAM/jedroot
Home to an award-winning, top-tier roster of artists like Adam Katz Sinding, Takay, Jordi Labanda, and Maria Olsson who have contributed to luxury label campaigns and international editions of Vogue, Numero, Elle, and GQ, among others, Jed Root's closing has undoubtedly left a gap in the fashion industry. We wonder what's next...
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