Xoxo

Xoxo is an American fashion and licensing brand founded in 1991 as a juniors and young-contemporary label. It was started by Gregg and Lynne Fiene together with Marc and Michelle Bohbot, the couple behind Bisou Bisou [4]. The brand built its name on trend-driven, affordable clothing for young women, and over time extended into a wide range of licensed categories, including the fragrance line that is its beauty-relevant footprint.

The brand is owned by Kellwood Company, which holds the Xoxo trademark and licenses individual product categories to outside partners [4]. Xoxo remains active: its website is merchandised for 2026 and promotes both a fragrance campaign and a seasonal apparel lookbook. The brand's founding date is not entirely settled. Wikipedia and apparel-trade reporting place the founding in 1991, while the company's own site markets "36 years of hugs and kisses" as of 2026, implying a start closer to 1990 [1][4]. The documented 1991 date is used here as the specific, verifiable year.

Xoxo was created in 1991 by Gregg and Lynne Fiene alongside Marc and Michelle Bohbot [4]. The name and its taglines lean on a flirty "hugs and kisses" theme — the brand's homepage still uses the line "nothing but x's and o's." According to the company, the label has long targeted young women looking for trend fashion at accessible prices.

The business grew quickly. By 1999 annual sales had reached roughly $100 million, though the firm was facing financial difficulties around the same time. Gregg Fiene bought out the Bohbots' stake and put the brand up for sale, beginning a long sequence of ownership changes.

In 1999, Aris Industries purchased Xoxo for $25 million and moved production to Asia to cut costs [4]. Unable to reach profitability, Aris sold the brand to Global Brand Holding in 2003 for $43 million [4]. Global Brand licensed sportswear, dresses, and intimate apparel to Kellwood, folding Xoxo into a broader portfolio operated through licensees.

The fragrance line launched during this period. The original Xoxo women's eau de parfum arrived in 2005, followed by Xoxo Kundalini in 2006. In 2012, Xoxo Mi Amore was introduced. The brand today markets more than three decades of operation.

Xoxo passed through several owners before reaching Kellwood. After Aris Industries (1999–2003) and Global Brand Holding (from 2003), the brand became part of Kellwood's licensed portfolio. Sun Capital Partners acquired Kellwood, including the Xoxo license, in 2008 [4]. Kellwood — with Xoxo among its holdings — was then sold to a Hong Kong-based investor group in December 2016 [4]. Kellwood Company remains the brand's owner and the holder of its trademark.

Xoxo has no formal mission statement. Its identity is carried by its "hugs and kisses" name and taglines rather than a stated philosophy. The brand positions itself as affordable, trend-led fashion for young women, and its licensing model now spans categories such as apparel, handbags, footwear, intimates, optical, watches, and fragrance. Distribution is multi-channel: the company lists retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Boscov's, and the perfume chain Perfumania.

In beauty, the relevant part of Xoxo is its fragrance line, which the brand licenses out rather than producing itself. The licensor has changed over time. The original fragrances came from Parlux Fragrances, the US house behind the 2005 Xoxo eau de parfum and 2006's Kundalini; the later Mi Amore (2012) was produced by Victory International [5][6][7]. Parlux's current brand portfolio no longer lists Xoxo, so the brand is best described as a fashion label whose fragrance has been licensed across houses — Parlux first, Victory International later — rather than an exclusive Parlux line.

The original Xoxo eau de parfum was built around notes of bergamot, white apricot, passionfruit, sandalwood, and musk. Kundalini combined spices, orange, and bergamot over a base of myrrh, sandalwood, musk, amber, and vanilla, while Mi Amore paired pink raspberry and orange oil with jasmine, white woods, and musk. The earliest Parlux-era fragrances are now largely discontinued and traded as collectible bottles.

Xoxo is active as a brand and trademark. Its website is live and merchandised for 2026, promoting a "Spritz Szn" fragrance campaign alongside seasonal apparel [1]. The brand operates as a licensing house: individual categories, including fragrance, are run by outside licensees. Within beauty, this means the older Parlux fragrances are discontinued or collectible, while newer fragrance activity has been handled by Victory International.