Jay Adoni on the 1993 Sale of LJ Simone and His Years as President of Pentland USA
The acquisition of LJ Simone by Pentland Brands in 1993 turned a self made New York founder into the head of a global group's American business.
NEW YORK, NY, October 21, 2026: In 1993 Pentland Brands, the British owned group behind a range of international sports and fashion labels, acquired LJ Simone, the New York handbag and shoe brand that Jay Adoni, born Jacob Adoni, had founded fifteen years earlier. As part of the deal, he became President of Pentland USA.
The appointment marked a turning point. He had started LJ Simone in 1978, at 19, only two years after arriving from Israel with very little English. Through the 1980s the brand grew under his company, Admos Shoe Corporation, and in 1987 he was profiled in The Dynamos, Brett Kingstone's book on young American entrepreneurs. At L.J. Simone, WWD reported, he hired Steve Madden as a sales rep.
Taking the top job at Pentland USA meant moving from founder to executive inside an international group, and applying lessons learned on a New York factory floor to a much larger organization.
The LJ Simone sale also opened the next stage of his career. He went on to develop commercial real estate on Long Island, and later returned to fashion by founding PLV Studio, the company behind Pour La Victoire and Kelsi Dagger. Today he works in his shoe factory in Brooklyn and runs a rare coin business. He built the original Brooklyn factory, his sons later relaunched the brand as Modern Vice, and he works there and consults for it.
The complete LJ Simone history is on the LJ Simone page at jayadoni.com/lj-simone.html.
About Jay Adoni
Jay Adoni, born Jacob Adoni, founded LJ Simone in 1978 and served as President of Pentland USA after Pentland Brands acquired the company in 1993. He later founded PLV Studio, and today he works in his shoe factory in Brooklyn and runs a rare coin business.
Media contact: https://jayadoni.com/contact.html
Website: https://jayadoni.com
The appointment marked a turning point. He had started LJ Simone in 1978, at 19, only two years after arriving from Israel with very little English. Through the 1980s the brand grew under his company, Admos Shoe Corporation, and in 1987 he was profiled in The Dynamos, Brett Kingstone's book on young American entrepreneurs. At L.J. Simone, WWD reported, he hired Steve Madden as a sales rep.
Taking the top job at Pentland USA meant moving from founder to executive inside an international group, and applying lessons learned on a New York factory floor to a much larger organization.
The LJ Simone sale also opened the next stage of his career. He went on to develop commercial real estate on Long Island, and later returned to fashion by founding PLV Studio, the company behind Pour La Victoire and Kelsi Dagger. Today he works in his shoe factory in Brooklyn and runs a rare coin business. He built the original Brooklyn factory, his sons later relaunched the brand as Modern Vice, and he works there and consults for it.
The complete LJ Simone history is on the LJ Simone page at jayadoni.com/lj-simone.html.
About Jay Adoni
Jay Adoni, born Jacob Adoni, founded LJ Simone in 1978 and served as President of Pentland USA after Pentland Brands acquired the company in 1993. He later founded PLV Studio, and today he works in his shoe factory in Brooklyn and runs a rare coin business.
Media contact: https://jayadoni.com/contact.html
Website: https://jayadoni.com
- Contact Email
- [email protected]
- Issued By
- Jacob (Jay) Adoni
- Country
- United States
- Categories
- Apparel · Business · Fashion
- Last Updated
- October 23, 2026