Bandier and Carbon38 are moving in together.
The luxury activewear brands have both been acquired by BC Brands — a new company led by chief executive officer Kate Nadolny and backed by Hilco Global’s ReStore Capital and BNF Capital’s Annvest.
While the two businesses will be operated as one organization on the back end, both names will continue to court consumers independently.
The combination will help the two brands operate more efficiently and at greater scale than they could on their own — while also building capacity to potentially make more acquisitions in a segment that seems destined for a wave of consolidation.
“We have some really strategic investors who are committed capital, who see this as the first of many steps for us to be able to have a real foothold in the health and wellness apparel space,” said Nadolny, who before her current post was CEO of Bandier.
Nadolny, who will oversee both brands, said Bandier and Carbon are “incredibly synergistic.”
“We can really start here and build a platform for the future,” Nadolny said. “There is a lot of appetite for discussing future strategic opportunities with this new company.”
That makes BC another player looking to scoop up buzzy businesses that could use a new approach. With the dramatic drop in valuations seen in among the direct-to-consumer crowd, it’s a target-rich space where others are also on the hunt, including Unified Commerce Group, which bought Spiritual Gangster last month.
Bandier was founded by Jennifer Bandier in 2014 and has five stores in addition to e-commerce and a wholesale business that was started last year. Eurazeo Brands and Adrian Cheng’s C Ventures previously invested in the business, which was sold for the benefit of creditors.
Carbon38 was founded in 2012 by Katie Warner Johnson and built as an e-commerce business featuring its own proprietary label and a selection of contemporary brands.
Both brands are part of the wellness and active theme in fashion that shows no sign of abating.
“Every single consumer, whether it’s their number-one priority or their number-five priority, has their health and wellness on their mind,” Nadolny said. “Coming out of COVID[-19], that wasn’t just a trend. That’s something that is long-term here to stay. And consumers are thinking about their lifestyles being active. We’re not talking about activewear to wear to the gym, we’re talking about activewear that permeates all of the different points of this consumer’s active lifestyle.”
While investors are not throwing money at the direct-to-consumer crowd like they used to, Nadolny said there are still savvy moves to make in the space.
“The consumer’s really smart and the consumer’s voting with their dollar and they’re voting with brands that have authentic stories,” the CEO said. “They’re voting with brands that have great product and they have a great experience. And I think now investor money is going along with that consumer dollar.”
Original article posted on Yahoo.com