Vince Acquires Rebecca Taylor and Parker
Vince hopes to double revenue with this new contemporary brand portfolio.
Vince just went from a single brand to a portfolio of three. On Tuesday afternoon, the California-based contemporary label announced that it has acquired two brands: Rebecca Taylor, the well-known eponymous New York designer label that used to show at NYFW; and Parker, which is more of a commercial brand with a similarly feminine aesthetic and contemporary price point.
Both brands were owned by Sun Capital, which also owns 75% of Vince. Both are distributed largely through wholesale channels like department stores in addition to their own e-commerce sites, while Rebecca Taylor also operates six brick-and-mortar locations. According to Vince, combined net sales for Rebecca Taylor and Parker totaled approximately $84 million last year.
"We are excited to be creating a diversified portfolio of highly recognized and distinct contemporary brands with this acquisition," said Vince CEO Brandon Hoffman in a statement. "The addition of Rebecca Taylor and Parker will position us to gain broad appeal across the contemporary spectrum."
There have been a lot of changes at Vince over the past few years. Following many periods of declining sales and mounting debt (resulting in "substantial doubt" about its ability to stay in business at one point), the newly chic brand finally seems to have assembled a team, retail model and creative point of view that works. In the most recent quarter, net sales increased 13% to $71.4 million.
In growing Rebecca Taylor's and Parker's businesses, it sounds like Vince plans to replicate some of the strategies that have worked in its own.
"We see opportunity to accelerate growth in each of these brands by implementing the Vince strategic playbook to build direct-to-consumer strategies, further expand brand awareness, and leverage core competencies through the sharing of best practices," Hoffman also stated, adding that he believes the company will be able to double revenue as the result of these acquisitions and Vince's continued growth.
Specifically, Vince noted that it plans to accelerate Rebecca Taylor's direct-to-consumer business, further international expansion and grow the brand's new-ish rental service, RNTD.
According to WWD, Janice Sullivan, CEO at Rebecca Taylor and Parker, will now report to Hoffman. While Vince is now headquartered in Los Angeles, Rebecca Taylor (the brand and the human) and Parker are both New York-based, so it's unclear if the acquisition will result in any moves or other leadership changes. Stay tuned.
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