 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Stefan Kaluzny Peter Morrow |
| Headquarters | Solow Building, , U.S. |
Key people | Stefan Kaluzny Peter Morrow |
| Products | Leveraged buyouts, special situations, distressed buyouts |
Number of employees | 11–50 [1] |
| Website | sycamorepartners |
Sycamore Partners is an American private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital. [2]
| History of private equity and venture capital |
|---|
 |
| Early history |
| (origins of modern private equity) |
| The 1980s |
| (leveraged buyout boom) |
| The 1990s |
| (leveraged buyout and the venture capital bubble) |
| The 2000s |
| (dot-com bubble to the credit crunch) |
| The 2010s |
| (expansion) |
| The 2020s |
| (COVID-19 recession) |
Sycamore Partners was founded in 2011 by Stefan Kaluzny and Peter Morrow. [3] Before Sycamore, Kaluzny was a managing partner at Golden Gate Capital and was employed since the firm's inception. Prior to joining Golden Gate, he co-founded Delray Farms, Inc. and also served as its chief executive officer. Kaluzny received a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Morrow served as a Principal at Golden Gate before co-founding Sycamore. Peter Morrow received a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In 2011, Sycamore acquired a 51% stake in MGF Sourcing, finally completing the total takeover in 2015. [17]
In 2012, the firm acquired Talbots for $391 million.
In 2013, Sycamore acquired Hot Topic and Torrid for $600 million. [18]
In 2014, the firm acquired Coldwater Creek. The firm also acquired Jones New York in 2014, for $2.2 billion, which was then sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2015. [19] Kurt Geiger [20] which was then sold to Cinven in 2015. [21] Sycamore also sold the Stuart Weitzman business to Coach, Inc. in 2015 for $574 million. [22]
In 2015, the firm acquired Belk, Inc for $3 billion, [23] and EMP Merchandising, whilst divesting from Pathlight Capital. [24]
In 2017, Sycamore's Nine West Holdings acquired Kasper. and Sycamore Partners purchased NBG Home. The firm then went onto win the bid for The Limited, bidding $26.8 million. [25] In June 2017, Reuters reported that Staples Inc. had agreed to sell itself for $6.9 billion. [26] Sycamore also sold over 300 Dollar Express stores to rival, Dollar General. [27]
In July 2020, it was announced that Sycamore Partners had made a $1.75 billion offer to acquire department store chain and competitor JCPenney out of bankruptcy, and would rebrand 250 JCPenney stores to the Belk name, to help the chain compete directly with Macy's. Under the plan, the remaining JCPenney stores will be liquidated. [28] The plan was not selected. [29]
In January 2021, Sycamore Partners bought Azamara Cruises from the Royal Caribbean Group. [30]
On March 16, 2022, it was announced the Sycamore and Hudson's Bay Company are preparing bids to buy Kohl's. [31]
On November 3, 2022, Lowe's announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Canadian retail business to Sycamore Partners.
On September 28, 2023, Sycamore signed an agreement to acquire Fort Myers, Florida–based Women's apparel retailer Chico's FAS for $938.1 million. As of July 29, 2023, Chico's runs 1,258 U.S. stores, and sells through 58 franchise locations in Mexico and two domestic airport franchises. [32]
Rona, Inc. is a Canadian retailer of home improvement and construction products and services, owned by U.S.-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Founded in 1939, the company operates a mixture of company-owned and franchised retailers under multiple banners, including Rona, its big box formats Rona Home & Garden, Rona+, as well as smaller brands such as Rona Cashway, Moffatt & Powell and Dick's Lumber.
Bath & Body Works, Inc. is an American specialty retail company based in Columbus, Ohio. It owns Bath & Body Works, posted $7.4 billion in revenue in 2023, and was listed as 481 on the 2024 Fortune 500 list of largest United States companies by revenue.
Staples Inc. is an American office supply retail company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Staples Canada ULC, operating as Staples, is a Canadian retail sales company owned by Sycamore Partners. Staples was founded by Leo Kahn and Thomas G. Stemberg. Since 2017, Staples Canada has operated independently from Staples' U.S. retail and U.S. business-to-business (B2B) operations.
Bain Capital, LP is an American private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, crypto, tech opportunities, partnership opportunities, special situations, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry sectors and geographic regions. The firm was founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. The company is headquartered at 200 Clarendon Street in Boston with 22 offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and a wedding registry.
Billabong International Limited is an Australian company focused on surfing, primarily a clothing retailer that also produces accessories, such as watches and backpacks, and skateboard and snowboard products under other brand names. Founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant, the company first traded on the Australian Securities Exchange in August 2000. The name "billabong" is derived from the Wiradjuri word bilabaŋ that refers to a "creek that runs only during the rainy season". As of September 2013, Von Zipper and Element were two of the prominent brands that Billabong owns. Honolua Surf Company, Kustom, Palmers Surf, Xcel, Tigerlily, Sector 9, and RVCA were the company's other brands. In 2018, Billabong International Limited was acquired by Boardriders, Inc, owner of rival brand Quiksilver.
Golden Gate Capital is an American private equity firm based in San Francisco. The firm makes investments in a number of select industries, including technology, financial services, retail and industrial, through leveraged buyout transactions, as well as significant minority purchases and growth capital investments. As of April 2018, it had over $15 billion in assets under management.
CVC Capital Partners plc is a Jersey-based private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately €186 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, European, and Asian private equity, secondaries, credit funds and infrastructure. As of 31 December 2021, the funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in more than 100 companies worldwide, employing over 450,000 people in numerous countries. CVC was founded in 1981 and, as of 31 March 2022, has over 850 employees working across its network of 25 offices throughout EMEA, Asia and the Americas.
Nine West Holdings is an American designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded clothing, shoes and accessories. In 2019, the company restructured under the new name Premier Brands Group Holdings Llc.
Carter's, Inc. is a major American designer and marketer of children's apparel. It was founded in 1865 by William Carter.
Platinum Equity, LLC is an American private equity investment firm founded by Tom Gores in 1995, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout investments of established companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Chico's FAS, Inc. is an American women's clothing and accessories retailer founded in 1983 on Sanibel Island, Florida. Founded by Marvin and Helene Gralnick, it is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida and operates four brands: its namesake Chico's store, White House Black Market, Soma and TellTale.
Irving Place Capital, formerly known as Bear Stearns Merchant Banking (BSMB), is an American private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in middle-market companies in the industrial, packaging, consumer and retail industries. Based in New York City, it has total committed capital across its funds of $5.9 billion.
Varsity Brands, Inc. is an American apparel company owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. It is primarily focused on academic apparel and memorabilia, with its operations split among three major subsidiaries, including Herff Jones—a manufacturer of products such as class rings, graduation caps and gowns, and yearbooks; Varsity Spirit—which produces apparel and competitions in cheerleading; and BSN Sports, a distributor of sports uniforms and equipment.
CommerceHub is one of the world’s commerce networks, providing software for drop shipping, marketplace, digital marketing, and delivery management. Generating over $50 billion in GMV annually, it provides integration and fulfillment services to both online and brick and mortar retailers, distributors, and supplier companies such The Home Depot, Nordstrom, Macy's, Lowe's, Adidas, Kohl’s, Nike, Costco, QVC, Staples, Best Buy, Meijer, drugstore.com, Walgreens, Dell, Toshiba, Sanyo, Minolta, Gateway and Little Tikes.
EMP Merchandising, also known as Large Popmerchandising, is a German-based music mail order and merchandising store. The abbreviation EMP stands for Exclusive Merchandise Products. The company distributes a quarterly catalog to customers. In a 2003 report, the Osnabrück Chamber of Commerce considered the company to be the largest mail order business for hard rock and heavy metal music in Germany. In September 2018, Warner Music Group acquired EMP from Sycamore Partners.
The Limited is an American clothing brand sold exclusively through Belk. The Limited began with operating retail stores between the early 1960s and the late 2010s. In 2017, it became a brand owned by the private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
Kurt Geiger is a luxury British footwear and accessories brand. Kurt Geiger has around 70 stores, and multiple concessions within department stores, including Harrods and Selfridges. Kurt Geiger owns three brands: Kurt Geiger London, KG Kurt Geiger and Carvela, created by its in-house team.
Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, which it partners with other companies to license and merchandise. ABG owns more than 50 consumer brands, as well as the likeness rights or estates of celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe.
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