Apparel M&A Heats Up 🔥

GM and Happy Tuesday, folks. Here’s what we’re getting into this morning:

• Walmart sells another apparel brand 👙

• ABG swoops Vince’s IP 🤑

• Thrive Causemetics launches into skincare 💄

• LVMH makes history 📚

• Hapi Water heads to Target 🎯

Apparel M&A Heats Up 🔥

Roughly a week after agreeing to sell menswear brand Bonobos to WHP Global for $75m, Walmart is back in the news with another apparel transaction.

Walmart divested plus-size apparel brand Eloquii, its third divestiture of an apparel brand this year. The buyer is FullBeauty Brands, an owner & operator of a large portfolio of plus-size apparel brands for men & women. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but Walmart purchased Eloquii in 2018 for a reported $100m. Given that Walmart paid $310m for Bonobos then sold it six years later for $75m, we can confidently assume that they took a valuation hit on Eloquii as well.

In a separate transaction, Authentic Brands Group agreed to acquire the intellectual property of Vince, a popular fashion label that launched in 2002. Under the terms of the deal, Vince Holding Corp will receive $76.5m in cash and a 25% stake in a new joint venture, ABG Vince. Authentic Brands Group will receive the remaining 75% stake in the joint venture along with a long-term licensing agreement with Vince.

ABG has been a prodigious buyer over the past 18 months. They purchased Boardriders — the owner of Quicksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, and other apparel brands — for a reported $1.25B earlier this month, in addition to their recent acquisitions of Ted Baker, Reebok, Arrow, Eddie Bauer, and IZOD.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Two Australian cosmetics brands that launched in 2020 — clinical skincare brand BOOST LAB and the stunning tbh skincare — are merging to form York Street Brands. The merger is part of a $5m Series B round led by Alium Capital. Inside FMCG

• Canned Wine Co., a UK-based seller of premium canned wines, acquired one of its domestic competitors, The Copper Crew. Copper Crew’s cans are lovely. The Drinks Business

• Henkel, the massive chemicals & consumer goods company based in Germany, sold its Russia unit to a consortium of local investors for 600m EUR. Global Cosmetics News

• Beauty giant L’Oreal has invested in Singaporean consumer VC DSG Consumer Partners. DSG has built an impressive portfolio of consumer brands across India and Southeast Asia. Inc42

• More craft brewery M&A…New Jersey’s Cape May Brewing purchased a local competitor, Flying Fish Brewing Co. Brewbound

• As mentioned above, Walmart sold plus-size apparel brand Eloquii to FullBeauty Brands. Just Style

• Authentic Brands Group acquired the intellectual property of apparel brand Vince. The Business of Fashion

Fundraising

• EcoSoul Home, a seller of eco-friendly goods like compostable trash bags and bamboo kitchenware, secured $10m in Series A funding from Accel and Singh Capital Partners. Singh Capital Partners previously led their seed round in December of 2021. EcoSoul currently operates in the US, China, India, and Vietnam. PRNewswire

• Berlin-based Nosh.bio, a startup leveraging fungi fermentation to produce functional ingredients & proteins, raised €3.2m in seed funding. Germany’s Earlybird Venture Capital led the round while Clear Current Capital, Grey Silo Ventures, and Good Seed Ventures participated. Tech Funding News

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Actress Molly Sims unveiled her new skincare brand, Yse Beauty (pronounced “wise”). The products are beautiful but they look an awful lot like Necessaire. WWD

• German luxury skincare brand BABOR introduced a beautiful new line of cleansers. BABOR

• Charitable beauty brand Thrive Causemetics launched a new skincare brand with ten products — Bigger Than Beauty. Glossy

• ŌURA, the tech company behind wearable device Oura Ring, announced their largest retail partnership to date with Best Buy. 50 Best Buy stores will feature an 11 × 11 ŌURA store-within-a-store. TechCrunch

• Vegan supplement brand Calgee unveiled a beautiful brand refresh and packaging that’s plant-based, carbon-negative, and 100% recyclable. Calgee 

• French cognac producer Rémy Cointreau is bringing their new fragrance collection to the United States. Luxury Daily

• Sephora launched their in-store recycling program at 600 of its stores. Cosmetics Business

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Bloom Nutrition, the supplements brand founded by fitness influencer Mari Llewellyn, launched a line of protein bars in four flavors: Blueberry Crumble, Raspberry Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Cookies & Cream. The bars are available on Amazon and Bloom’s website. PRNewswire

• Healthy snack brand Bobo’s launched yet another new product. Introducing the PB&J, their version of the iconic Uncrustable. PRWeb

• Officine Universelle Buly, the fragrance brand that LVMH acquired in late 2021, launched a very elegant chocolate bar. Twitter

• Scottish beverage firm A.G. Barr is launching Funkin Cocktails in the U.S. Just Drinks

Data 🖥️

• LVMH’s market cap exceeded $500B, a first for any European company. The Business of Fashion

• Coca-Cola’s revenue grew 5% to $10.98B in Q1. Twitter

Distribution News 🚚

• Family-friendly hydration brand Hapi Water launched at Target.

• Alec’s Ice Cream, a regenerative, organic ice cream brand, rolled out at Whole Foods Market.

• UK-based El Rayo Tequila launched at Sainsbury’s.

• Miixt, a fusion of premium vodka and kombucha, launched in CA, CO, and MO.