With its latest deal to sell the OneStopPlus Group to a pair of investment bankers, PPR SA has effectively ended Redcats’ direct marketing operation in the U.S.
PPR, a French retail conglomerate and No. 5 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Europe is selling OneStopPlus, which includes catalog titles and web sites for brands such as OneStopPlus.com, Woman Within, Jessica London, Full Beauty, KingSize, Brylane Home and Bargain Catalog Outlet. Charlesbank Capital Partners and Webster Capital are buying those properties for $525 million.
Based in Boston, Charlesbank Capital Partners has financial interests in other consumer-oriented companies such as Sealy Corp. and Papa Murphy’s International LLC. Webster Capital, another Boston investment banker, owns or has had an ownership stake in a number of well-known apparel brands including Barneys New York and Norm Thompson Outfitters.
“The transaction will place OneStopPlus Group in an excellent position to take advantage of the full potential of all of its brands moving forward,” PPR says.
The sale of OneStopPlus marks the end of U.S. operations for Redcats, which generated 2011 U.S. web sales of $817.3 million. In November, PPR sold another Redcats operation—The Sportsman’s Guide and The Golf Warehouse—to Northern Tool + Equipment Co. for $215 million. Redcats is No. 34 in the 2012 Internet Retailer Top 500 and Northern Tool is No. 89.
PPR says it made the deal with Webster Capital and Charlesbank Capital Partners as part of PPR’s ongoing effort to concentrate exclusively on its luxury and lifestyle brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, Puma and others.
“The sale will mark a further step forward in the transformation of PPR into a global leader in apparel and accessories within the luxury and sport and lifestyle sectors,” PPR says. “Together with the sale of the sports and leisure group to Northern Tool + Equipment the sale of OneStopPlus Group will constitute the sale of PPR’s entire Redcats USA business.”
The deal is expected to close sometime in the first quarter of 2013.