Some investors still believe in the future of ready-to-wear. The HLD fund announces on Monday the entry into exclusive negotiations for the takeover of the “affordable luxury” brand for women Ba & sh. HLD takes over from L Catterton who accelerated in 2015 with the general manager Pierre-Arnaud Grenade the development of the brand that Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief created in 2003 with Dan Arrouas.
Ba & sh operates 300 stores in 40 countries and has a turnover of 250 million euros. Sales have increased sevenfold since 2015, with the opening of 200 outlets, and will reach 320 million in 2022, according to the statement released.
The difficulties of SMCP, which brings together competitors Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, are linked to the war between its creditors and its reference shareholder, the Chinese Shandong Ruyi.
Loyal customers
The founders of Ba & sh remain in the capital and share the roadmap of the new investor which aims to double the turnover by 2025 with an expansion in China and the United States, the two mega markets on which the brand already generates more than 20% of its business. Overall, Ba & sh makes 55% of its sales outside France.
Cédric Chateau, a partner at HLD, points to a model that is 30% digital. “Today, when we build the business plan for an opening in a shopping center in China, explains the former employee of PAI and Advent, we take into account the additional sales that will be made online thanks to this settlement”. HLD will invest in the development of digital platforms.
The brand, which targets women aged 18 to 50 with flowing dresses, owes its success to the federation of a community of loyal customers. “Ba & sh is a unique house in the world of fashion with a strong identity”, summarizes Cédric Chateau.
Growth will also go through the development of ranges of accessories. To stick to current environmental responsibility requirements, Ba & sh is gradually relocating its production from Asia to around the Mediterranean. The brand promises to offer 95% eco-responsible products in its collections by 2023.
Founded in 2010, HLD is a European investment fund with permanent capital which supports 18 companies with 2 billion in capital. The fund sold beauty brand Filorga to Colgate. It owns, among others, Kiloutou, TSG, the European leader in energy distribution solutions, Photonis sensors, 52 Entertainment, the world number one in online bridge, the virtual sailing game Virtual Regata, as well as the specialist in MVG radio waves. In the personal equipment sector, HLD owns the Jimmy Fairly eyewear stores.
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