NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Marquee Brands LLC, a leading global brand owner, marketing and media company, announced today that it will take back the BCBGMAXAZRIA and BCBGeneration licenses from Centric Brands following their bankruptcy filing. Marquee Brands will continue operations of the wholesale and e-commerce business to ensure seamless continuity. With this announcement Marquee Brands is further accelerating their rapidly growing digital business. This is an important step for the Marquee-Direct platform to further compete in the digital age under one world class digital organization.
In launching Marquee-Direct, the company made the decision to bring all e-commerce in-house and to handle all site design and development, merchandising, content creation and customer engagement. This was made possible with Marquee’s long-term relationships with best-in-class logistics partners for delivery and customer service. In this ever-changing retail environment, these capabilities will be crucial to assisting the growth of Marquee’s other operating partners as well as allowing the company to scale by adding new brands to the platform.
Adding the BCBG Group to this platform, which includes Ben Sherman, Body Glove, Dakine, Bruno Magli, Motherhood Maternity and Pea in a Pod, will allow Marquee Brands to achieve a more sustainable scale while also achieving better operating leverage. Earlier this year Marquee acquired the two brands under the Destination Maternity umbrella and refocused that business to a largely DTC platform. The success of each has exceeded expectations. Upon the acquisition, Marquee Brands set out to create a common purpose told with powerful experiences beyond a transaction by building relevant customer relationships. Through these relationships and digital capabilities, coupled with a more customer-focused merchandising plan, the Destination Maternity e-commerce platform has seen double digit growth in transactions, customer acquisition and increased conversion as well as units per transaction. “Destination Maternity will be a hugely profitable business with positive cash flow within its first year under Marquee Brand’s direct e-commerce operational management. Prior to the acquisition, they had experienced many years of substantial losses given their antiquated store-based model,” said Jonathan Greller, Head of Strategy & Corporate Development at Marquee. “Taking back the BCBG business and integrating it on to our Marquee-Direct platform with a heightened focus on product and our global partners will no doubt result in profitability that exceeds what could have been achieved through the prior license,” Greller added.
“Marquee is a brand owner that manages a portfolio of world class assets under diverse business models including a “digital first” mindset where each of the directly managed brands is experiencing double digit year-over-year growth on ecommerce, even during this crisis,” said Diane Bekhor, SVP of Brand Management over the BCBG brands. “BCBG has a strong 30-year brand heritage and a devoted customer base and the brands will benefit significantly from this transition. We are excited to have our hands on the wheel toward this next phase of growth and will be working closely with Centric to ensure a smooth transition,” said Bekhor.
About BCBG Group
Named for the Parisian term bon chic, bon genre, meaning “good style, good attitude,” BCBGMAXAZRIA embodies a true combination of European sophistication and American spirit. BCBGMAXAZRIA is a brand, an aesthetic and the realization of a dream. Inspired by the evolving landscape of culture, art and design, we bring global style and attitude within the reach. We know that confidence makes a woman look and feel her best, and in our clothes, she can conquer the world.
With integrity and consistency, BCBGMAXAZRIA takes of-the-moment trends and translates them into elevated, modern pieces. Each collection captures the best moments in fashion and makes them wearable—for every woman, at any time. BCBGMAXAZRIA is a complete lifestyle brand that offers a full range of ready-to-wear and accessories. The collections can be found at over 90 BCBGMAXAZRIA retail shops and in leading department stores globally.
In 2008, BCBGENERATION was created as a young contemporary brand and in 2018, BCBG GIRLS was re-introduced taking inspiration from BCBGENERATION and featuring mini me styles from BCBGMAXAZRIA.
About Marquee Brands
Marquee Brands is a leading global brand owner, marketing and media company. Owned by investor funds managed by Neuberger Berman, one of the world’s leading employee-owned investment managers, Marquee Brands targets high quality brands with strong consumer awareness and long-term growth potential. Marquee Brands seeks to identify brands in various consumer product segments with the goal of expanding their reach across retail channel, geography and product category while preserving the brand heritage and enhancing the ultimate consumer experience. Through its global team of professionals and partners, Marquee Brands monitors trends and markets in order to grow and manage brands in partnership with retailers, licensees and manufacturers through engaging, impactful strategic planning, marketing, and e-commerce. www.marqueebrands.com