Grano Retail Investments Buys Samuelsohn

Grano Retail Investments has acquired tailored menswear brand Samuelsohn. No financial terms were disclosed, except that BDC provided leveraged financing.

PRESS RELEASE
Grano Retail Investments (“Grano”), an investment and advisory company, announced today that it has acquired Samuelsohn, an 87-year-old premium tailored menswear brand. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As part of the transaction, Grano founder and CEO Stephen Granovsky, will become CEO of Samuelsohn which is currently sold in more than 250 specialty stores across North America and counts the prestigious retailers Paul Stuart and Harry Rosen as key customers. With more than 20 years of retail and consumer experience, Mr. Granovsky will build on Samuelsohn’s heritage to create a more contemporary lifestyle brand while expanding its distribution.

“We are buying Samuelsohn because we believe that it is the best made suit in North America,” said Stephen Granovsky, CEO of Grano Retail Investments, which recently completed several M&A transactions in the consumer sector. We believe that Samuelsohn addresses a void in the market for a more contemporary brand with a better price/value proposition.”

Granovsky to Name Management Team

Mr. Granovsky plans to name a new senior management team to spearhead the growth of Samuelsohn in the coming weeks. As part of this plan, Mr. Granovsky announced today that Paolo Torello-Viera, formerly the COO, Executive Vice President of Brioni Retail U.S., has been appointed COO of Samuelsohn. With more than 25 years in the men’s apparel industry, Mr. Torello-Viera has developed deep expertise in all aspects of the fashion business. While at Brioni, he was responsible for defining and building their U.S. retail operations, ensuring alignment with overall corporate brand management and vision. Prior to joining Brioni, he was Executive Vice President at Ermenegildo Zenga Group, where he contributed to the launch of several new collections and the growth of its North American business. Additional members of the Samuelsohn senior management team will be announced in the coming weeks.

BDC provided financing to Grano Retail Investments for the acquisition of Samuelsohn. The BDC is Canada’s business development bank. From more than 100 offices across the country, BDC promotes entrepreneurship by providing highly tailored financing, venture capital and consulting services.

About Samuelsohn

Headquartered in Montreal, Samuelsohn, Ltd. was founded in 1923 by Lesser Samuelsohn. As one of the oldest high-end men’s tailored suit businesses, the Company continues to deliver a consistent level of quality combining modern and traditional handmade tailoring techniques. Samuelsohn is currently sold in more than 250 specialty stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, please visit www.samuelsohn.com.

About Grano Retail Investments Inc.

Grano is a private investment firm that focuses on small to mid-size acquisitions in the retail, wholesale and manufacturing sectors. The Company’s investments are sourced from their own funds as well as funds from their partners who include institutional sub-debt lenders, high net worth individuals and specialized private equity investors. Founded in 2007 by Stephen Granovsky and Lawrence Pollack, the leadership team has over 100 years of combined experience in retail, consumer businesses and transaction financing. For more information, please visit www.granoretail.com.