Equistone acquires streetwear retailer DefShop

Equistone Partners Europe, one of the Europe’s mid-market private equity investors, has acquired a majority stake in German multichannel streetwear and hip-hop clothing retailer DefShop for an undisclosed sum.

The private equity firm is acquiring the stake in DefShop from founder Alexander Büchler and his family, who together will retain a minority shareholding, alongside the brand’s management team who have also acquire a minority stake in the business.

Following its acquisition, Equistone has stated that it will be looking to accelerate the business in the business-to-business area, spearhead further internationalisation of the brand and online platform, as well as “strengthen” DefShop’s own-brand strategy.

DefShop was founded in 2006 in Berlin by Büchler and has grown into a European online multichannel platform with two physical stores. It sells around 350 brands including Adidas, Nike, Jack & Jones, Fila, and Converse, across product ranges spanning from jackets, hoodies, and jeans through to sweatpants and shoes to accessories such as caps, belts, jewellery, and sunglasses.

DefShop sells majority stake to Equistone Partners Europe

In addition, DefShop also operates its own labels under its Herobrands umbrella, which includes DNGRS, Just Rhyse, and Bangastic, as well as licensed brands such as Thug Life and Eckô. These are distributed through the B2B platform Roadmap1, through which DefShop also connects to its network of large-scale European retailers that includes Amazon, eBay, Vaola, and Rakuten.

The streetwear retailer employs around 180 people and serves approximately 935,000 customers across Europe, and its projected revenues for this year are expected to be around 64 million euros.

Alexis Milkovic, partner at Equistone, said: “DefShop has grown impressively within an extraordinarily exciting segment of the fashion industry and is regarded by teenagers and young adults as an institution and style authority for streetwear and hip-hop clothing. This positioning provides an outstanding basis for DefShop’s next phase of growth, which we are excited to support.”

DefShop chief executive Büchler added: “In Equistone we know that we have a middle-market investor with strong capital reserves and expertise in the retail and fashion industries by our side. Together with Equistone we plan to continue driving the expansion of DefShop within this hugely promising market.”

The completion of the transaction is expected to take place at the end of September 2017.

Equistone Partners Europe is one of Europe’s leading investors in mid-market buyouts, with a strong focus on investments between 25 million euros and 125 million euros of equity in businesses with enterprise values of between 50 million euros and 500 million euros. The company has a team of over 35 investment professionals operating across France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK.

Image: DefShop website