FULLBEAUTY Brands

Situation

FullBeauty Brands (FBB) is a leader in direct-to-consumer plus-size apparel, selling primarily through its e-commerce platform and marketing both online and through catalogs. The company manages four women’s apparel brands (Woman Within, Roaman’s, Jessica London and Swimsuits For All), men’s brand King Size, home goods brand BrylaneHome and the fullbeauty.com online marketplace. At the time of our investment, FBB (previously OneStopPlus Group) was owned by a French luxury goods manufacturer, which viewed the division as non-core and mature, and consequently, had underinvested in the business. Despite inconsistent recent performance, we were drawn to FBB’s market leadership in a growing industry and loyal customer base in an underserved segment.

Investment

In 2012, Charlesbank developed an advantaged position in the sales process for FullBeauty by underwriting a complex situation and becoming management’s partner of choice. In 2013, we led the carve-out of the company, with significant participation from management and a strategic minority partner. We also arranged covenant-lite debt financing to fund the transaction.

Charlesbank Role

Carve-out: Supported management in the transition from a non-core catalog division operated largely for cash flow to a more growth-oriented stand-alone e-commerce company

Senior Management: Recruited a seasoned direct-to-consumer executive as CEO and strengthened senior management team by helping add executive talent in brand management, e-commerce and merchandising

Growth Strategy: Invested in numerous initiatives to support growth, including increasing emphasis on customer service, refining the digital strategy, investing in a number of new full-time positions, broadening and upgrading product assortment, re-branding from OneStopPlus to Full Beauty Brands and acquiring Swimsuits For All

Cost Structure: Assisted management in realizing substantial indirect cost savings in paper purchasing, apparel sourcing and shipping, and improving the private-label credit card program

Capital Structure: Led multiple recapitalization transactions to reduce cost of capital and maintain balance sheet flexibility

Results

During our initial investment period, FullBeauty achieved significant revenue growth and nearly doubled EBITDA, generating substantial free cash flow. In 2015, we sold the majority of our equity interest to a financial sponsor.

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