What does Helen of Troy recent divestment mean?
28 Jun 2021 --- Independent personal care company, HRB, announces its purchase of a portfolio of personal care brands from Helen of Troy. BPC Insights talked with William Sweedler, managing partner of HRB’s portfolio company, Tengram Capital Partners/Windsong Global, about the company’s decision to buy, what makes Helen of Troy stand out, and its plans for the immediate future.
HRB Brands, a Tengram Capital Partners portfolio company, announced earlier in June that it has bought a portfolio of Helen of Troy’s personal care brands. The acquisition relates to 12 leading brands, many of which are household names, including Brut, Pert, Sure, Ammens, Seabreeze and Infusium.
The new acquisition deal
Click to EnlargeThe acquisition includes 12 household brands, including Brut. Source: Helen of Troy.HRB’s newly-acquired portfolio, which contains many household names, draws upon the experience and investment background of private equity firm, Tengram Capital Partners.
“Tengram and the HRB team, led by Jim Daniels, has a strong track record of identifying orphan brands with significant intrinsic value,” confirms William Sweedler, managing partner of HRB’s portfolio company, Tengram Capital Partners/Windsong Global. “This team specializes in unlocking value by improving their cost structure and using a portion of those savings to revitalize those brands through creative marketing initiatives,” adds Sweedler.
Following the purchase, HRB will refresh the brand portfolio’s product innovation pipeline and then apply its marketing and media program to activate the acquired brands. “Stay tuned for updates,” Sweedler shares.
As part of the agreement, the company plans to rename the business. It sees the rebranding as a reflection of its evolution, namely the implementation of significantly more brands in new categories into its portfolio, along with the company’s international presence. The new name will be HRB Brands which stands for Healthy Responsible Beauty Brands.
Choosing Helen of Troy
Describing what stood out to Tengram and the HRB team about the significance and success of its recently-purchased personal care brand collection, Sweedler notes: “The Helen of Troy brands are iconic, enjoy a strong loyal consumer following, and generally have broad distribution.”
Despite the uncertainty of the current global marketplace amid the ongoing COVID-19, this did not deter Tengram from investing in the Helen of Troy brands and seeking to embark on the opportunity to innovate. “We see significant growth opportunities through innovation, international distribution and synergies associated with our proprietary manufacturing team,” confirms Sweedler.
Moving into the beauty sphere
In February 2020, Tengram Capital Partners announced its acquisition of High Ridge Brands’ hair care and skin cleansing business. High Ridge Brand is a portfolio company of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CDR). The purchase saw Tengram enter the consumer-focused hair and skin category. By acquiring a number of well-known brands—including Zest, Alberto VO5, Coast, White Rain, LA Looks, Zero Frizz, Rave, Salon Grafix and Thicker Fuller Hair— Tengram was able to expand its presence in the beauty and wellness market.
At the time, High Ridge’s former President and CEO, James Daniels, noted how the ongoing focus was on providing retail partners and consumers with “innovative, benefit-rich personal care products at a compelling value.” Its partnership with Tengram saw the brand prioritize reinvesting in its team, strengthen relationships across its supply chain and optimize its customer service. “We believe we can unlock significant value as we set the company up for long term success,” added Brian Cooper, principal at Tengram Capital Partners.
Expanding further into personal care
Click to Enlarge“The Helen of Troy brands were a clear opportunity from day one,” HRB’s William Sweedler says.Tengram wanted to embark on its second acquisition in the beauty and personal care (BPC) space to build upon its success in the industry. Sweedler notes: “The Tengram deal team and the HRB management team initiated a search immediately after the initial acquisition from CDR last year for complementary brands to the initial HRB portfolio.”
“The Helen of Troy brands were a clear opportunity from day one,” says Sweedler. “We continue to evaluate other opportunities for the platform,” Sweedler confirms.
Through Tengram’s acquisition of two leading BPC brand collections in as many years, HRB is now striving to position itself as one of the largest leading independent branded personal care companies in North America, particularly in the hair care and skin cleansing categories.
Joint business opportunities
The acquisition aligns with and complements Tengram’s existing portfolio. Tengram appreciates how the Helen of Troy brands fit well into the company’s existing supply chain and selling platforms. On the successful integration of the Helen of Troy brands into Tengram, Sweedler notes how this alignment “provided significant synergies almost immediately after the acquisition.”
Looking ahead to the immediate plans for the BPC brands' growth strategy following the acquisition, the HRB management team is focused on two keys aspects of the business: The integration of the Helen of Troy brand into its platform and the innovation of certain key brands.
“This strategic acquisition also brings with it a significant opportunity for international expansion, as the brands are currently sold in a number of countries and will drive growth across our combined platform. In addition, our management team has already begun development of renewed marketing and product innovation across the acquired portfolio that we will be sharing with our retail partners this Spring,” Jim Daniels, Chief Executive Officer of HRB Brands.
By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, BPC Insights Senior Journalist
