OKA Direct Ltd (OKA), the multi-channel lifestyle brand, has announce its acquisition of Wisteria, a US based premium furniture and home décor business. With the support of Investindustrial, this marks OKA’s first major acquisition in its 20 years of operation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2000 by Andrew and Shannon Newsom as a mail-order company, Wisteria has grown to become a premium furniture and home décor business with an attractive 100 per cent direct-to-consumer model. In 2004, the company started selling its products online through its Wisteria.com website and in 2010 opened its first retail store. Today, the company has two stores in Dallas and 80 per cent of revenue coming from catalogue and website sales. Wisteria has approximately 100 employees and is expected to generate around $25 million of revenues this year. Andrew and Shannon Newsom will remain involved in the business and will continue to play a pivotal role in its future development. Andrew Newsom will lead Wisteria and OKA in the US.
The investment in Wisteria is a strategic addition to OKA, providing an immediate presence in the US. Whilst the two brands will continue to be developed independently, the support and local knowledge of Wisteria will significantly accelerate OKA’s planned expansion and development in the US market.
MANAGEMENT CHANGES
Separately, Peter Taylor has decided to retire from the company for personal reasons following two years as CEO. During his time as CEO, a number of important strategic initiatives were introduced. Furthermore, under Peter’s leadership in January 2018 Investindustrial Growth L.P. – an investment fund dedicated to small and medium-sized European companies with high growth potential – acquired a majority stake in OKA to enable growth in both the UK and international markets and further develop the online offer and the use of technology across the business.
Emilio Foa, previously CFO and COO of leading cycling lifestyle brand Rapha, joins OKA as CEO to lead the integration of the two businesses and their further international growth. Emilio brings more than 15 years of experience at global consumer brands. Prior to Rapha, Emilio was CEO of Crabtree & Evelyn and before this spent more than 10 years at Burberry in various business and finance roles,part of the leadership team during the brand’s key transformation and growth period. Previously, he was CFO at Benetton and Group Financial Controller at Gucci Group.
Emilio Foa, CEO of OKA said: “I am excited to join such great businesses and to partner with the founders of both OKA and Wisteria to further strengthen and elevate the brands, leveraging the strong online platform in the UK and the US. Working with the teams, we will focus on improving the customer experience across all our channels and I will draw upon my background of both luxury and lifestyle brands. With the support of Investindustrial we are in the position to properly execute our growth plans and to achieve the brands’ full potential.”
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