Private equity firm Trilantic North America has closed on an investment in Orva, a full-service e-commerce platform specialising in the sale of footwear, apparel, accessories and home products from leading consumer brands.
Private equity firm Trilantic North America has closed on an investment in Orva, a full-service e-commerce platform specialising in the sale of footwear, apparel, accessories and home products from leading consumer brands. The investment is being made in partnership with Orva’s founding family, which will retain a meaningful equity stake and continue to run the business.
Founded in 1948 as a regional chain of brick-and-mortar stores, Orva has evolved its business model in parallel to the digitalisation of the retail landscape. Today, the Company operates as a leading e-tailer providing its longstanding brand partners with comprehensive e-commerce solutions across leading online marketplaces, including Amazon and Walmart, as well as other DTC channels.
“The Orva team has continued to demonstrate their ability to nimbly adapt the Company’s business model amid major disruption over the course of its nearly 70-year history and is effectively capitalising on the retail industry’s accelerating shift toward e-commerce,” says Jamie Manges, Partner at Trilantic North America. “The value Orva’s unique merchandising strategy brings to partners and customers alike is evidenced by its long-term, trusted brand relationships and the success of its high-growth platform. We look forward to working alongside the founding family to support Orva through its next phase of growth.”
“Orva has been in our family for three generations, so we are thrilled to work with Trilantic North America, which has an outstanding reputation for supporting the growth of family-owned businesses,” says Elliot Aizer, President of Merchandising.
“The Trilantic North America team’s expertise in building businesses that are harnessing shifting consumer preferences and leveraging the power of the Amazon platform makes them an ideal partner,” says Abe Shalom, President of Orva. “Our partnership will facilitate acceleration of our growth initiatives and we’re incredibly excited to see what we can accomplish together.”
Lincoln International acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Orva on the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP provided legal advice to Trilantic North America and Orva, respectively.
