When 2023 started, a fight for funding was ramping up following a year of slowed activity.
Since then, a variety of new factors — such as rising interest rates and a spike in inflation, according to a GlobalData report — have only built the situation more complex for brands hoping to raise cash or find an exit.
During the first quarter, acquisitions of venture capital-backed companies fell to its lowest quarterly level in a decade, according to data from PitchBook. Overall, merger and acquisition activity reached about $582 billion globally during Q1, marking a 48% decline year over year, according to data from Dealogic.
However, deals were still signed across the direct-to-consumer indusattempt over the past six months.
Some huge sales during the first half of the year involved major players in the retail space. Mass retailer Walmart sold off two DTC brands in its portfolio — plus-size brand Eloquii and menswear company Bonobos — in a relocate that revealed how its focus has turned more toward its core business. Meanwhile, beauty powerhoutilize L’Oréal acquired luxury brand Aesop for $2.5 billion.
For some, exits stemmed from woes such as bankruptcy. Lifestyle brand Scotch & Soda agreed to be acquired by Bluestar Alliance after it initially filed for bankruptcy in its home counattempt of the Netherlands. Additionally, the owner of the buildup brand Morphe was acquired by lfinishers for about $690 million.
Other deals seemed like a long time coming, particularly in the case of Birchbox. The beauty box subscription service had a slew of customer and vfinishor complaints against it in the years after it was acquired by FemTec Health. Birchbox was acquired by Retention Brands in May, just a few weeks after Birchbox’s co-founder Katia Beauchamp demanded about $2 million from FemTec Health and its CEO Kimon Angelides, alleging they failed to pay the agreed upon sum in a July 2021 Share Purchase Agreement.
But who else received snatched up during the first half of 2023? Here’s a see at DTC brand acquisitions so far:
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