Francesca’s Acquires Los Angeles Lifestyle Brand Richer Poorer

Francesca’s Acquisition, LLC, the parent of Francesca’s and Franki by Francesca’s women’s and girls apparel chains, reported the asset purchase of California-based wardrobe essentials brand Richer Poorer. Financial terms were not disclosed.

As a wholly owned subsidiary, the integration will put Richer Poorer under the umbrella of Francesca’s Acquisition, LLC.

The Richer Poorer buyout signals a shift in gears for Francesca’s as it focuses on targeted acquisitions after going private in 2021 by TerraMar Capital, LLC.

“I am delighted to welcome the Richer Poorer team into our expanding portfolio and recognize their success in growing Richer Poorer from a start-up into a Gen Z-relevant, sustainable brand, which is a great addition to our “free to be you” company culture,” said Andrew Clarke, CEO of Francesca’s Acquisition, LLC. “Creating this new cooperative of synergistic brands allows us to benefit from a diverse bench strength of expertise while setting up the whole for greater reach into our target markets. This will deliver increased operational efficiencies, accelerate our omni-channel capabilities and open new revenue streams. We are especially grateful to our vendor partners, landlords and lenders who continue proactively supporting our company and the initiatives we are pursuing as a management team.”

Founded in Los Angeles in 2010, Richer Poorer is a basics fashion brand retailing sweats, tees and tanks, intimates, dresses, and loungewear. The brand targets young consumers and is worn by celebrities, including Miley Cyrus, Suki Waterhouse and Jessica Alba. The brand will continue its efforts in wholesale and DTC channels for 2023, with a re-launch in 2024.

Iva Pawling, the CEO and co-founder, will continue to lead the brand in her newly expanded role as president of Richer Poorer, Franki and Wholesale.

The transaction was completed in partnership with Tiger Capital and financed by Bank of America. Francesca’s Acquisition, LLC is owned by private equity firm TerraMar Capital, LLC.

“The shifting DTC landscape has required strong start-up brands like Richer Poorer to seek new means of capital and growth,” said Ryan Davis, the executive managing director at Tiger Capital. “As proven brand-builders, the teams at Francesca’s and TerraMar are ideally positioned to take the brand to the next level.”

“Completing this acquisition is a meaningful step in the value creation plan for Francesca’s that was established in 2021 when we acquired the business,” commented Joshua Phillips, Managing Partner of TerraMar Capital, LLC. “We look forward to continuing to evaluate other potential acquisitions in the space and working with Andrew and Francesca’s management team to continue the work towards building Francesca’s platform to recognize its full potential.”