Imperial, the golf headwear brand, announced the acquisition of J.T. Spencer, the American belt manufacturer based in Richmond, VA. J.T. Spencer is the official belt licensee of Peter Millar and operates Peter Millar’s custom logo green grass belt program.
Imperial also reported the extension of the belt license with Peter Millar to add to its existing T-shirt license. In the future, Imperial will continue offering custom logo embroidered and ChromaCrown Peter Millar belts and accessories and custom logo Peter Millar T-shirts through Peter Millar sales reps.
“Peter Millar has had a great relationship over the years with both Imperial and J.T. Spencer,” said Todd Martin, president, Peter Millar Golf. “We are very excited our partners have joined forces and look forward to growing our licensed goods with Imperial and their team.”
There will be no immediate changes to J.T. Spencer operations. Manufacturing and distribution will remain in operation from its facility in Richmond. Imperial is headquartered in Bourbon, MO, and owns factories in Sullivan, Winona, Ellington, Park Hills and Bonne Terre.
“When we started J.T. Spencer eight years ago, I could not have imagined the successful journey we would have in the golf world, and joining the Imperial family is just the next step in continuing our incredible growth trajectory,” said Steve DeWalle, president, J.T. Spencer. “We love that we will be continuing to work with Peter Millar on their custom belt and accessories program and are thrilled at the opportunity to build the Peter Millar licensed T-shirt program Imperial has started.”
DeWalle and his partner, Spens Woodroof, will be staying on with Imperial post-acquisition to manage the transition and the Peter Millar licensed businesses going forward.
Imperial’s parent company, Paramount Apparel International, was recently acquired by CPC at the end of 2021, whose mantra is “Buy, Build, Hold.” CPC was formed by the partners of Curran Companies and C3 Capital.
“Paramount is extremely proud of Imperial and now the acquisition of J.T. Spencer,” said Todd Johnson, CEO, Paramount Apparel International. “The synergies J.T. Spencer has with Peter Millar only strengthen our relationship with them, too. The combination of our manufacturing capabilities coupled with the Peter Millar brand positions us well for expansion. We are looking forward to a bright future and longstanding partnership with Peter Millar.”
Photo courtesy Imperial
