Assembled Brands Finances Acquisition of QALO by Holding Company Win Brands Group

Today Assembled Brands announced a partnership with Win Brands Group to acquire QALO. QALO offers high-quality, functional wedding bands for men and women leading active lifestyles.

“Assembled Brands was instrumental in helping us complete this marquee transaction and have proven an ideal partner for us time and again. The team’s rich expertise is the perfect complement to ours, and we look forward to taking QALO to new heights together.”

QALO, founded in 2013 by Ted Baker and KC Holiday, has scaled rapidly through an omnichannel distribution strategy, with a growing e-commerce channel paired with extensive retail networks including REI, Target, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Notably, the Southern California-based brand has resonated with a devoted community of fans, including professional athletes such as LeBron James, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Eva Shockey, among others.

Assembled Brands, through its financing of QALO, continues to double down on its underlying thesis that every brand in every category will be reinvented to meet new consumer demands over the next decade. Founded by Adam Pritzker, Assembled Brands closed $100M from funds managed by Oaktree to provide financing to consumer brands. The team predicts that independent brands will outperform incumbents over a long-term time horizon.

“We’re incredibly excited to partner with QALO and Win Brands to provide them with the right financing solution to match their growing business needs,” said JoBeth Abecassis, Managing Director at Assembled Brands. “Our facility will provide QALO with a flexible capital solution so that management can remain focused on running a successful long-term business.”

Eric Satler, Chief Strategy Officer of Win Brands Group added, “Assembled Brands was instrumental in helping us complete this marquee transaction and have proven an ideal partner for us time and again. The team’s rich expertise is the perfect complement to ours, and we look forward to taking QALO to new heights together.”

QALO will join a portfolio at Assembled Brands that includes a number of high-profile consumer brands, including Buffy, Khaite, Juneshine, Ash & Erie, Felix Gray, and Richer Poorer, among others.

About Assembled Brands

Assembled Brands provides rapid financing, business insights, and an unrivaled network to grow consumer brands. Operating in tandem, these three pillars present a novel opportunity to provide alternatives to traditional venture financing.

About Win Brands Group

Win Brands Group was founded in 2017 by Kyle Widrick and Taylor Sicard, as a collaborative effort stemming from their previous experiences at BVACCEL and Shopify, respectively. The team at Win has since grown to over a dozen industry experts in all areas of direct commerce that operate as a shared services team, applying their experience across all portfolio brands. Win looks to acquire brands generating between $5M to $50M in revenue, delivering a unique and differentiated product experience to the end customer. Since launching, Win has grown over 800% across its portfolio with plans to accelerate M&A efforts. For more information about Win, please visit winbg.com.

About QALO

QALO is a lifestyle brand founded on the basis of commitment and functionality. Marriage and family are at the core of everything the brand does. In 2012, founders Ted Baker and KC Holiday each found themselves newly married, loving their wives and hating their wedding rings. They searched for an alternative ring that would allow them to represent their commitment and continue their active lifestyles safely and comfortably but found nothing existed in the marketplace. From there, QALO was born and remains the most popular functional wedding ring on the market. Connect with QALO on Facebook @QALO, on Twitter @QALOring, and on Instagram @QALO.

Contacts

News Media:
Adrian Grant-Alfieri, Director
adrian@assembledbrands.com