Janie and Jack owner Go Global acquired children’s apparel label Brums Milano last week as it lays the groundwork for a platform unlocking synergies in making and selling kids’ clothing.
The ModCloth owner and brand investment platform’s play for the premium Italian kids’ fashion brand gives it access to Brums’ more than 150 owned and franchised stores in Italy, where the label is sold at La Rinascente’s 300 department stores. Founded in 1951, Preca Brummel SpA designs, markets and distributes children’s clothing under Brums and another label called MEK, specializing in elevated fabrics with sizing ranging from newborn to teen.
According to Go Global, the Brums label will continue to operate out of Milan and serve core customers in the region. The platform will help the brand develop greater digital capabilities, including AI and predictive analytics, enabling it to expand its international presence and better target customers. “Growth is our ultimate goal,” Go Global chief financial officer and partner Deborah Gargiulo said. The team’s retail and brand specialists will complement Brums’ existing framework for “digital strategy, international business development, supply chain and global operations,” she added.
Go Global said it plans to create a global platform for children’s clothes using the same backend technology for e-commerce, digital marketing, sourcing and raw material relationships, informed by the insights it gained from acquiring Janie and Jack from Gap, Inc. last year. Janie and Jack’s physical retail and digital goals are similar to Brums’, with 110 U.S. brick-and-mortar stores and relationships with retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue.
Go Global Jeff Streader founder and managing partner said the Brums purchase represents the platform’s first foray into the European market. “We will execute the same successful playbook that we deployed at Janie and Jack by resetting the operational model and investing into the company’s digital capabilities,” he said. It will also offer Brums new market opportunities in the U.S., as well as the U.K., Europe, the Middle East and Asia.