Kellwood Company Finalizes Acquisition of ADAM

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Kellwood Company announced its acquisition of ADAM, effective today, according to Michael Kramer, Chief Executive Officer and President of Kellwood. This acquisition is the first in a series of aggressive expansion plans for Kellwood.

ADAM, founded by Creative Director and Chief Executive Officer Adam Lippes, is a full contemporary sportswear collection for men and women available at ADAM retail stores, ShopADAM.com and luxury retailers, such as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Harrod's. Lippes, who began his fashion career in 1995 at Polo Ralph Lauren before moving to Oscar de la Renta, was one of the youngest designers to hold the position of Global Creative Director in the luxury fashion world. Determined to pursue his dream of designing his own collection, he launched a line of cotton basics under the label adampluseve, which evolved into what is now known simply as ADAM.

"We're thrilled to add ADAM to Kellwood's growing portfolio of brands. ADAM has great potential for expansion across major product categories and international markets to be one of the next luxury lifestyle brands. Combining Adam Lippes' extraordinary vision with Kellwood's operational excellence and best-in-class infrastructure, will take this brand to the next level," added Kramer.

"Partnering with Kellwood will enable us to build ADAM into a global lifestyle brand. Kellwood clearly understands our vision and has the means to support our growth on a scale large enough to be competitive in the marketplace. Kellwood's size and reputation speaks for itself, and we look forward to building ADAM with them," stated Lippes.

ABOUT KELLWOOD

Kellwood designs, manufactures, and markets a growing collection of premier fashion brands across a broad range of consumer lifestyles including Vince, Baby Phat, Phat Farm, Sag Harbor, Briggs NY, Jolt, and My Michelle as well as licensed brands XOXO and David Meister. Kellwood also operates Vince retail stores and Sag Harbor outlet stores across the U.S. Kellwood brands are a perfect combination of fashion and quality.

Kellwood is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a leading private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and investments in market-leading companies. For additional information, visit Kellwood.com.

ABOUT ADAM

ADAM collection is available at ADAM retail stores, ADAM's e-commerce site, www.shopADAM.com, and over 250 stores in 10 countries around the world.

SOURCE Kellwood Company