Rapsodia Announces Significant Investment From L Catterton

Grupo de Narváez and L Catterton plan to accelerate expansion of the Rapsodia brand internationally

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Feb 22, 2017, 08:00 ET

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina and NEW YORK, N.Y., Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rapsodia, a leading lifestyle and women's apparel brand in Latin America, today announced a significant growth capital investment by L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. Through this partnership, both L Catterton and current shareholder Grupo de Narváez plan to accelerate the expansion of the Rapsodia brand across Latin America and internationally. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Established in 1999 by Josefina Helguera, Sol Acuña, and Francisco de Narváez, Rapsodia is a premium hippie-chic inspired womenswear label. With the vast majority of its nearly 1,000 employees women, Rapsodia is a beloved and growing women's lifestyle brand. Rapsodia currently operates 90 stores across six Latin American countries—Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, and Paraguay. The brand goes beyond apparel, with accessories, footwear and girls, home and lingerie products. With a broad and loyal customer base, Rapsodia has a significant opportunity for growth. Rapsodia will continue to be led by its management team, with the inspiration of its co-founders, and will maintain the support of Grupo de Narváez.

Sol Acuña, Co-Founder of Rapsodia, said, "The partnership with L Catterton is a recognition of the tremendous efforts and hard work of the Rapsodia team since our founding. We are excited to build on our accomplishments with L Catterton and go global with our brand." Josefina Helguera, Co-Founder of Rapsodia, added, "We started Rapsodia with one small store in the Las Cañitas neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Working together with Francisco, we took the brand to another level, and have assembled a talented, world-class team that has driven Rapsodia's success."

"L Catterton's investment demonstrates their confidence in the Rapsodia brand, and everything it represents about the creative talents of Argentina and its textile industry," said Francisco de Narváez, President of Grupo de Narváez. "This partnership offers Rapsodia a significant opportunity for further growth, while remaining faithful to its essence and style, marked by professionalism, creativity, inspiration, leadership, and teamwork. With L Catterton's extensive consumer expertise and track record of supporting the success of powerful global brands, we will be able to take Rapsodia to a new level. Together, we will expand our brand across Latin America and globally, further innovate our product lines, and increase job opportunities throughout the region by allowing the Argentine textile industry to become international."

"Rapsodia is one of the most admired and fastest-growing brands in Argentina," said Dirk Donath, Managing Partner, L Catterton Latin America. "With a strong brand identity, broad product line, loyal customer following, and highly talented management team, Rapsodia is well positioned to meet the increasing demand for premium retail offerings in Latin American markets and beyond. We are thrilled to partner with Francisco and the outstanding Rapsodia team to further develop and expand the brand across Latin America and internationally."

"We see tremendous potential in Rapsodia, which has proven to be one of the few apparel brands in Latin America that has been highly successful across multiple markets," said Julio Babecki, Partner, L Catterton Latin America. "Rapsodia's core foundation of quality, creativity and authenticity has enabled the brand to connect meaningfully with today's women across the region. We are truly excited about this opportunity and look forward to continuing to build the brand's success."

Rapsodia is the first investment by the L Catterton Latin America fund in Argentina. This investment is the fund's fourth in Latin America, and the most pan-regional to date. The fund has made previous investments in Bodytech, a leading health and fitness player in Latin America, Grupo St. Marche, one of the most innovative food retailers in Brazil, and Espaçolaser, Brazil's leader in laser hair removal. The investment in Rapsodia builds on L Catterton's investments in leading retail and lifestyle brands globally, including Restoration Hardware, Pepe Jeans and Hackett, Sandro&Maje, El Ganso, Ba&sh, Charles & Keith, the Miami Design District, John Hardy, and Frederic Fekkai, among others.

The transaction is subject to completion of certain closing conditions.

About Rapsodia
Rapsodia was founded in 1999, in Buenos Aires, by Josefina Helguera, Sol Acuña and Francisco de Narváez. The first store outside Buenos Aires was opened in 2005, while 2006 marked the beginning of the brand's expansion in the region with stores in Chile and Mexico. Rapsodia currently operates in six Latin American countries – Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, and Mexico – through 90 points of sale and four product lines: Women, Intimates, Girls, and Home. The brand is characterized by a boho-chic, romantic style. It offers an eclectic product portfolio that amalgamates innumerable patterns and a varied range of colors and textures. Each collection is inspired in differ rent cultures and decades, art, music, and world travel, all of which have undoubtedly forged its super feminine, adventurous and free identity. To find out more, visit http://www.rapsodia.com.ar.

About L Catterton
L Catterton, formed in 2016 through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault, is the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world, operating multiple funds out of seventeen offices across five continents. Since its founding in 1989, Catterton has leveraged its category insight, strategic and operating skills, and network of industry contacts to establish one of the strongest private equity investment track records in the middle market. L Catterton builds on this heritage and the strong track record of LVMH and Groupe Arnault's existing European and Asian private equity and real estate operations, conducted under the L Capital and L Real Estate franchises. L Catterton invests in all major consumer segments, including: Food and Beverage, Retail and Restaurants, Beauty and Wellness, Fashion and Accessories, Consumer Products and Services, Consumer Health, and Media and Marketing Services, as well as real estate projects anchored by luxury retail. L Catterton's investments include: Steiner Leisure, Groupo St. Marche, Bodytech, El Ganso, Hopdoddy, PIADA Italian Street Food, Mendocino Farms, CHOPT Creative Salad Company, Bruxie, Protein Bar, Snap Kitchen, Peloton, Restoration Hardware, CorePower Yoga, Sweaty Betty, Outback Steakhouse, Plum Organics, Noodles & Company, Vroom, Frederic Fekkai, PIRCH, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Wellness pet food, Nature's Variety pet food, Kettle Foods, Odwalla, P.F. Chang's, Ba&sh, Sandro & Maje, CellularLine, Vicini / Zanotti, Cigierre, Gant, Nutrition and Sante, Pepe Jeans & Hackett, 2XU, Charles & Keith, Marubi, Bateel, Sasseur, Emperor Watch and Jewelry, Miami Design District and G6 in Ginza - Tokyo, to name a few. More information about L Catterton can be found at www.lcatterton.com.