General Atlantic purchases minority stake in Zimmermann

Australian ready-to-wear and swim label Zimmermann has received a minority investment from equity firm General Atlantic.

In 1991, Nicky and Simone Zimmermann founded the label in Sydney. The brand has become famous for their boho-chic dresses, lace tops and skirts, and one-piece and bikini swimsuits. Their product range includes ready-to-wear, resort, children's, and accessories.

Zimmermann's founders and management team are still the majority shareholders in the company, and General Atlantic representatives will join the Zimmermann board of directors.

Both Zimmermann and General Atlantic have declined to state the size of the stake purchased.

“The business is growing and there’s a lot of momentum. We want to continue to build a global brand and the opportunity to work with a partner who shares our vision and who can assist us in achieving some of our plans sooner is an appealing one,” Simone said to WWD.

Zimmermann receives minority investment from General Atlantic

In addition to their free-standing Australian stores, Zimmermann also has boutiques around the world including Mercer Street in New York's Soho neighborhood, Melrose Place in Los Angeles, East Hampton, New York, And Americana in Manhasset, New York. The company also has showrooms in several locations across the globe including New York, Los Angeles, London, and Sydney.

Their accounts include 250 doors with retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Net-a-Porter, Shopbop, Barneys New York, and David Jones. Industry sources say that the brand generates between 75 million to 100 million dollars in sales. The company declined to disclose official sales figures.

According to Simone, General Atlantic will be business partners and not operators. In the past, General Atlantic has made investments in companies such as Tory Burch, Too Faced cosmetics, Airbnb, and Uber.

“As retail and consumer growth investors, we seek brands with innovative and highly creative product, authentic brand legacies and ambitious talented teams that are driven to continue growing. In Zimmermann, we saw all these elements. We believe we can help the company grow in the U.S., Europe and around the world,” said Andrew Ferrer, principal of General Atlantic’s Global Retail & Consumer team, to WWD.

General Atlantic will be helping the company in their retail rollout expansion, e-commerce endeavors, and growth of wholesale partnerships.

photo:revolveclothing.com