Specialty Catalog Sold to Equity Firm

Brockton, MA-based Specialty Catalog Corp., whose titles include wig catalogs Paula Young and Especially Yours, has been sold to Toronto-based private equity firm EdgeStone Capital Partners. Terms of the deal were not released. New York–based investment bank Goldsmith Agio Helms represented Specialty Catalog Corp. in the sale.

According to its datacard, Specialty Catalog's two core titles target women ages 35-50, with a median household income of $40,000-$50,000. Especially Yours caters to black women while Paula Young targets a white audience. In addition to its U.S. wigs books, Specialty Catalog markets its products under the Natural Image, Jacqueline, Paula Young, and HotHair brands in the U.K.

EdgeStone sees Specialty Catalog, and especially its Especially Yours title, as a platform for growth, says Goldsmith Agio Helms principle David Solomon. It plans on “turbo-charging” prospecting for the book, he says, as its primary competitors in the highly fragmented African-American wig market are mom-and-pop hair salons.

Joseph Grabowski will remain CEO of Specialty Catalog. The company went public in 1996 and then was taken private in 2001.