If you’ve heard of Pangea Holdings at all, it’s probably because the investment group is the “stalking horse” bidder in the auction of Spiegel’s Newport News women’s apparel division (see cover story “Dead Man Walking: Spiegel Sell-off Begins”). But in late February, Pangea made a smaller, quieter deal: It bought Florence, MA-based Motherwear, a cataloger/retailer of apparel and accessories for expecting and nursing mothers.
Motherwear’s previous owners, Jody Wright and Prakash Laufer, maintain an interest in the company and will lead it going forward. According to a press release, the 21-year-old Motherwear was under “financial siege,” and had to retain private equity firm Meadowbrook Lane Capital to avoid being liquidated. The revamped company, called Motherwear International, will keep its headquarters in Florence. Motherwear had reduced its staff by 40% last September, but no additional layoffs are expected.
In an interview with Catalog Age last year, Wright blamed the lackluster economy for Motherwear’s woes. The company’s average order had declined by $20 in two years. “It’s much harder to work in a niche like ours with a very short-term customer in this kind of economy,” she said.
Christian Feuer, a principal with Pangea based in Hinsdale, IL (two other Pangea partners are based in China), is nonetheless enthusiastic about Motherwear’s future. He intends to make the brand an international one, eventually mailing it overseas. After all, motherhood is no different in Europe than it is in the U.S, Feuer says. “We haven’t seen another business like it, so the opportunity is definitely something we are considering.”