🤝Meet Joe Mimran. He’s a Canadian fashion designer and the founder of Club Monaco and Joe Fresh. Today, he’s the president of JM&A, where he steers such brands as Tilley and Kit and Ace. Mimran is about to add another company to that list: Roots, the beloved retail brand known for its distinctly nostalgic Canadiana. We spoke to Mimran about his plans for the brand, which include a push into the US market.
Why is Roots going private?
Having to report on a quarterly basis and having to try and grow the business to the public market’s expectation is not always the best way to evolve. There may be a time when Roots can once again go public. But, right now, for us to do the work that we need to do means not doing it under the scrutiny of the financial market, but under the scrutiny of the consumers. That's the more important market.
Can you explain the deal structure and how this new ownership of Roots will work?
Marquee Brands approached us and said they want a partner in this transaction. So they own the IP, we own the operating business. And we've partnered to put this bid together of $4.10 a share. They're putting up a certain amount of money, and we're putting up our share of the funds, and we’re buying the company together. We're excited to be joined at the hip on this one and moving forward together to take this internationally.
Is that where you see the biggest opportunity for Roots — international expansion?
I still think there’s opportunity in the Canadian marketplace, but I obviously believe that there's a huge growth opportunity in the U.S. that hasn’t been exploited until now. If we can replicate what I’ve done in the past [with Club Monaco] and what we've done with Tilley, I think there's a huge opportunity for Roots. But we've got our work cut out for us to get there.
What will it take for that to be a success?
The way I look at it is, what better brand to express Canadian identity than Roots? It's the best part of us. And how do we take that and personify it in the apparel, the imagery and everything else? And how do we romanticize it? I just want to ensure that the heritage of the brand is absolutely maintained. This is not about taking a left turn or a right turn. This is about really ensuring that the brand lives up to its 53 years of glory.
And how do we do that? By really leaning into this whole idea of Canada. And when you think about it, what's more romantic than Canada? We're loved everywhere around the world, so why not take that and personify that within the clothes themselves? That's what we want to do.
And again, maintaining identity is so important. I use Tilley as an example because Tilley was this outdoor brand and we haven't forsaken that original, heritage customer. We want to do the same thing with Roots. You never want to forsake the customer that you have in an attempt to try and find a new one. We have the customer. We just have to make them even more passionate, more fervent.
What challenges do you think you’ll face?
Because Roots has its own direct-to-consumer business, it probably doesn't have the same challenges as some brands that are wholesale. If we look at the retail landscape, if you have a compelling proposition, then you can survive. There are many great brands that have direct-to-consumer positions in the market that are growing wonderfully. In Canada, what we've seen is the disappearance of the department stores, and distribution in independent boutiques has pretty much disappeared. And what you're really left with is the direct-to-consumer component, or the mass merchants or the discount merchants. And they're the ones that are winning. Retail is tough, but it’s always been tough. You just have to give the customer what they want. And if you can do that, you can do well.
What does this acquisition mean for you personally?
That's an interesting question. For me personally, it's going to be more work in addition to the other brands that we're working on. But I think it's a very serious endeavor. All eyes are going to be on Roots going forward and how we are going to treat this much-loved brand. The amount of outreach that I've received in the last two, three days has been incredible. So there's a sense of responsibility with respect to how we move forward.
Sometimes when we read about an acquisition, we tend to react with cynicism. What would you say to people who worry that Roots will be downgraded in quality or positioning?
The founders sold the company many years ago. And it's usually when founders first leave a company that things can take a wrong turn. In this case, the company has been under good, solid management, and that management has done a good job in getting Roots to its current position. Not all brands do worse. And again, I'm a founder of a few companies, and so I know what it takes to treat the brand correctly.
Many of the notes that I've been getting have been that it's going into good hands. Or at least reliable hands and a known entity here in Canada. So that's going to be our job, to make sure that we really get this going in a good direction and that people will be proud of the work that we've done. Now, just remember that the deal doesn’t close for another 60-75 days, and there's nine months of product that's already in the pipeline.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
