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RETAIL: New Owner Provides Support t o Grow $25M Business
When Compass Diversified Holdings / ERGObaby Carrier Inc. first came knocking at Baby Tula 's door back in 2015, founder Ula Tuszewicka was not only caught offguard, she was simply not interested.
"We were running the business with our heads in it," said Tuszewicka, a 39-year-old Polish mother of three with an international business degree from San Diego State University . "We never had a plan of any sort, so, when they approached us, we were turned offby it."
But then a second conversation took place, and then a third, and, by then, Tuszewicka and husband, Mike Pham , were all in.
Baby Tula Acquisition
In May 2016, Compass/ERGObaby acquired New Baby Tula LLC for $73.8 million, "excluding working capital and a potential earn-out payment of $8.2 million based on 2017 financial performance," according to a press release. As part of the deal, Tuszewicka and Pham are shareholders in the company, and Tuszewicka remains the founder and president as well as the lead for all design initiatives. In fact, since the acquisition, Baby Tula has launched the Free-to-Grow carrier (7 to 45 pounds) and its kids' backpack line, which range in price from $70-$80 and feature all the traditional Baby Tula colors and designs, all under Tuszewicka's guidance. And, while it works with its parent company for production, sourcing, accounting and distribution, among other manufacturing and managerial duties, Baby Tula oversees completely separate marketing, community building, event coordinating and design teams.
Baby Tula brought in $25 million in revenue in 2015. The company has not had a full calendar year of sales post acquisition. Christian Piencka , director of sales and marketing for Baby Tula, said it is "anticipating significant growth in several foreign markets due to the additional resources we're able to take advantage of through our parent company and their distribution partners."
Following acquisition, with the muscle and reach of a larger parent company behind it, Baby Tula products are poised to get even more exposure, both nationally and internationally.
Perfect Timing
"The long and short of it is that the Ergo acquisition happened at the perfect time for Tula, when the brand was ready to expand...