Dive Brief:
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New York City-based plus-size specialty retailer FullBeauty Brands Inc. is interested in a sale or going public, sources have told Reuters.
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The e-commerce and catalog company, which Paris-based luxury retail company Kering SA sold two years ago to private equity firms Charlesbank and Webster Capital, sells apparel in sizes 12 and larger to men and women, via brands Women Within, Jessica London, and KingSize.
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An auction is underway, and the company has tapped JPMorgan and Jefferies LLC, among others, to explore an initial public offering if the auction doesn’t meet expectations. Sources told Reuters the company could be valued at more than $1.5 billion, including debt.
Dive Insight:
The owners of FullBeauty, once known as OneStopPlus, have reportedly recouped their investment in the retail company more than three times over, an indication of the largely untapped potential of the plus-size market.
Indeed, with many retailers treating plus-size customers as an afterthought, there remains a vast market in that business estimated at $17.5 billion.
