Sycamore Partners

Sycamore Partners

Company type	Private
Industry	Private equity
Founded	2011
Founder	Stefan Kaluzny, Peter Morrow
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Stefan Kaluzny (Co-founder), Peter Morrow (Co-founder)
Products	Private equity investments in retail and consumer sectors

Sycamore Partners is a U.S.-based private equity firm located in New York City, focusing primarily on investments within the retail and consumer sectors. The firm manages around $10 billion in committed capital.

Establishment

Sycamore Partners was established in 2011 by Stefan Kaluzny and Peter Morrow, both bringing significant private equity expertise to the venture. Kaluzny previously served as managing partner at Golden Gate Capital and CEO of Delray Farms; he holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Morrow, formerly a Principal at Golden Gate, earned both his BA and MBA from Stanford University. The firm is currently in the process of acquiring Walgreens Boots Alliance, with the transaction anticipated to finalize in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Active Holdings

• CommerceHub
• Staples Inc. and Staples Canada (acquired in 2017)
• Pure Fishing (acquisition completed January 2019)
  • Includes brands such as ABU Garcia, Berkley, Fenwick, Hardy, Penn Reels, Shakespeare, SpiderWire, and Ugly Stik
• Belk (acquired 2015)
• Hot Topic (acquired 2013)
• MGF Sourcing (formerly Mast Global Fashions) (acquired 2011)
• NBG Home (acquired 2017)
• Talbots (acquired 2012)
• The Limited (acquired 2017)
• Torrid (acquired 2013)
  • In July 2021, Sycamore divested 25.2% of Torrid through a public offering; it is now listed on the NYSE as "CURV," with Sycamore retaining a majority stake of 74.8%
• Premium Apparel LLC (purchased Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant including Cacique, LOFT, and Lou & Grey from Ascena Retail Group in December 2020)
• Azamara Cruises (acquired 2021)
• Margaritaville at Sea (acquired 2023)
• Rona Inc. (acquired 2023)
• Playa Bowls (acquired 2024)
• Walgreens (agreement initiated in 2025)

Previous Holdings

• EMP Merchandising — sold to Warner Music Group in 2018
• Nine West Holdings (ownership period: 2013–2018)
  • Jones New York — sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2015
  • Nine West and Bandolino — sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2018
  • Kurt Geiger — acquired by Jones Apparel Group in 2011; later sold to Cinven in 2015
  • Stuart Weitzman — divested to Coach, Inc. (now Tapestry, Inc.) in 2015
• Coldwater Creek — assets sold to Hong Kong-based Newtimes Group in 2020
• Express, Inc. — ownership ended January 2021

Notable Investments

In 2011, Sycamore acquired a controlling interest in MGF Sourcing, achieving full ownership by 2015.

The acquisition of Talbots occurred in 2012 for $391 million.

In 2013, the firm purchased Hot Topic and Torrid for a combined $600 million.

The year 2014 saw Sycamore add Coldwater Creek and Jones New York to its portfolio for $2.2 billion; Jones New York was subsequently sold to Authentic Brands Group the following year. Additionally, Kurt Geiger was acquired and then sold to Cinven in 2015. That same year, Stuart Weitzman was divested to Coach for $574 million.

Sycamore secured Belk, Inc. for $3 billion and acquired EMP Merchandising in 2015 while exiting Pathlight Capital.

By 2017, Nine West Holdings had acquired Kasper; Sycamore purchased NBG Home and won a $26.8 million bid for The Limited. The firm also agreed to acquire Staples Inc. for $6.9 billion and divested over 300 Dollar Express locations to competitor Dollar General.

In July 2020, Sycamore proposed a $1.75 billion bid to acquire JCPenney out of bankruptcy with plans to convert select stores under the Belk brand; however, this proposal was not approved.

January 2021 marked Sycamore's acquisition of Azamara Cruises from Royal Caribbean Group.

In March 2022, Sycamore joined Hudson's Bay Company in preparing bids for Kohl's as part of its ongoing retail expansion strategy.

On November 3, 2022, Lowe's reached an agreement to sell its Canadian retail division to Sycamore Partners.

On September 28, 2023, Sycamore entered into a contract to acquire women's apparel retailer Chico's FAS for $938.1 million. As of mid-2023, Chico's operated more than 1,250 stores across the United States along with franchise outlets in Mexico and airport locations.

On March 7, 2025, Sycamore announced its plan to purchase Walgreens Boots Alliance for approximately $10 billion at $11.45 per share.