Kingswood Capital Management acquires fragrance retailer Obsession

Kingswood Capital Management (Kingswood), announced it has acquired Obsession Holdings (Obsession), one of the largest fragrance retailers in the United States. Kingswood is partnering with industry veterans Frank Mroczka and Bill Aisenberg, who are staying on as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, and joining Kingswood on the board of directors. The deal represents Kingswood's third specialty retail acquisition since 2020.

Michael Niegsch, Partner, Kingswood: "We believe Obsession will continue to benefit from the positive tailwinds in the fragrance market and we are excited about partnering with the company to accelerate its growth. The management team has done an excellent job expanding the product offering and developing a best-in-class in-store experience and we look forward to helping deliver even more value to customers through further proprietary product development, new store openings, and ecommerce expansion, as well as continuing to execute upon the management team's ongoing operational initiatives."

Headquartered in Miramar, FL, Obsession is one of the nation's largest retailers of authentic designer and proprietary fragrances and related accessories. Obsession operates over 215 retail stores across 38 states under The Fragrance Outlet and Perfumania banners, as well as related ecommerce websites. The Company's stores offer a broad assortment of 1,000+ SKUs, including hard-to-find and limited production fragrances.  

Frank Mroczka, CEO, Obsession: "Kingswood is an ideal partner for the next stage of the company's growth given the firm's extensive experience in retail, and we are thrilled about the partnership. We look forward to further enhancing our customers' experiences by investing in new store growth and omnichannel capabilities and offering the widest selection of high-end fragrances."

Alex Wolf, Managing Partner, Kingswood: "The Obsession transaction represents another example of Kingswood's continued focus on investing in differentiated concepts within the specialty retail industry. We are excited about investing in and supporting Obsession's continued growth and look forward to our collaboration with the current management team."

CIBC Bank USA provided debt financing for the acquisition. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Kingswood. Honigman LLP and Lincoln International LLC advised Obsession on the transaction.

www.kingswood-capital.com
www.fragranceoutlet.com