NEW YORK — Everything But Water, one of the country’s largest specialty swim chains, has been acquired by Bear Growth Capital Partners, a division of Bear Stearns Merchant Banking.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Everything But Water, a 34-unit retailer based in Orlando, Fla., has estimated annual sales of $30 million.
The company’s founder, owner and president, Stacy Seigel, has left and Rick Sarmiento has joined the firm as chairman and a board member. Sarmiento was the founder and former chief executive officer of White House|Black Market, now a division of Chico’s FAS.
Ann Tucker, who had been vice president, is now president of the company.
“This is a very positive development for the company,” Tucker said Thursday. “We see this as a great opportunity for our company and for our vendors.”
Joe Scharfenberger, managing director of Bear Growth Capital Partners, said, “We see a lot of potential to grow this into a national chain and become the market leader in this category. We definitely want to grow on the East Coast and also potentially acquire smaller regional chains.”
He said the company is looking to open between five and 15 units a year.
The firm, founded in 1984, carries swimwear and accessories from brands including Christina, Gottex and Anne Cole, as well as some of the directional and designer labels that have entered swim in recent seasons, such as Michael Kors, Juicy Couture and Lisa Curran.
The chain now has stores in Arizona, Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey and in Puerto Rico.
There are few national retailers devoted to the swim category. In addition to Everything But Water, the industry’s largest chains are Swim N’ Sport and Water Water Everywhere. The bulk of swimwear sales are made at department stores, at specialty stores like H&M and discount chains like Target.