Samuelsohn Completes Hickey Freeman Deal

Montreal-based Samuelsohn has completed its acquisition of Hickey Freeman. The deal included all Hickey Freeman assets, including the Rochester, New York factory. Samuelsohn says the deal makes it the largest manufacturer making luxury clothing in North America.

The deal, which was announced in July, has Samuelsohn acquiring Hickey Freeman’s assets from W. Diamond Group and entering into a 40-year license with the brand’s owner, Authentic Brands Group.

“It’s been very exciting,” said Samuelsohn president and creative director Arnold Brant Silverstone, who will take on the additional role of Hickey Freeman president and creative director. “Since I started at Samuelsohn three years ago, we’ve doubled the size of the company and with the acquisition of Hickey Freeman, we’ll double it again. We’re poised to become a $100 million North American luxury clothing company.”

Silverstone says that while the plan is to keep Hickey Freeman’s current management, there will be some new positions created and new licenses granted. “We have some pretty aggressive growth plans,” he said, adding that the marketing budget will triple next year and some hires will be made in the sales and marketing teams. “It’s not just taking over a factory—it’s a plan to become the dominant North American luxury clothing maker.”

“We are delighted to complete this acquisition and focus on working with the great employees of Hickey Freeman to grow the business,” added Stephen Granovsky, CEO of Grano Retail Holdings, the parent company of Samuelsohn. “We believe in this industry and continue to search for opportunities to expand our footprint in luxury men’s apparel.”

“We couldn’t think of a better guardian for the Hickey Freeman brand than the team at Samuelsohn and we are very pleased to have them as our core Hickey Freeman licensee for the next forty years,” Authentic Brands Group CEO Jamie Salter said in a statement.