College-branded clothing company Barnesmith acquired

Joins E-Commerce Retailer Society Brands

Newport Beach-based Barnesmith, one of the largest collegiate apparel companies, was acquired by e-commerce aggregator Society Brands late last month; terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Founded by President Eric Barnes in 2001, Barnesmith makes collegiate clothing featuring licensed designs from Ivy League schools to state universities including the University of California, Irvine.

Barnes himself attended Princeton University and started his career by selling Tshirts on campus in 1986. The company now serves nearly 150 schools.

Barnes will continue in the role of brand president in joining the e-commerce firm.

With Ohio-based Society Brands, the acquisition sets Barnesmith up to reach over 300 more colleges and add new lines of apparel such as hats, pants and ties.

“Society Brands has a unique model that allows our team to keep executing and growing the brand but provides a platform of support services and a portfolio of e-commerce peer collaboration that no other buyer or aggregator could have offered,” Barnes said in a statement.

The new parent company specializes in acquiring and building brands with direct-to-consumer sites or that sell on Amazon.

Founded in 2020, Society Brands has made six acquisitions in the past six months, and also raised $205 million in March.

“[Barnes] is a veteran of the Amazon and e-commerce space and has strong skills in marketing, product development and sourcing that will be an important asset to the community of like-minded entrepreneurs we are building,” Society Brands CEO Michael Sirpilla said. ■