Richer Poorer co-founder and former CEO Iva Pawling sold the business she started more than a decade ago to Francesca’s, taking on a new position that expands her duties to include overseeing wholesale and the girls’ line Franki.
Houston-based retailer Francesca’s Acquisition LLC, which counts more than 450 stores, said this week it bought Richer Poorer on undisclosed terms. The elevated basics brand is located in San Marcos, California and is seen as bringing an expanded wholesale business and new categories to Francesca’s.
Pawling is now president at Francesca’s charged with oversight of Richer Poorer, Franki, and wholesale. Franki is Francesca’s apparel and accessories brand aimed at the tween market, in addition to Franki-branded stores.
A spokesperson for Francesca’s said three additional Richer Poorer employees will join the company as part of the acquisition and report to Pawling.
Francesca’s CEO Andrew Clarke also called out Richer Poorer for its relevance to the Gen Z consumer in a statement announcing the acquisition.
“Creating this new cooperative of synergistic brands allows us to benefit from a diverse bench strength of expertise, while setting up the whole for greater reach into our target markets. This will deliver increased operational efficiencies, accelerate our omnichannel capabilities, and open new revenue streams,” Clarke said.
Richer Poorer focuses on sustainable materials for its line of T-shirts, sweatpants, and intimates sold through its direct-to-consumer channel and retailers such as Nordstrom, Revolve, and Free People.
This year the company will continue to focus on its basics line as it looks to determine other possible areas for growth, the spokesperson said. In 2024 the brand is expected to expand its assortment with new categories, such as knitwear.
“I am thrilled to see Richer Poorer and our team combine forces with two successful, female-focused brands, Francesca’s and Franki by Francesca’s,” Pawling said in a statement. “We share the same entrepreneurial spirit and couldn’t be more optimistic at the growth opportunity ahead for all three brands through this expansion effort.”
Pawling started Richer Poorer with co-founder and former brand president Tim Morse, who left the business in December.
The sale to Francesca’s isn’t the first for Richer Poorer.
Pawling and Morse sold the business in 2015 to Shoes.com. Pawling, whose sister is Laguna Beach jewelry brand founder Gorjana Reidel, and Morse were able to buy Richer Poorer back from the troubled business in 2017. Shoes.com filed for bankruptcy shortly after the buyback.
Francesca’s owner TerraMar Capital Managing Partner Joshua Phillips said Francesca’s will continue to “evaluate other potential acquisitions in the space” to add to the retailer’s portfolio.
TerraMar and Tiger Capital bought Francesca’s out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021, in a deal that took the once-public company private.
Kari Hamanaka can be reached at kari@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
