PORTFOLIO COMPANY NEWS
Differential Brands Group Inc. Announces Appointment of Jake Brandman as President of SWIMS Brand
August 24, 2016 - Differential Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DFBG) ("Differential Brands" or the "Company") today announced the appointment of Jake Brandman as President of the Company's SWIMS brand operated through its wholly owned subsidiary, DFBG Swims, LLC. Mr. Brandman will assume the position on August 29, 2016. In this role, he will report to Michael Buckley, Chief Executive Officer and will be responsible for developing and implementing a long-term strategy to expand the newly acquired SWIMS brand both domestically and internationally.
Mr. Brandman is a seasoned lifestyle brand executive with more than 20 years of experience building global brands. He has spent the last eight years with Deckers Brands, most recently as Brand President for Sanuk, and prior to that, as Vice President of North American Sales for Teva and Simple. Previously, Mr. Brandman held senior sales executive roles at Vans, Keen Footwear, and Ahnu Footwear. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Mr. Buckley commented, "We are pleased to welcome Jake to the Differential team. He is a strong merchant and sales professional with a long track record of successfully building great brands and cultures, and we believe he will be instrumental as we integrate and grow the SWIMS business. I look forward to partnering with Jake and leveraging his vast knowledge and experience to expand the SWIMS brand both in the U.S. and around the world."
Mr. Brandman stated, "I am very excited to be joining Differential Brands to lead the SWIMS brand and its global expansion. SWIMS is already a sought-after lifestyle brand that consumers are passionate about and that some of the best retailers recognize for its unique positioning and disruptive product offering. I am honored to begin working with the SWIMS team to further unleash their creativity and leverage their experiences while tapping into the Differential Brands infrastructure to further build and expand the business here in the U.S. and other key global markets."
About Differential Brands Group
Differential Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DFBG) is a platform that focuses on branded operating companies in the premium apparel, footwear and accessories sectors. Our focus is on organically growing our brands through a global, omni-channel distribution strategy while continuing to seek opportunities to acquire accretive, complementary, premium brands.
Our current brands are Hudson®, a designer and marketer of women's and men's premium, branded denim and apparel, Robert Graham®, a sophisticated, eclectic apparel and accessories brand seeking to inspire a global movement, and SWIMS®, a Scandinavian lifestyle brand best known for its range of fashion-forward, water-resistant footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, please visit Differential's website at: www.differentialbrandsgroup.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. The matters discussed in this news release involve estimates, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical facts are forward-looking statements, including statements containing the words "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "continue," "believe," "plan," "project," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result" or similar expressions. Any forward-looking statement inherently involves risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the anticipated benefits of the merger on its financial results, business performance and product offerings, the Company's ability to successfully integrate the SWIMS business and realize cost savings and any other synergies, the risk that the credit ratings of the company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the Company expects, continued acceptance of our product, product demand, competition, capital adequacy, general economic conditions and the potential inability to raise additional capital if required; the risk that the Company will be unsuccessful in gauging fashion trends and changing customer preferences; the risk that changes in general economic conditions, consumer confidence, or consumer spending patterns will have a negative impact on the Company's financial performance; the highly competitive nature of the Company's business in the United States and internationally and its dependence on consumer spending patterns, which are influenced by numerous other factors; the Company's ability to respond to the business environment and fashion trends; continued acceptance of the Company's brands in the marketplace; and other risks. The Company discusses certain of these factors more fully in its additional filings with the SEC, including its last annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, and this release should be read in conjunction with those reports, together with all of the Company's other filings, including current reports on Form 8-K, through the date of this release. The Company urges you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this release.
Any forward-looking statement is based on information current as of the date of this document and speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.