Five Pound Apparel has buyer in the works

Two months after listing the company on the market, Five Pound Apparel LLC founders Bryan and Matthew Simpson have a buyer in place.
 
Brina Thomas formed Thomas Holding Co. LLC on Dec. 7 to acquire Five Pound Apparel, according to a city business license and Missouri secretary of state filings. Her husband Ben confirmed this morning the couple is negotiating the purchase of the company, but referred further questions to his wife. Brina Thomas, who was completing her finals this morning at Missouri State University, and Bryan Simpson could not be reached for comment by deadline. In October, Simpson indicated he was interested in a new entrepreneurial challenge and was listing the 6-year-old socially conscious clothing retailer through Kingsley Group Business Brokers.

Kingsley Group business broker Clayton Cooper said this morning Five Pound has not yet been sold. He confirmed Thomas Holding Co. is the interested party.

“We have a target in mind and it is somewhat close,” Cooper said of the anticipated sale.

The asking price for Five Pound has not been publicly listed, and Cooper declined to disclose it.

The Simpson brothers founded Five Pound on South Avenue downtown six years ago, followed by an opening at the south-side Farmers Park development in 2014. Bryan Simpson runs the two stores, while his brother works full time for Ozarks Technical Community College as director of research, strategic planning and grant development.

Now in their late 20s, the brothers started the screen-printing business during their college years. The company’s name refers to its socially conscious business model, in which the retailer donates five pounds of food to malnourished children in Nepal for every purchase. Five Pound has expanded to include fashion, outdoor and housing accessories, an online store and a line of “Missouri is Awesome” T-shirts.

In a Dec. 10 post on the Five Pound Facebook page, Bryan Simpson said the company has served more than 100,000 customers and provided some 500,000 meals to people in need, as well as 30,000 books and 10,000 pairs of shoes during the past six years. He didn’t say whether the store had been sold, but alluded to leaving the company.

“It’s a bit too early to say what the future holds, but it’s been a heck of a ride and I’m so grateful [for] the opportunity,” Simpson wrote.