Tomorrow, there will be a new kind of sales sign hanging around Five Pound Apparel.
Founders Bryan and Matthew Simpson plan to put the business on the market through a push of social media announcements and email blasts scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
Bryan Simpson this morning said his entrepreneurial spirit is itching at him to start something new. Combined with the daily operations grind wearing on him, he said the brothers want to test the waters for interested buyers. They’re also listing the 6-year-old business through Kingsley Group Business Brokers.
“I like building and growing things – the day-to-day operations aren’t as exciting for me,” Bryan Simpson said. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart and ready for that next entrepreneurial adventure.”
Simpson runs the two stores, the original on South Avenue downtown and the 2-year-old Farmers Park location. Matthew Simpson works full time for Ozarks Technical Community College as director of research, strategic planning and grant development.
Bryan Simpson said if no offers meet their undisclosed and unlisted price, they’d continue business as usual. A closure of the business is not planned.
“We have a price in mind. But we’ll just let the market tell us what it’s worth,” he said.
He discouraged the notion the retailer was struggling, couching it as the best year yet at the two stores. Sales are up 10 percent on the year, he said, declining to disclose revenue volumes on advice from the brokerage.
According to Springfield Business Journal archives, Five Pound Apparel
anticipated earnings of nearly $500,000 in its third fiscal year, and the
second store was expected to generate $750,000 in first-year revenue 2014-15.
The brothers, now in their late 20s, started a screen-printing business during their college years. They quickly adopted a socially conscious business model, donating five pounds of food to malnourished children in Nepal for every purchase – hence the name Five Pound Apparel – and the business and brand has grown to include fashion, outdoor and housing accessories, an
online store and a line of “Missouri is Awesome” T-shirts.
In SBJ’s recent
CEO Roundtable discussion on the retail industry, Simpson alluded to his personal state of dissatisfaction in the business.
“Fashion is ever-changing, and it’s somewhat exhausting sometimes. The [buyers’] market is interesting; it’s not my favorite place,” he said.
Simpson said unsolicited purchase inquiries over the years also influenced the interest to sell.
“We’ve had interest in buying the business or franchising the business or buying one of the brands we make or sell,” he said, noting the queries have increased since opening on the south side.
He acknowledged the franchise option would be entrepreneurial, but it’s not something for him.
“I love creating something from nothing. I feel like the brand and the store did that,” Simpson said. “The excitement for me was in that phase of growth, so the idea of going through the franchise process – while totally viable – it doesn’t fulfill my need for creation of something that’s brand new.”
