Universal Store buys Byron Bay fashion brand Thrills for $50m
Three Australian founders have become rich overnight, including a husband and wife duo, after their business was snapped up for a whopping $50 million.
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Three Australian founders of a Bryon Bay fashion brand called Thrills have scored a huge payday after their business was snapped up in a $50 million deal.
The company, which was established 11 years ago by founders Tabitha McGregor and Brooke McGregor, who are now married with two kids, and Ryan Collins, initially set out to import and sell vintage motorcycles.
However, a small collection of eight T-shirts they designed blew up, transforming the brand into a fashion label.
Thrills was bought by Aussie retail giant Universal Stores and comes as the brand expanded into the US market just seven months ago, while it already has a presence in Tokyo, Japan.
It opened its first store in 2015 in the main street of Byron Bay and now has seven more outlets, as well as one in Japan that opened in the middle of the pandemic.
There are also two more stores set to open by the end of November, while Thrills generated sales of $34.6 million in the 2022 financial year.
Thrills gear was also recently featured in the Netflix’s revival of Australian classic Heartbreak High, which has been a smash hit.
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‘Thrifty’
Co-founder Brooke has previously spoken about how Thrills was entirely “self-funded” forcing the trio to be “thrifty” and wear many hats in the business.
But now the new deal, means the trio will receive $17.5 million in cash, $17.5 million in Universal Store shares and $15 million in deferred variable consideration, with the transaction expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.
As the business has grown, the founders have also seen the transformation of Byron Bay as well, they said.
“The evolution of Byron Bay has been a whirlwind in and of itself; growing from a small and idyllic coastal town to a world-renowned destination and epicentre for now-global brands, Thrills included,” they told Ragtrader.
Iconic youth brand
Universal Store CEO and managing director Alice Barbery said Thrills is the highest-selling third-party brand in its business and has been a growing part of the product offering for more than eight years.
“I am delighted to cement our partnership with the three founders of Thrills. In Thrills, Brooke, Tabitha and Ryan have built an iconic youth fashion brand and have a proven capability to deliver products our customers love,” she said.
“We are excited by the opportunities a closer partnership can deliver in both product and brand development as well as further expansion of Thrills direct-to-consumer channel.”
Thrills sales to Universal Store represent around 26 per cent of its business, while the sale of its products represents around 9 per cent of Universal Store’s 2022 financial year sales.
‘One hell of a ride’
Last year the trio celebrated a decade of running the brand and said it had been “one hell of a ride”.
“Ten years ago, we ditched our 9-5 grind to post up in the coastal paradise of Byron Bay.
With nothing but a mutual love of vintage motorcycles, we gave birth to our first business idea; importing bikes from the USA and Japan,” they said.
“With our first shipment of bikes due to arrive in 2011, Brooke and Tabitha reverted to their fashion roots to work on a small T-shirt collection, and the rest is history.
“Once launched, the T-shirts took Byron Bay and surrounds by storm, and almost 10 years on, Thrills has evolved into a culture-defining fashion label, fuelled by a passion for music, art and the way of life that encompasses the vintage Harley’s that are customised to this day.”
Thrills said sustainability was key to its brand and this has included switching the majority of their denim styles to organic cotton and introducing hemp.
It previously launched an entirely unbleached collection with no dye or chemicals.
The brand also has a goal to only use sustainable fabrics by the end of 2022.
Originally published as Universal Store buys Byron Bay fashion brand Thrills for $50m
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