Portfolio
Gruppo, Levey & Co.
Direct Equity Partners
In January 2000, Gruppo, Levey & Co., a boutique investment bank specializing in the direct marketing and e-commerce industries, launched Direct Equity Partners, a specialty private equity fund. Focused on established companies, the fund was established in response to the growing convergence between the direct marketing and e-commerce industries. The principals brought significant financial, operational and management experience in all segments of the direct marketing and e-commerce industries and $100 million to the market.
The fund’s launch and its first investment (approximately $19 million in an artwork reproduction manufacturer selling through direct marketing and e-commerce), were widely reported by publications in the direct marketing sector — monthly DIRECT, weekly DM News and British weekly Precision Marketing — as well as the financial press — Corporate Financing Week and The Daily Deal. The media coverage sparked a tsunami of inquiries from companies eager for capital. In August, Direct Equity Partners announced the investment of $33 million in RedEnvelope.com, the high-end specialty gift e-tailer, as reported by The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Deal.
Emily Wilkens
Although his mother had been an award-winning designer of clothing for adolescents and children, Hugh Levey, Chairman of Gruppo, Levey & Co., knew very little about her success in the fashion industry. I conducted research at The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and learned that Emily Wilkens was a pioneer. She was the first clothing designer to make dresses for teenage girls that acknowledged the changes puberty wrought on their bodies. By dressing girls as girls, and not small women, Ms. Wilkens established her own niche in the marketplace. This research generated ample material for me to draft an announcement when Emily Wilkens died; The New York Times and Women’s Wear Daily published her obituary.
