BBG acquires PA Brands

PA Brands - Always a little bit better

On November 02, 2021 Philipp Alsmeyer sold his e-commerce brands Pamara and Springreen to Berlin Brands Group.

In 2016, it all began. During his apprenticeship as an industrial clerk, Philipp realized that he would actually like to be an entrepreneur. Fascinated by Amazon's FBA concept, he began to research in the evenings after work: Which products were sold how often, which areas still had potential. In October 2016, Philipp began selling nail scissors online under the brand name Pamara. The competition was well-known and strong at first glance. The established brands focused primarily on their brand names and paid less attention to the content they provided on Amazon about their products. With Pamara, Philipp did things differently. He researched suppliers for high-quality blades in Pakistan, Italy and China. The credo: The product quality must always be a little better than offered by other brands. He had high-end product images and texts produced. Another added value for customers: He answered all the questions that usually arise when buying high-quality scissors. And he enclosed a case so that the nail scissors could be safely transported in handbags.

Philipp steadily expanded Pamara's product portfolio and 1.5 years later founded a second brand, Springreen. This time he focused on covers for garden furniture. The concept remained the same: Always provide a slightly better quality with all the details. He found that conventional covers always broke quickly and usually only lasted for a year. In addition, he ensured a high availability of goods and, above all, good product images and descriptions on Amazon. But also, the willingness to go the extra mile in all areas. This always includes good customer service, where products are taken back or exchanged without complaint. Doing so generated good, honest reviews.

Success proved him right: sales rose from 470,000 euros in the first fiscal year 2017 to over 2 million euros in 2020.

Philipp, why did you sell?

"It's obvious as a retailer that new goods have to be ordered on a regular basis. This ties up a lot of capital in the form of inventory. On the one hand, profits increase, on the other hand, expenses also grow. With the sale, I wanted to take money off the table, to secure what I had earned. To grow further, I would have had to take on debt capital, to build a real company, hire more employees. A lot of work and also a considerable risk. So, I decided to exit at that point and hand over my brands to someone who could scale the business much faster and easier. It gave me the opportunity to be financially secure, more independent and start something new with some of the capital."

Why BBG?

"I contacted all the major buyers in the market. I had listened to the OMR podcast with Peter, which I found very compelling. For me, it was important to find a buyer that really had experience and wasn't just starting up themselves. In the end, you are negotiating an earn-out as well. That is an elementary part of the deal, which I also want to receive reliably. In the end, only two buyers came into consideration and one of them was BBG. The 16 years of experience in brand building were ultimately decisive for me. The purchase price, too, of course.

The cooperation with the M&A team around Dominik Brichta was really great and the team works highly professional on all levels. I had and have the feeling that BBG knows exactly what it is doing and has a concrete approach."

What's next?

"I'm using the next few weeks to coordinate the handover. I'm taking the time now to let everything sink in and realize what I've accomplished over the last few years. I'm also in the process of researching investment opportunities so that the money doesn't lose its value. That can be stocks, but I'm also active as a business angel.

I am still on board at BBG and will continue to accompany the integration of my brands for some time.

Then, starting next year, I plan to start new Amazon brands and maybe sell them again in a few years."