There is life after fashion — just ask the new owners of DeVine Corp.
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Three apparel industry veterans — Mark Brashear, Jim Shreve and Sally Burnside — have teamed up to purchase DeVine, a 32-year-old company that imports and distributes luxury and premium brands in the home and tabletop category for the U.S. market.
They have changed the name of the company to Maison3Amis, which means “house of three friends,” to reflect their ownership and relationship. “The name is inspired by the friendship between the three of us and the importance of spending time with friends in our home,” they wrote in a sale announcement.
Brashear worked for Nordstrom for more than 22 years and also served as president of Façonnable, president and chief executive officer of Hugo Boss, president of Michael Kors Men’s and president and CEO of John Varvatos.
Jim Shreve , Brashear’s life partner, has worked for fashion companies including Banana Republic, Nordstrom , Façonnable and Diesel and served most recently as president and CEO of Baccarat North America.
Burnside had been senior vice president of sales for Baccarat North America and has also worked for Club Monaco, Theory and Michael Kors.
At Maison3Amis, Brashear will serve as chief operating officer, Shreve as chief merchandising officer and Burnside as chief commercial officer.
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“We strive to bring freshness, innovation and creativity to this business sector so you have new tools to drive sales increases,” the trio said in the sale announcement.
A business deck prepared for Maison2Amis said they plan to improve customer service and being in-stock on top-selling styles; work with brands to forge better communication and production lead times; introduce new brands to the portfolio; institute stronger marketing and social media presences; work with each brand to develop exclusive distribution and brand management, and manage retail price consistency.
Among the brands under the Maison3Amis umbrella are Royal Crown Derby, an English tableware company; Anna Weatherley, a Hungarian porcelain brand; Couzon, a French tableware brand; Varga, which specializes in lead crystal pieces; Mario Luca Giusti, a tableware brand; Le Coq, a porcelain brand; Pinto Paris, a French tableware brand, and others.
Brashear said the trio chose to invest in the business “because of our passion spreading the word about sharing time with family and friends, as well as creating a company culture which reflects the combined values of Sally, Jim and me. Our focus on growing Maison3Amis is grounded in procuring distinctive products, educating and inspiring clients and sellers with whom we work, and by building a best-in-class organization of committed individuals to service and execution excellence.”
With so many fashion brands, particularly in the luxury space, going into the home business , the time is ripe for expansion, they believe. “It is certainly an interesting period, with many apparel fashion brands entering the home space,” he said. “While we have not included formula thus far within our existing brand portfolio, we remain open to new opportunities and disruptive ways to excite customers and drive new business growth. We do not have specific companies to share at this time. We are launching two new brands for our portfolio this fall. Those brands are Non Sans Raison from Limoge, France, and Josephinenhütte, which is based in Germany and creates wonderful wine/Champagne glasses/decanters.”
While tableware will remain the core, the trio sees giftware as an opportunity as well as products for the outdoors.
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