Consortium Brand Partners is adding another well-known name to its roster: Jonathan Adler.
The New York-based investment firm has acquired the majority interest in the home decor, furniture, and lifestyle company alongside American Exchange Group, which is a “strategy minority investor,” according to Jonathan Greller, president and cofounder of Consortium.
GF Capital had invested in the privately held Jonathan Adler company in 2008 and retained a financial stake until the sale to Consortium.
The Jonathan Adler acquisition, which closed on Dec. 23 but is just now being made public, marks the third purchase by Consortium in 18 months. The investment firm acquired a majority stake in Draper James in September of 2023, followed by the assets of Outdoor Voices in June of 2024. The Draper James acquisition was done without partners while David Peyser Sportswear was a previously undisclosed investor in Outdoor Voices, Greller said.
Although the Jonathan Adler business had not publicly been shopped around, Greller said Consortium had been “following the brand for quite some time” and managed to complete the deal before the end of the year.
Under the terms of the purchase, Jonathan Adler, the founder of the company, will continue as chief creative officer.
“Jonathan Adler’s exceptional talent and vision have made the brand a beloved leader in home design for decades,” Greller said. “This acquisition not only expands our offerings in the home decor space but also enhances our ability to create compelling and timeless brand experiences that resonate with consumers across multiple lifestyle categories in a fun and beautiful way.”
Although the Jonathan Adler brand is already well known with over 1,000 points of distribution worldwide, Consortium believes there are still a lot of growth opportunities ahead. “We want to make it a household name worldwide,” Greller said.
Key to that goal is American Exchange Group, a New York-based company created by Alen Mamrout in 2008 that purchased Aerosoles footwear in 2022, White Mountain and HatchCollective in 2023 and Island Surf Co. in 2024. The company, which specializes in accessories, footwear, handbags and small leather goods, operates a portfolio of more than 30 owned or licensed brands including Born, Ecko Unltd., Ed Hardy, Mossimo, Mudd, Rampage and XOXO.
A Jonathan Adler store.
Courtesy of Consortium Brand Partners
Mamrout, president and chief executive officer of American Exchange Group, added, “Partnering with CBP on this acquisition allows us to combine our expertise in manufacturing and distribution with their strength in strategic investments and brand-building. Together, we are committed to elevating the Jonathan Adler brand to even greater heights, expanding its global reach and product offerings.”
Greller said American Exchange will operate the 10 Jonathan Adler retail stores and e-commerce platform and also be instrumental in “certain product extensions. It’s a great company with great management.”
Adler agrees: “We weren’t looking to sell, but it worked out perfectly. American Exchange Group is a truly impressive company, as is Consortium. It was a great meeting of minds.”
The founder said he’s eager to work with the new owners and to continue to create unique and eclectic products. “I’m a lifer,” Adler said. “My mission in life has always been to find the way to be the most creative and I’m thrilled to work with these guys. This new chapter enables me to live my American dream.”
Greller said that in addition to Adler, the rest of the company’s team is expected to remain intact, including chief executive officer Justin Sonfield who has been running the brand since March of 2019. “There will be no change except for the majority owner,” he said, adding that Sonfield and his team will “continue to drive the business going forward.”
“It’s business as usual,” Adler said.
Jonathan Adler designs products in a wide array of categories.
Courtesy of Consortium Brand Partners
The story of the Jonathan Adler brand is a true American success story. After graduating from Brown University with a degree in art history and semiotics — the study of signs — Adler struggled to find his way, losing jobs in a talent agency and for a movie producer. “I had a bad attitude and work ethic,” he has said in the past.
When he was in his mid-20s, he decided to throw himself full-time into his passion — making pottery. “I quit my day job 30 years ago to be a potter so I could make whatever I wanted,” Adler said. Although he thought he would create pieces he would sell at craft fairs, his life took another turn when Barneys New York placed an order for his pottery, setting the wheels in motion to the building of a $150 million-plus business. Five years after that order, Adler opened his first store in Soho, selling textiles, table-top and furniture.
It also changed his personal life by introducing him to Simon Doonan, Barneys’ then-creative director, who is now his husband. “Jonathan and I just celebrated our 30th anniversary,” Doonan said. “During our three decades I have watched with delight as Jonathan went from clay-spattered potter to the go-to home brand for the fashion flock. With his brilliant new business partners I’m sure his next era will be full of even more envelope-pushing, mind-blowing fabulosity.”
Looking to the future, Greller said the plan for the Jonathan Adler brand is to add stores outside the U.S. — currently, the company operates one brick-and-mortar store in London and nine in the U.S. — and “continue to invest in e-commerce.” The business currently has a strong presence in the U.K. and is targeting the APAC region and Mexico in the short term, he said.
The new owners also hope to offer new or expanded product categories including soft home, tabletop, home organization, bedding and more.
Currently, 40 percent of the company’s business is in furniture with lighting and decorative accessories also among the most popular items.
“There’s so much that Jonathan still wants to do,” Greller said.
Jonathan Greller
Consortium Brand Partners
Adler laughed and admitted there are a lot of things still on his to-do list. “I need to get my priorities in order,” he said, adding, “The aesthetic of my company and my vibe can be applied to so many product categories. I’m a megalomaniac. I want to be in every square inch of your home and when you turn over your pillowcase, sofa or plate, I want you to see the Jonathan Adler label.”
Regardless of category, he said he wants “every piece to look chic and eclectic.”
Adler said he’s also continuing to work with high-end hospitality clients such as the American Dream mall which hired him to design skybox suites and sitting salons in its luxury wing when it opened, and was the head judge the HGTV show “Design Star: Next Gen. “Never say no to TV,” he said.
“My mantra is more, more, more, and this will enable me to do more, more, more with such great, new partners,” Adler said.
Greller stressed that unlike the other aggressive brand management firms such as Authentic Brands Group, WHP Global and Marquee, Consortium Partners considers itself “brand builders and brand accelerators.” And the Jonathan Adler acquisition “complements our focus on building lifestyle-driven brands with a large following among consumers and on social media.”
Consortium was created by Greller along with Cory Baker and Michael DiVirgilio who had worked together at Marquee until 2021. They sought to create a business with a different structure than a licensing model where strategic and institutional investors are welcomed. Instead, Consortium employs a team of operators and retailers to build businesses not based solely on licensing revenue.
As Baker has described it: “We’re not reinventing the wheel. It’s thinking about ways we can do it with a broader aperture, and a more strategic real story.”
