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Something Navy will be sold to new owners for $1, following a rocky year for the retailer.
Clothing company IHL and the Amirian Group will buy the problematic logo and a $7. 5 million liability, Women’s Wear Daily first reported.
The apparel brand launched by fashion influencer Arielle Charnas in 2020 has faced faltering sales, hordes of employees have left the company, and the brand has fallen behind on payments to suppliers.
In June, Insider reported that Something Navy CEO Matt Scanlan had resigned, leaving a company that had notably downsized, closed two stores, delayed visitor orders, and halted production of its new clothing lines for year.
Currently, no products are sold on the Something Navy website, where a note reads: “Something Navy is getting a bit of an update. Check back soon to shop your favorite styles!
Something Navy, which is a privately held company, valued at $100 million a year after the logo’s release, the company told Insider in 2021.
In its early days, the logo raised $17. 5 million from investors who added venture capital firms Third Kind Venture Capital and Silas Capital, cutting out the logo of Harry’s and BoxGroup, as well as Hong Kong billionaire Silas Chou and Rent the Runway co-founder Jenny-Fleiss.
The U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Charnas’ husband, Brandon Charnas, is involved in “potential insider trading violations,” according to a news release. Brandon Charnas, who the SEC says failed to cooperate with the investigation, traded shares weeks before Staples announced a bid to acquire Office Depot, which generated at least $385,000 in profits, according to the press release.
Here’s a timeline of Something Navy’s immediate downfall.
Something Navy is a women’s and children’s clothing company. The launch of the logo was scheduled for March 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic caused its launch to be delayed until July.
In the past, the logo has collaborated with Superga on shoes and with the Parisian brand ba
Source: insider
After its first year, Something Navy made $32 million in profit and is valued at $100 million, the company told Insider in 2021. The logo had also raised $17. 5 million in funding, bringing in from venture capital firms Third Kind Venture Capital and Silas Capital, and cutting out Harry’s logo, according to the company.
Matt Scanlan, co-founder and CEO of cashmere clothing company Naadam, was named CEO of Something Navy in 2019. Charnas is the face of the brand, as well as its artistic director.
Source: insider information, insider information
Charnas, 36, is a fashion influencer who gained popularity through her 2009 blog “Something Navy,” where she delved into the main points of her life and personal style. Within a decade, the blog has a media logo and eventually a fashion logo. logo. Today, Charnas has 1. 3 million fans on her private Instagram.
Source: insider
In 2017, Charnas introduced a collection of apparel and accessories sold exclusively through Nordstrom. On the first day of the collection’s launch, Nordstrom sold items worth more than $4. 4 million, Something Navy told Insider in 2020. After a two-year partnership with Nordstrom, Charnas will expand Something Navy into her own fashion business.
“Ultimately, I sought more control,” Charnas told CNBC in 2020. “The whole point of this logo is to deliver precisely what my subscribers are asking for. “
Source: Insider, Insider, CNBC
In March 2020, Charnas suffered a backlash after posting a positive Covid-19 test result on social media. At the time, Covid verification was limited and reserved for high-risk individuals. Fans were also irritated that the influencer left New York for her home in the Hamptons when Covid-19 stay-at-home orders were recommended.
In an Instagram post, Charnas apologized to his followers. He said his circle of family members followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules of isolating for 14 days after experiencing symptoms before traveling, to put others at risk of contracting Covid.
“I apologize to everyone I accidentally hurt in the course of my decision-making,” he wrote in his message.
Source: insider
The brand earned more than $1 million in sales within the first 30 minutes of the e-commerce site’s launch in July 2020, Something Navy told Insider that year. During that period, clothing sales in the US had plummeted 43% compared to the same time the previous year.
Source: insider
In December 2022, more than 20 current and former employees told Insider that Something Navy was falling behind on invoices from vendors, freelancers, and global models. That year, nearly a portion of Something Navy’s full-time employees left the company, and sales increased. Employees told Insider that they left the company because they felt its CEO, Matt Scanlan, wasn’t addressing the demanding situations the company was facing. Former workers also told Insider that Scanlan keeps Charnas in the dark about the company. Fights.
Source: insider
The clothing logo stopped reimbursing the supplier in June 2022 but resumed payment after Insider began reporting the story. This supplier is just one of many suppliers who told Insider they were facing overdue invoices due to the clothing logo.
Source: insider
Instead of being photographed dressed in Something Navy, Charnas has been photographed dressed in luxury designer brands, Insider reported. After Betty Wang was hired as president of Something Navy that same year, Charnas didn’t announce the news on her Instagram.
In 2022, Charnas said on her Instagram that she worked 4 hours a day — which over 50 founders told Insider was not enough time to grow a successful company.
Source: Insider, Insider
Chatter about a potential split between Charnas and her husband, Brandon Charnas, was circulating near the end of 2022. There were also rumors that Brandon, who has a real-estate company, embezzled money from Something Navy. Scanlan tried to dispel the rumor by releasing a statement denying the claim. The Charnas’ representatives also released a statement dispelling the divorce rumors.
Source: insider
In the months since Insider’s initial investigation into Something Navy, more workers have left the company or been laid off, and production of the brand’s apparel has stopped.
Source: insider
That month, Scanlan removed the company from his LinkedIn.
“Matt has weathered the macroeconomic typhoon that has affected virtually everyone in the women’s apparel industry over the past 24 months to keep Something Navy and Naadam afloat,” Scanlan’s spokesperson told Insider. “Regardless of those industry-wide challenges, he still believes that Something Navy will be good fortune no matter what composition it adopts in the future. In the meantime, he is informed about Naadam and the brand’s broader opportunities amid those adjustments in the industry, with continued profitability. “
Source: Insider
“I know many of you have been asking what’s going on now @somethingnavy and rightly so!” wrote Charnas. “The logo is in the process of recruiting a new leadership team to run the company. A lot of adjustments have had to be made. ” A lot needs to be done to turn it into the logo it can be. This mini break is part of that. “
Instagram is no longer visual on Charnas’ Instagram.
Source: insider information
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Brandon was involved with “possible insider trading violations,” according to a press release. The SEC said in the release Brandon traded stock before Staples announced an offer to acquire Office Depot, which resulted in at least $385,000 in profits. Charnas has not cooperated with its investigation, the release said.
The SEC said it “has concluded that any individual or entity violated the federal securities laws. “
The logo’s official Instagram account has remained silent. The logo has been published twice in the last three months, with the most recent post selling the logo’s association with the American Girl doll’s logo.
And Something Navy’s has been paused. No products are sold on the site, and a review on the site reads, “The Something Navy site is getting a bit of an update. Check back soon to shop your favorite styles!”
Apparel company IHL and Amirian Group will buy Something Navy for $1, according to a memo reported via WWD. IHL will hold a 68. 5% stake in the new company, while Charnas will retain 14. 5%. The Amirian Group will have a 2. 5% stake.
Charnas will be an ambassador for the logo and will continue to design new collections.