Charles Products Acquires Techstyles Sportswear

Charles Products Inc. (CPI), the leading provider of custom merchandise to the souvenir industry, has announced the acquisition of Techstyles Sportswear, a supplier of premium resort and destination apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The acquisition by CPI, the first in its over 65-year history, was made in partnership with existing management at Techstyles.

Techstyles, based in Hayward, Calif., provides a broad mix of contemporary t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, other apparel and stickers that feature creative and imaginative custom graphics and embroidery printed on top-quality garments and fabrics. Techstyles has a large and diverse customer base comprising independent retailers located at resorts, national parks, zoos, breweries and other destinations. Techstyles was owned by Lisa and Jon Bruml, who acquired the business in 2004.

The combination of CPI and Techstyles creates a one-of-a-kind player in the industry with the broadest product suite created by the largest and most versatile in-house creative art department and supported by a high-touch sales and customer service team. CPI is led by Chief Executive Officer Glen Heitmann, who has been with the company for 28 years and has a long track record of success in the industry. Lisa and Jon Bruml will retain a significant minority equity stake and stay actively involved in day-to-day operations post-closing, with Jon Bruml serving as President of the Techstyles division.

“I am very pleased to be joining the CPI team,” Jon Bruml said. “As Lisa and I were considering alternatives, we were immediately drawn to CPI for its shared values with Techstyles, including high-quality products, unique and differentiated artwork and strong commitment to customer service. Glen’s leadership and reputation in the industry made our decision an easy one.”

Glen Heitmann said, “We at CPI are thrilled to be partnering with Jon and Lisa in this next phase of our company’s growth. By combining Techstyles’ capabilities in apparel with our expertise in hard goods, we can offer each of our customers an enhanced and unified merchandise program to help them drive retail sales. We are impressed by what Jon and Lisa have built at Techstyles and will be careful to preserve the culture that has made Techstyles so successful.”

CPI is backed by Kian Capital Partners and RF Investment Partners who acquired the business in December 2018. The acquisition of Techstyles furthers Kian Capital’s objective of creating the largest and most sophisticated provider of high-quality merchandise to the souvenir end market.

Scott Buschmann, Partner at Kian Capital, commented, “Techstyles is a perfect fit for CPI and we are excited to combine two industry leaders with such longstanding reputations. We are very pleased with what Glen and the CPI team have been able to accomplish in our first year of investment and look forward to continued success.”

MHT Partners L.P. acted as financial advisor to Techstyles. Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. acted as legal advisor and Moore Colson & Company, PC acted as accounting advisor to Kian Capital.

More information about Techstyles and CPI can be found at www.techstyles.com and www.charlesproducts.com.