Nov 10, 2020
We are excited to announce four specialized investment theses that, when combined, will help shape Kian’s portfolio. Our knowledge and experience in these sectors provide us a competitive advantage to partner with management teams to deploy carefully executed buy and build strategies that are hyper-specialized.
In summary, these four sub-sector investment theses are as follows:
- Branded/Enthusiast DTC. Companies with a differentiated brand strategy, a robust e-commerce presence and superior product line drive highly engaged consumers that exhibit almost religious behaviors and are guided by a passionate pursuit of interests and hobbies. Sectors of focus will include those with a greater propensity for the enthusiast consumer and include active and outdoor, sporting goods, hobby, automotive aftermarket, and health and wellness.
- Home Services. Given the non-discretionary nature of the expense and increased on-demand services requirements from homeowners, the market for non-cyclical services in the home is a large and rapidly growing industry. Dominated by large companies (some of which are PE-backed), the market is still highly fragmented with a plethora of “mom & pop” operators that lay the foundation for interesting buy and build strategies. We are focused on HVAC, disaster repair and restoration, plumbing and electrical, appliance service and installation, cleaning, landscape and lawn care, pest control, and home alarm services.
- Professional A/V Integration and Managed Services. The A/V Integration & Managed Services market for entities needing to implement or upgrade existing systems to accommodate a long-term trend of remote collaboration is a large and growing sector. Estimated at $18 billion, this highly-specialized market is distinct from IT managed services with the need to combine disparate equipment from different OEMs to create a seamless solution. The projected 5-year CAGR is expected at just over 4%.
- Insurance Services. This is a large and growing opportunity with recession-resistant characteristics. We see industry growth being driven by carriers’ continued desire to reduce costs and improve operating efficiencies by outsourcing key business functions to specialized service providers. These providers are becoming deeply embedded within the insurance ecosystem, delivering significant value to customers and creating long-lasting relationships. This sub-sector includes such specializations as claims management, investigation services, warranty services, third party administration, InsurTech, marketing services, specialty distribution and pure-play agents/brokerage services.
We are actively pursuing these strategies and would welcome the chance to discuss at greater length. Please reach out to David Duke, Managing Director, Business Development.
