Tengram Capital Partners Announces Investment in Cos Bar

ASPEN, Colo., Dec. 09, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cos Bar USA, Inc. ("Cos Bar" or the “Company”) (www.cosbar.com), a leading luxury specialty cosmetics retailer, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to receive an undisclosed investment from Tengram Capital Partners ("Tengram"), a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on consumer and retail companies that own exceptional, highly recognizable brands.

Cos Bar, founded by industry pioneer Lily Garfield in 1976, is one of the first independent luxury cosmetics retailers in the U.S. The Company’s 14 retail stores are located in attractive markets across the country and offer a unique, customer-service focused shopping experience with highly trained sales associates across multiple brands in an intimate and sophisticated retail environment. The Company’s product assortment includes skin care, color cosmetics, fragrance, bath & body, hair care, men’s, and tools & accessories. The Cos Bar brand is synonymous with luxury; the Company exclusively carries top-tier global cosmetic brands with highly limited distribution. The Company’s partnership with Tengram is set to take Cos Bar into its next phase of growth by funding store expansion into new and existing markets, elevating and trailblazing in the omni-channel and digital luxury beauty space, and adding additional years of leadership and experience to the existing management team.

Lily Garfield, the Company’s Founder, expressed her enthusiasm about the new partnership and the growth prospects for the business. "Cos Bar has an exceptionally loyal following of customers that return to our stores for the unique, personalized, and high-touch experience that differs from the traditional department store experience. The strength of the Cos Bar brand and our exclusive focus on luxury, coupled with Tengram’s deep expertise in retail and beauty, will help the Company reach the next level."

Tengram invests in strong brands and acts as a catalyst to drive the growth of the companies in which it invests. Richard Gersten, a Partner at Tengram, stated, "We are thrilled to add Cos Bar to Tengram's strong and growing portfolio of exciting beauty brands. We evaluate numerous opportunities in the beauty and retail sectors and found Cos Bar to be particularly compelling, given its strong and recognizable brand, high degree of customer loyalty and distinctive positioning. The Company has strong growth prospects as luxury beauty consumers are increasingly seeking a more personalized shopping experience outside of traditional department stores."

ABOUT COS BAR:

Founded in 1976, Cos Bar maintains a niche positioning in the luxury specialty beauty retail industry. It is widely considered the first independent luxury cosmetics retailer in the U.S. The Company currently operates 14 specialty boutiques through the U.S. in affluent markets such as Aspen, Vail, Scottsdale, and New York City, among others. The Company has developed a strong relationship in the industry that has allowed the Cos Bar brand access to an unparalleled top tier assortment of global cosmetic brands, traditionally only sold at luxury department stores. For more information about Cos Bar visit www.cosbar.com

ABOUT TENGRAM CAPITAL PARTNERS:

Tengram Capital Partners is a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on leading consumer and retail companies that own strong recognizable brands. The team has a diverse background of consumer investing and operating expertise that assists and guides company management to unlock the true potential of their brand. Tengram invests in both traditional "growth" and "restructuring/turnaround" situations in either the public or private sectors. Current investments for Tengram include Zanella, This Works, Luciano Barbera, Tommie Copper, Active Ride Shop, DevaCurl, Laura Geller Beauty, NEST Fragrances, This Works, Sequential Brands Group and Robert Graham. Tengram's website is http://www.tengramcapital.com.

Rich Gersten
203 454 6999
[email protected]