The Stanza 2.0
Branded real estate, skincare deal flow, Pharrell bought a hotel in Paris, new restaurant openings in LA/NYC, and Remedy Place's $15K cold plunge bath tubs
Hi everyone - sending the first newsletter from our new home at Substack. Thank you for your patience in getting all set up here as unfortunately there were some unexpected technical problems! But here we are!
Here’s what will be new about The Stanza going forwards:
You’ll be able to engage in the comments section! I want to hear from you :)
I can be more unhinged. Paywalled newsletter means I can share more of my voice knowing the people reading it “get it”
Audio interviews are under the Podcast section - so so excited for this feature
If you have the Substack app, I will be active in posting notes.
**Important housekeeping: If you have paid for a subscription and still can’t get past the paywall, please email newsletter@thestanzamedia.com with a screenshot of your receipt and I will get you sorted**
In today’s newsletter, MyTheresa / YNAP / Richemont, Gen X skincare deals, NYC’s Copper Building, Pharrell’s new Paris hotel, Saks and Authentic Brands Groups’ new JV, Remedy Place, new restaurants from Gjelina’s Travis Lett and Tao Group, Jonathan Anderson’s ambition, Frame Denim
*NEW JOB ALERT*
I’m hiring for my client Ray !
**Must be in Philly or NYC
Ray is a family office-backed multi-family investment platform and a residential lifestyle brand. Ray partners with real estate developers to build uniquely designed ground-up apartment buildings at the intersection of art, culture and community. Ray operates on the belief that inspiring architecture & thoughtful design should be part of the everyday experience. Some of the amenities in the Philly building include a makers space, an independent art book shop, coworking space and a sunken living room. The NYC building is slated for launch this winter, with Phoenix and Nashville opening in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
If you're someone who is equally creative and strategic, and want to build a brand from the ground up, I want to hear from you! I'm looking for someone who truly understands storytelling and is passionate about consumer behavior. Ideally this person is also passionate about midcentury design, hospitality, and modern art.
You'd be working with me for the first couple months to build a marketing strategy, and execute campaigns and partnerships. Ray has several projects in the pipeline and it's a really exciting opportunity for someone to grow into a leadership role.
Apply here. Thanks and good luck!
OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST IN THE NEXT MAYFAIR INSTITUTION
Seasoned hospitality entrepreneur Ross Shonhan is opening Lilibet’s No. 17 on Bruton Street in London’s Mayfair. Lilibet’s is a fine dining seafood experience at the same address Queen Elizabeth II was born, and is an homage to the 1920’s, Mayfair’s golden era.
Founder Ross Shonhan is the former Executive Chef at Zuma London and and Nobu Dallas, a co-founder of the Bone Daddies Group in London, and opened Netsu at the Mandarin Oriental in Dubai. Lilibet’s is his 11th hospitality venture.
Notable investors include Vivien Wong (co-founder of Little Moons Mochi Ice Cream) and Bernard Kantor (co-founder of Investec). Construction is halfway complete and opening is slated for Q1 2025. This is an exclusive opportunity to invest early in a unique brand with institutional global potential.
View the investment deck here.
VISUALLY INTERESTING
Nanushka Café released some cute merch in their London and Budapest stores.
THE STANZA’S DEAL SHEET
The deal that’s been on everyone’s feeds lately is MyTheresa’s acquisition of the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group from Richemont. What’s interesting is that MyTheresa does less than half in revenue compared to YNAP (€914M vs €2.5B, respectively). For MyTheresa, a German e-tailer, gaining US market share has been a long time priority, and the timing of this deal looks pretty good for now. The deal itself wasn’t a straightforward sale - Richemont will take a 33% stake in MyTheresa in exchange for YNAP with a cash position of €555M & debt free, and provide a €100M revolving credit facility to cover YNAP’s corporate expenses. It’s old news that luxury wholesale ecomm is in a tricky spot, but the success of MyTheresa relative to its competitors is indicative of the struggling (or failed) retailers trying to be something for everyone - from aspirational & entry level luxury customers, to HNW clients. MyTheresa has always focused on the HNW customer - the type that doesn’t check prices - and it’s paid off for them, even if it’s not necessarily the most scalable move. Broader sector consolidation, including brick & mortar fashion retail (Sak’s / Neiman’s) will be beneficial for the whole industry because everyone can go back to being the best for their specific target market (or try to).