Michael Sirpilla comes from a family of business aggregators.
The co-founder and CEO of Society Brands in Canton, Ohio, the Amazon aggregator that raised $204 million for acquisitions in March, is the nephew of Johnny Sirpilla, who sold his family's Canton-based RV business to Camping World in 2003.
Camping World was the first aggregator, then known as a "roll-up," in the recreational vehicle industry, Michael Sirpilla said.
Meanwhile, brother Justin Sirpilla, who is co-founder and president of Society Brands, got his aggregating experience by making 26 acquisitions over two-and-a-half years at a professional employment organization, Michael Sirpilla said.
Last week, Society Brands announced its first three acquisitions, which included Damn Near Kilt 'Em, a lifestyle boutique that sells kilts in the United States.
Michael Sirpilla talked to Cleveland Business Journal about what it's like to be an Amazon store aggregator. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Can you describe the online stores your company is looking to acquire?
We are category-agnostic, meaning we want to acquire brands across categories so we have a diversified company. We acquire stores that have stable sales and profit growth and whose market share is growing. We care about making sure each company we acquire has a healthy bottom line.
How do you find Amazon stores to acquire?
We've got a lot of relationships with investment bankers and business brokers. We plan on doing 12 to 15 acquisitions a year and are looking for new acquisitions all the time.
What do your brands get out of the deal?
Our rock-star operations team adds value to help brands continue to grow, maximize their markets and take their brands to the next level. For instance, we see an opportunity for Damn Near Kilt 'Em to expand internationally. We also have deep experience in omnichannel marketing, so we can help brands expand to other online platforms, such as Shopify, as well as brick-and-mortar stores, if needed.
What makes Society Brands different from other Amazon aggregators?
We provide our founders with cash at the close of the acquisition and ask them to stay on for a period of time to share their tribal knowledge. Then we try to keep our founders onboard as brand presidents by offering roll-over equity in Society Brands, which gives them an incentive to stay and share best practices and information with each other so the whole company benefits. We also try to create a fun environment for founders. It really is about the collective and making founders better.
What's been your greatest challenge at Society Brands so far?
Being able to always see several chess moves ahead. In business, it's not always about 1 + 1 = 2. It's about how to keep growing, how to challenge your team to keep innovating — at the same time you keep executing your business plan. It's also about building a relationship with your investors.
