Hanky Panky Sold

Now on the Hanky Panky website: Signature Lace T-Shirt Bra and Signature Lace Original Rise Thong.

Hanky Panky has been acquired by Crown Brands Group, a new brand management firm, in partnership with Rafar Group. the parent company of Gelmart International. Hanky Panky founders Gale Epstein and Lida Orzeck “will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the brand’s future” and “will join Hanky Panky’s board of directors” according to the Crown announcement in late December.

“Rafar Group will serve as the core operating partner” and will “oversee product design, development, e-commerce operations and distribution. The partners will collaborate on marketing strategy and execution, allowing Crown to focus on brand strategy and global licensing.” This is the first acquisition for Crown, which has “capital backing from G72 Holdings, the family office of Raymond Gindi,” whose family co-founded Century 21 Stores.

Crown CEO Raymond Dayan stated that “Hanky Panky is the definitive example of the type of brand we are building our platform around—one with authentic heritage, category leadership, and incredible customer loyalty.”  

Hanky Panky, originally famous for its signature thong, was founded in 1977 and the announcement noted the brand “is currently distributed through over 2,500 top-tier boutiques, major department stores, and e-commerce platforms.”

Rafar CEO Yossi Nasser pointed out that his company’s “track record of building intimates brands like Lively demonstrates our ability to resonate with today’s consumer. We see tremendous opportunity to expand Hanky Panky’s reach and introduce the brand to new audiences while maintaining the exceptional comfort and quality the brand is known for.” 

Lively was founded in 2015 and had early backing from Gelmart International and others. Wacoal International Corporation, parent company of Wacoal America, Inc., acquired Lively in mid 2019 for $85 million plus additional earnouts for the sellers (which were estimated at the time of the sale to potentially range as high as $55 million) based on brand performance over the following four years. According to Wacoal, Lively, under its corporate name, Intimates Online, Inc., lost $3.728 million on sales of $11.490 million in the year ended December 2018, following a loss of $1.631 million on sales of $5.315 the year before.