A New York-based private equity group, Brand Velocity Partners, is the new owner of Baton Rouge-based BBQGuys, the nation’s largest e-retailer of high-end barbeque grills, grilling accessories and outdoor kitchen products.
BVP acquired BBQGuys—along with its sister company, Blaze Outdoor Products—in late August, but has kept its identity and plans for the companies under wraps until today.
Those plans call for taking what is already a homegrown success, with 2019 revenues of more than $130 million, and turning it into a nationwide household brand.
“We are going to build a consumer-facing brand, with BBQGuys as the destination and Blaze as the product category,” says Jason Stutes, BBQGuys’ longtime vice president of marketing and e-commerce, who is staying on with the company under the new ownership. “We are poised to grow exponentially. It’s time for America to know that BBQGuys is out there.”
BVP was formed in 2019 by four New York-based partners with expertise in private equity, business development and brand marketing. Among their other recent, e-retail acquisitions are Original Footwear and Magma Products.
The group, which declines to say how much it paid for the companies, raised money for the acquisition from multiple sources, notable among them: New Orleans football legends Archie, Peyton, Eli and Cooper Manning.
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