Original Footwear, the parent company of footwear brands Altama, Original S.W.A.T. and Smith & Wesson, is a family-run manufacturer based in the US. The company designs, engineers, and manufactures tactical footwear and offers boots and shoes for law enforcement, corrections, military, EMT's, and other works, serving clients in the United States. Although most of the production is focused on footwear for military and law enforcement personnel, there have been plans to expand the portfolio of products to active and fashion segments. Original Footwear has a total number of employees over 400.

Now, Original Footwear has been acquired by private-equity firm Brand Velocity Partners (BVP), established last year specifically to acquire low to middle tier consumer goods companies. This is the first deal consummated by BVP, run by partners with deep experience in private equity and brand marketing.

Kevin Cole, founder and CEO of Original Footwear, commented: “Over the past 50 years, Original Footwear’s brands, including Altama, have become an integral part of Americana for many both in and outside of the military and law enforcement. We are thrilled that the Original Footwear family will leverage BVP’s incredible marketing tools to together expand our global business in the years ahead.”

Steve Lebowitz, Managing Partner of BVP and former co-founder and Managing Partner of Topspin Partners, concluded: “There is a yawning gap in the marketplace for a PE firm to do more than financial engineering – great consumer companies are not built through spreadsheets, but rather through excellent products and superior marketing. My partners and I bring together the perfect blend of capital, investment acumen, and brand marketing expertise. We will be bringing the full weight of our capabilities to the fore with Original Footwear as well as other acquisitions that fit into our firm’s profile.”

BVP’s marketing expertise is provided by partners Drew Sheinman, whose career includes developing brands and new ventures for Endeavor (WME-IMG), Coca-Cola, Madison Square Garden, and the New York Mets; and Larry Rothstein, whose full-service ad/marketing firm Source Communications is nationally recognized for its innovative activation programs for Subway, CohnReznick, Investors Bank, and Hewlett-Packard, among others. Other BVP partners include John Goldman, former partner and leader of the sports practice at Herrick, Feinstein LLP, and Austin Ramos, former Topspin colleague of Steve Lebowitz and managing partner at RunCap Partners.

Founded in 1999 and privately owned, the company headquartered in Morrison (Tennessee) is specialised in Tactical Footwear, Combat Boots, Uniform Boots, and Tactical Performance. More information on: www.originalfootwear.com

Investing with BVP in Original Footwear is BPEA, a Boston-based private equity firm that has completed buyout and growth investments in more than 130 companies. Said Christopher Austen, a managing director at BPEA, “We are very excited about partnering with Brand Velocity Partners to purchase Original Footwear. BVP’s approach of using marketing to propel growth is highly innovative in the PE world and represents an excellent complement to the needs of Original Footwear”. Also participating in the transaction were Pinnacle Financial Partners, a leading regional bank headquartered in Nashville, and Invision Capital, an SBIC fund based in Chicago.