Outliving swoops for collapsed homewares brand SunnyLIFE

Gift design and distribution house Outliving has acquired competitor SunnyLIFE after the brand collapsed into administration last month.

KPMG was appointed as administrator of the Shine Group, which included the SunnyLIFE homewares brand after its collapse.

SunnyLIFE is stocked in David Jones and other Australian, New Zealand and US retailers.

The Shine Group had a turnover of less than $10 million a year and employed 25 staff before its collapse.

Ryan Glick, co-owner and director of Outliving told SmartCompany, he first heard SunnyLIFE was in trouble through one of Outliving’s customers, who called to say SunnyLIFE was no longer able to supply them.

“We’ve known the team at SunnyLIFE for years as we see them at trade shows, so we gave them a call and they told us the unfortunate position they were in and we got talking from there,” Glick says.

Glick will not disclose what Outliving paid for SunnyLIFE or the terms of the acquisition, but he says the homewares brand was turning over “a few million” a year.

“We have taken all SunnyLife’s stock, all its customers and the US and UK distribution. It all had to be wrapped up really quick in time for the Melbourne Gift Fair this weekend,” Glick says.

“It was crazy timing but good timing at the same time.”

Glick says any continuing involvement of SunnyLIFE founders Paul Cherny and Joel Bartfield is still being worked out and Outliving are not employing any of the SunnyLIFE staff.

“We came in very late in the piece. We only found out two weeks after the administration occurred and by that time the staff were already gone,” he says.

Glick says there are significant synergies between the two companies.

“SunnyLIFE’s lines fit really well with ours. They don’t overlap with what we already have but they are not that far removed; they sell to the same customers that we do,” he says.

Bartfield also believes the two brands represent a good fit.

“We’ve watched Outliving steadily become a force in gift and homewares and we are confident, with Outliving’s expertise, SunnyLIFE will remain the world’s premium beach and outdoor lifestyle brand.”