Sycamore Partners
“Staples, Walgreens, Hot Topic. Collecting struggling retailers like they're going out of style. Because they are.”
Sycamore Partners currently owns 6 consumer brands we track, including Staples, Walgreens, The Goddard School and Ann Taylor / LOFT, across 2 categories. It has since exited 2 more.
The youngest major firm on this list, Sycamore Partners has specialized in consumer and retail “investments” since 2011 — which usually means buying struggling brands and trying to squeeze out whatever money they can before the music stops. Their portfolio reads like a suburban strip mall from 2005. Their blockbuster move: acquiring Walgreens for $10 billion in 2025 and promptly splitting it into five separate companies, with plans to sell off pieces like the money-losing VillageMD primary care chain.
Founded 2011 · New York, NY