OFF THE CUFF

What are you reading?

The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty by Leonard Lauder.

What was the last movie you watched? Top Gun: Maverick

What might people be surprised to know about you? I never went to high school. I left school at the age of 13. I realized I was advanced for my years and had a desire to work in business. With my father’s permission and support, I bought a small, 300-square-foot jewelry store from my brother-in-law and started my career.

What was the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received? Be humble.

Who is your most coveted dinner guest? Candace Owens.

What is your favorite word? Simple.

What is your least favorite word? Impossible.

What is inspiring you right now? Growth.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be exactly as I am today.

Mamrout shifted his focus even more to wholesale. The business quickly took off upon expanding into wearables. “That was our rise to fame,” Mamrout says. “We tripled our company by 2018.”

Mamrout now believes American Exchange Group is just getting started, and he expects footwear to be a main driver of growth. “There’s a lot of opportunity, specifically in footwear,” he says. “With our sourcing capabilities and deep retail partnerships, there are opportunities to grow within the footwear space as well as extend those brands

What was your first-ever paying job? Working in an ice cream shop at the age of 8.

What are five words to describe your life? Motivated, energetic, positive, philanthropic, risk-taker.

What trait do you value most in your employees? Loyalty.

What is your moment of Zen? Listening to music.

What talent would you like to have? To talk less and listen more.

What is your motto? Make it happen.

What had Aerosoles not been doing when you acquired them?

They were being run by a hedge fund, as opposed to an owner/operator, which does impact focus and management style. Actually, when I was first introduced to them, the deal initially was to produce shoes as a licensee. As the conversation went on, I ended up purchasing the company.

Why buy Aerosoles, instead?

I felt that if we entered into a licensing agreement

Aerosoles dollars, of which a significant amount was being transacted in its flagship stores and global retail partners. This is a big opportunity for us. and built the business, then we’d be building something that we wouldn’t own. Plus, now we’re able to license the brand into other categories. We’re unlocking the value of Aerosoles and turning it into a lifestyle brand, instead of it being just a women’s shoe company. That aside, Aerosoles, at their peak, was doing hundreds of millions of

The product of late is definitely on-trend and of a higher quality—someone is doing a good job. Our creative director came to us from Calvin Klein. She’s tremendously talented with an amazing taste level and a great eye. Our sourcing is also just far better and more capable than who the previous owners were using. They were landing shoes at prices I shouldn’t even be retailing them for. Now, in their defense, they had to change all of Aerosoles’ previous factory partners because, after they filed for reorganization, they had challenges in finding good sourcing partners.

How’s Aerosoles’ business since the acquisition?

Where do you envision Aerosoles in three years?

As a strong, multi-category brand presence with both brick-and-mortar and online distribution. Our broader product assortment offers a fresh and contemporary feel with comfort at the core to complement the brand’s successful collection of classic women’s styles. This presents opportunities to reach a wide range of consumers.

How did the White Mountain Footwear acquisition come about?

Through networking. The deal was done very quietly; no one knew about it. Quite frankly, the industry was in shock when the announcement was made.

White Mountain Footwear wasn’t up for sale?

We’ve seen tremendous growth post-acquisition, and we look forward to continued growth in 2023 and beyond. The brand’s recognition in the marketplace as a comfort leader while having trendright designs fits well with the American Exchange Group’s overall strategy, as we’ve always been a leader in accessible, stylish and quality products at a great value. And, particularly post-Covid, we believe consumers want fashionable product that can be worn all day.

No. It just evolved through conversations. I floated the idea with their management team and they brought it to ownership. It was months in the works. I’m a very persuasive guy. (Laughs.)

What kind of growth are you envisioning for White Mountain Footwear?

There’s just so much we’ll do with the White Mountain brand that’s currently not being done. We believe we can double their current revenues in the next three years. Beginning in 2024, we’ll be introducing a broader collection of goods in footwear and other lifestyle categories. Our retailers know that I’m all about growth and opportunity, whereas the previous ownership was more focused on conservative growth. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that approach, and they built an amazing shoe company. They also operate a hugely successful private label business. I’m just a lot more aggressive, as I’m all about unlocking value via increasing investments in product, marketing, public relations, etc. It’s just a different mindset. We’re going to grow those brands in multiples categories.

Is American Exchange Group looking to acquire more footwear companies?

Yes. We’re in talks with another brand right now, and we’ll see where that goes.

Many companies are downsizing and yours is in rapid expansion mode. Why?

Well, a very good mentor of mine once told me that when everybody is zigging, zag.

But it’s not necessarily easy to zag in the right direction.

True, but there’s always lots of opportunity. I tell everybody on my team, in good times you make money and in bad times you make more money. There’s always opportunity, and there’s always room for growth. In that regard, I believe our strong relationships with retailers is a huge asset. More than ever, retailers want to do business with less people, but they want to do business with the right people. Especially going through the pandemic, they’re looking for vendors who can deliver—the companies that have the right infrastructure and financial capabilities. And those who possess those capabilities are going to get a bigger piece of the pie going forward. This is what I’ve always done: look for opportunities. During the Financial Crisis, for example, when I opened eight retail locations, I was able to negotiate the best leases. Before that, landlords wouldn’t even give me the time of day, telling me they only wanted national retailers in those spaces. But then the tables turned. I actually took over a Starbucks location in Bryant Park. Lots of people thought I was crazy to be opening stores then. But those stores performed amazingly well. I had an unbelievable retail run beginning with the Financial Crisis.

So how is American Exchange Group weathering the pandemic?

Pretty well, all things considered. In July of 2020, we acquired MJ Fashion, a handbag company that was in distress. In doing so, we basically hired a bunch of talented people who had recently been furloughed.

One has been in the business for 25 years and her right hand is considered one of the best. It wasn’t even so much about the company, as it was the people we were able to hire. Then we expanded into cold weather and ladies’ accessories. We kept investing and we grew significantly during this period. Our business was on fire—2021 was a record year for us. Now, the supply chain disruptions weren’t easy to overcome, but we fought our way through and overcame those challenges. We delivered product when a lot of our retailers’ shelves were empty.

How is your company dealing with the record inflation?

Last year was a tough one for retailers and vendors. We primarily cater to retailers like Walmart, Burlington, Ross, Citi Trends and Target, so you’re talking about a customer who has very little discretionary income. With this inflation, that money is being spent on food and gas. The year before, they had extra money and they were spending. So, 2022 was the real challenge, not 2020. Still, we’re coming out of last year stronger than ever. I expect we’ll see another round of consolidation by retailers and vendors this year as a lot of wholesalers are having a very hard time. I hear that a lot of companies are going to throw in the towel. So, the companies that are able to survive should come out stronger >55