American Exchange Group Acquires Indie Lee

American Exchange Group has acquired 14-year-old clean skincare brand Indie Lee. The deal is expected to expand the brand beyond skincare through organic expansion and licensing agreements. Meanwhile, independent beauty brand businesses have faced increasing challenges, many of which have closed in the past two years.

Indie Lee first received investment from Ancora Holdings in 2017 and is known for drawing inspiration from founder Indie Lee's focus on COSMOS, Prop 65 and EU compliance.

Currently, the company is retailed in more than 2,000 stores, mainly in North America, including Bluemercury and Ulta Beauty.

American Exchange Group's beauty and personal care portfolio includes NatureWell, Orlando Pita Play, Txtur and Found Active, some of which were acquired through the acquisition of HatchCollective.

"We are excited to join forces with American Exchange Group, a company that shares our commitment to innovation and excellence," said Indie Lee, founder of Indie Lee. "This partnership will allow us to reach new heights and bring our clean, effective beauty products to a wider audience."

"Beauty and personal care is one of the fastest growing categories, and with this acquisition, AXNY Group is poised to become a dominant player in the space," said Alen Mamrout, CEO of American Exchange Group. "We see tremendous opportunity to grow Indie Lee's direct-to-consumer business by leveraging the expertise and resources of American Exchange Group. We plan to expand Indie Lee products beyond skincare both internally and through licensing, and explore diffusion brands through licensing and brand expansion."

"This move not only represents a strategic opportunity to expand growth, but also aims to introduce Indie Lee's internationally renowned product lines to AXNY Group's established portfolio of retailers," said Steve Velasquez, Chief Strategy Officer of American Exchange Group. "Our strategy of continued growth through acquisitions allows us to diversify our product offerings and strengthen our position in each market segment."