Mike West on Matix acquisition

I talked with Mike West, who is in Berlin, on Thursday to follow up on the news of Westlife Distribution’s purchase of the Matix Clothing brand.

Mike said the company wanted to bring the apparel brand on board for a few reasons. One, he believes in the power of industry brands, which have their own personality, characteristics and relationships.

Matix is also a good fit for Westlife, which owns the 686 snow outerwear brand. Mike sees a lot of synergies between the people that work on the brands, both brands’ retail customers, the skateboarding and snowboarding worlds, sales reps, etc.

Westlife has also invested a lot in its backend operations and systems, and believes it can help Matix overcome some operational challenges.

Mike said Westlife wants to honor Matix’s roots and strengthen it in categories like denim and bottoms. Westlife is also a master of collaborations and special collections and Mike sees lots of opportunity on that front with Matix.

“I love to tell stories,” Mike said. “We are also a good partner, we make quality products and deliver on time.”

About six to eight Matix employees in sales, marketing and product departments will be moving to Westlife’s headquarters in Los Angeles, Mike said.

Matix also helps round the seasonality issues that come with being in the snow business.

The acquisition process was very involved, and Mike is anxious to get back to work and focused on the future.

“We are ready to do it instead of talking about it,” he said.