London-based designer independent retailer Machine-A has been sold to a group of private investors by multi-brand agency Tomorrow Ltd, which acquired a majority stake in it four years ago.
Machine-A founder Stavros Karelis “will continue to play a key role in the daily operations” of the business, as it remains a hub for emerging talent.
Meanwhile, Steven Ma, a long-time friend and collaborator of Karelis, has become the company’s director. Ma, who graduated from Parsons School of Design and has an MBA from Emlyon Business School in France, has been closely involved with Machine-A since 2019.
Ma said: “I hope with my active involvement the brand generates the commercial growth it deserves, building upon what Karelis, the team, and past investors have worked so hard to achieve commercially and artistically.”
Ma previously worked on key projects such as the launch of the Machine-A brand in China; a Mugler event in Shanghai with K-pop star CL and model Ming Xi; and a recent Reebok collaboration with Kai-Isaiah Jamal and Alibae.
He also launched a namesake accessories brand after training in footwear design at Arsutoria School in Milan. Ma, who now splits his time between Shanghai and London, said Machine-A is “considered an institution” by young creative talents.
Since 2013, emerging designers such as Nasir Mazhar, Paolo Carzana, Olly Shinder, Pronounce, Samuel Guì Yang, Craig Green, Peter Do, Richard Quinn, Paula Canovas del Vas, Kiko Kostadinov, Delada, Martine Rose, Namacheko and Ottolinger have been carried at the store.
In November, Frasers Group-backed Four Marketing snapped up A-Cold-Wall from Tomorrow Ltd – less than a year after it had itself acquired the brand from its founder, Samuel Ross.
Stefano Martinetto, co-founder and CEO of Tomorrow Ltd, which is behind the development of brands including White Mountaineering, Martine Rose and Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, has had a 26-year partnership with Four Marketing’s CEO, Ben Banks, “built on shared goals and mutual respect”.
The deal was described as a “strategic acquisition which strengthens Four Marketing and Tomorrow’s shared vision for the future and commitment to A-Cold-Wall’s growth on a global scale”.
