LONDON and NEW YORK, February 24. Together Group, a global group of industry-leading agencies focused on the luxury and lifestyle sectors, today announced the acquisition of significant stakes in five founder-led companies to secure its position as a full-service solution for the design, tech, marketing, and communications needs of its multinational, regional and local clients.
Using its creativity, scale and reach to incubate, transform, and grow exceptional brands, Together Group offers best-in-class practice in strategy, branding, design, e-commerce, digital solutions, and digital marketing, as well as in communications and content creation.
The leading agencies announced today by Together Group service a roster of world-class brands. They are:
- PURPLE - An award-winning communications agency specializing in fashion, beauty, luxury-lifestyle, with offices in London, New York, LA, Miami, and Hong Kong. Its clients include BOSS, MESSIKA, LVMH, Richemont, DSQUARED2 and Maison Francis Kurkdjian, ILIA, fresh, EDITION Hotels and PUBLIC Hotels.
- King & Partners - An agency which provides strategy, branding, creative, marketing and eCommerce services for exceptional brands such as, Neuehouse, Fotografiska, The Boca Raton, Brady Brand, SKIMS, and Auberge Resorts Collection. It is based in New York with offices in LA and Miami.
- Noë & Associates - A brand strategy, design, content, and production agency focusing on architecture, design and the built environment with offices in London and New York. Its clients include Mareterra, Related, Waldorf Astoria, Neom and Rolex.
- Construct - A female-led creative consultancy and agency known for the creation of iconic brands like Aman, Claridges and Frette and enduring transformative partnerships with brands like Harrods.
In addition, to support brands with their entry and growth in the important China market, Together Group has acquired Hot Pot China, a digital-marketing specialist with offices in London and Shanghai, developing and executing market strategies for clients in China, including Liberty, Fortnum and Mason, and La Perla.
Together Group's strategy sees a further expansion of its luxury platform this year, attracting creative, digital and marketing agencies, with a particular focus on data & technology, content and activation.
Dr Christian Kurtzke, the CEO of Together Group, said today: "We are building a truly diverse luxury-lifestyle agency group that celebrates a dynamic approach of combining synergistic agencies working in unison to deliver service excellence on a number of levels. Our model combines the benefits of leading-edge, founder-led agencies with the advantages of a larger, global organization."
Within the initial collective of more than 300 employees and 14 offices, the group's agencies will retain their own identities, cultures, and senior leadership teams. Fully aligned as Together Group shareholders, they will drive collaboration across the group, providing more integrated, more creative solutions for our clients.
"We have all the ingredients for significant organic growth as well as for attracting further high-quality agencies to selectively build out complementary service lines," added Dr Kurtzke, the former CEO of Porsche Design and previously a principal at The Boston Consulting Group.
"Together, as a group we have a unique combined strength in transforming, launching and growing brands across fashion, hospitality and lifestyle", states Tony King, CEO of King & Partners.
"All the agency founders and their teams are committed to Together Group and its collaborative way of working for the long term," says Fergus Lawlor, the CEO of PURPLE. "For us, it is not a means to an exit. We regard it as investment for PURPLE rather than a sale: we invested our agency into the group, and we are very excited to continue driving its growth."
"We have created a fulfilling new alternative for agency founders which outperforms the traditional trade-sale model, and which allows founders to remain in the driver seat," explains Paul Sheehy a creative-agency entrepreneur who co-founded Together Group with Brad Fry, managing partner of MatCap.
"Equally, our model provides investors with exceptional opportunities to be part of some of the most successful international high-growth agencies," concludes Brad Fry.