Brigham's can't beat the heat; assets go to 2 buyers
Brigham's Ice Cream Inc., the 94-year-old company that defined summertime treats for generations of New Englanders, was reduced to a brand name yesterday.
After an unsuccessful four-year turnaround effort by a local buyout group, Brigham's assets were split between two buyers. HP Hood LLC, the Lynnfield dairy firm, gets Brigham's brand name, products, and recipes. Deal Metrics LLC of Baltimore, an equity investor, will get 28 retail stores, most in Massachusetts. No terms were disclosed.
Tron Group, a Boston private equity firm that had sought to help Brigham's explore its strategic alternatives, engineered the sale, according to a Brigham's spokesman.
Robert P. Wexler, a turnaround consultant and founder of Tron Group, had served as Brigham's chief executive since May 1. In an interview, he said the sale to the two buyers was the best possible outcome.
"We couldn't find one buyer who wanted both" the ice cream business and the restaurants, he said. "You've got a strong company in HP Hood responsible for protecting the brand name and the product, while the people who have the stores are young and they're excited about expanding."
In a statement, Luke Cooper of Deal Metrics, said, "Brigham's frappes and sandwiches will continue to be served with the same history and high quality taste and services. When you are building a brand for the long term, history and continuity are important."
Wexler said the previous turnaround effort was doomed by consolidation and increased competition. Getting space on supermarket shelves is a struggle for a small company, he said.
The Brigham's dairy production plant in Arlington will close and about 40 employees will be laid off, said Doug Bailey, a company spokesman. Hood wasn't interested in buying the plant. Wexler said Brigham's is looking to redevelop the Mill Street site.
According to the company website, the two Symmes brothers made ice cream and candy in a Post Office Square basement under the Durand Co. name starting in 1914. In 1929, Durand Co. merged with Edward L. Brigham's ice cream parlor in Newton and began opening more Brigham's stores.
The company has had numerous owners but has maintained significant market share and a loyal following. The company said it has 17 percent share of the premium ice cream market in New England and the top-selling vanilla ice cream in the Boston market, with a 34 percent share. Its best known flavor is the Big Dig, named after the Boston highway project.
In the 12 months ended April 1, Brigham's had gross sales of $14.2 million from its packaged ice cream and $6 million from restaurant sales.
Hood will begin producing Brigham's branded ice cream at one of its 23 plants in New England and New York, according to Hood spokeswoman Lynne Bohan. It will also supply ice cream to Brigham's restaurants. The company, owned by the Kaneb family, had sales of $2.3 billion in 2007 and owns a variety of national and regional food brands.
"It is our priority to maintain the proprietary recipe and flavors that Brigham's passionate customers have come to expect," said Bohan.
Jeffrey Krasner can be reached at krasner@globe.com.
