folio & fable Designs

According to Investopedia, “an acquisition is when one company purchases most or all of another company’s shares to gain control of that company. The term “Mergers and Acquisitions” is a general term that describes the consolidation of companies through various types of financial transactions – in my experience: $390 million in cash.

My dad was the first person to teach me about Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) when I was 15. I misheard the term as “Murders and Acquisitions.” Looking back, that was a more accurate phrase. I always assumed that when I left my job in the long run, I would despise the brand. Since I am a dedicated employee, I would assume the job ended due to me learning my worth or simply being laid off to no one’s fault. Regardless, I wouldn’t want to look at the logo or wear my once beloved merchandise that I snagged from the supply closet. Some might see that as a red flag attributed by a bitter personality, but I feel it stems from a passionate flame that accidentally caught the house on fire. When a company gets acquired, you don’t really get that hatred emotion towards the company’s dead name. You just lost something that you helped build. It literally got swallowed and regurgitated as someone else’s work.

Mourning the loss of a brand is an odd situation. It’s more nostalgic than anything. You hear Toys R Us and you recall riding the bicycles for sale through the aisles in the back. You think of Borders and flipping through the new books, while sitting on those little step stools they have scattered throughout the store. Now all you see in their place is a Spirit Halloween. But here’s the difference: These brands didn’t vanish because they were bought out. They have the opportunity to make a comeback, and they are. You can walk into Macy’s today and see a sign advertising their new Toys R Us section. Even Charlotte Russe came back swinging – for whatever that’s worth. Acquisitions that consume your smaller company don’t give you that option. You’re just left with all of these useless branded Yetis and employee uniforms that you were saving for the next site opening.

You understand that your effort and dedication to forming the company into something you believe in didn’t go unnoticed. After all, it helped the company get sold… but now what? You did your part, the people at the top reaped the benefits, and now you are a part of a top dog company.

While I’m new to the industry, I am already exposed to the idea of always keeping my back to the wall. I can now say that I officially understand how pulling together a master budget and grand opening playbook at the last minute with a tight deadline might actually be a red flag. An individual coming in from the BBB to do an audit isn’t a random act of kindness for the current employees. When multiple members of the board begin to step out of meetings because their personal financial advisor is ringing them, it becomes an indication, not a coincidence. It’s nothing personal, it’s business. Cliché or not, it’s true. I just began the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and I found a great quote: “Because they run a business. And so do you.” A company will always do what is best for themselves, just like you should. Acquisition or not – always know when it is time to go.

Despite every president’s “Tell All Town Hall,” there is still a bundle of grief for former employees, current employees, and loyal customers that never gets properly handled and will forever remain unresolved. Don’t believe me? Ask your go-to makeup guru why they have trouble placing all their trust into adoring one shade of lipstick: it gets retired and they can’t buy it anymore. Sure, there are other colors, but it will never be the color they wore when they had their first kiss, or when they walked across the stage at college graduation, or when they got the interview that landed them that job. I know it’s odd to place the word “grief” right next to “brand,” but at the end of the day, we are directing our sorrow towards our own memories, creations, and commitment. I am going to preface this with the fact that I am fortunate enough to still have a job with the purchasing company after being sold: I lost something that represented my first step in my career path, but I do believe that more opportunities will present itself down this new road. I am confident in my statement that I will never look back and say “I would have been better off if we didn’t get bought out.” I think that can be said about a lot of things, actually.