Grand Metropolitan is an American multinational luxury goods holding company founded in Beverly Hills, CA in 2000. The group owns over 120 brand subsidiaries that have conducted over $250 billion in revenue collectively since their founding originating in 1787.

Many of our brands have been leading employers and institutions in their local communities raising millions of dollars over the years for a range of charities and causes.


Hadid of Beverly Hills

Hadid has been built upon the legacy of heritage luxury brands excellence in fine jewelry, fine furnishings, haute couture, and fashion. The Hadid brand will expand beyond North America in 2018 with a private line of couture merchandise offered by our Garfinckel and Lichtenstein Department Stores.


Finlay Enterprises

Finlay Enterprises has origins dating back to 1787 achieving $100 billion over two centuries. By 2010, Finlay Fine Jewelers was the largest operator of leased jewelry departments in over 1200 stores in the US and France:

May Department Stores; Foley’s, Filene’s, Kaufmann’s, Robinson’s May, Meier & Frank, Hecht’s, Strawbridge, Famous Barr, L.S. Ayers, Lord & Taylor. Federated Department Stores; Bloomingdale’s, Burdine’s, The Bon Marche’, Rich’s, Lazarus, Goldsmith. Saks Inc. Department Stores; Carson Pirie Scott, Boston Store, Bergner’s, Younker’s, Parisian’s.

Finlay graces red carpets at the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys, and Independent Spirit Awards. Vin Lee Jewelers, the creator of the tennis earring/ear cuff/climber, is worn by celebrities, diplomats, royalty, most notably by family of the President of France at Cannes. The Diamond Standard brand sold to affiliate of Jimmy Choo Limited, a subsidiary of Labelux.

Finlay owns 20 of the top 50 US jewelry brands.


Dalgety PLC

Dalgety PLC is a food and beverages company based out of Lisbon, Portugal with offices and interests internationally. The company markets services and products to clients in the Middle East & North Africa region. This Region covers the following countries: Barhain, Saudi, Uae, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco. Frank's Nursery is the company's North American botanical brand. In addition, Dalgety owns the Pushkin brand of caviar sold and marketed worldwide. IMASCO Ltd., the companies tobacco operation includes the wholesale, retail, and manufacture of cigars.

IMASCO Ltd. was formed to hold Grand Metropolitan’s liquor and tobacco assets. The group is the largest of it’s kind in the world. St. Aubin du Cormier Vin & Spirit is the Groups liquor collection available only at select private clubs and events.

United Cigar Stores was the largest chain of cigar stores in the United States. United Cigar Stores is the e-commerce subsidiary of IMASCO Ltd. which services over 1,500 tobacconists both wholesale and retail and direct to American clients.

The company also operates the largest network of social clubs, most notably The Beverly Hills Cigar Club, rated Top 5 Private Memberships by Playboy Magazine and home to LOUIXS, the Bugatti Veyron of the cigar industry.

In early 2006, Grand Metropolitan added iHumidor, part of a $30 million portfolio, to its operations. Assets also include Cigar Club News, Cigar Registry, and Cigar Finder as consumers are relying more on technology to improve their experience. Portfolio brands in both retail and social clubs participate in most of the top 100 markets in the world including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, London, and Dubai.


Heilig-Meyers Furniture

Heilig-Meyers, privately-held furniture group in North America dating back to 1858, achieved $100 billion in revenue in the last century. By 2000, the group represented Broyhill, Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Hickory Chair, Pearson, Lane Venture, and Maitland-Smith in over 3,000 stores, $5 billion in annual revenue.

Heilig-Meyers and Rhodes Inc. have been major NASCAR sponsors and helped to raise millions of dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We manage 20 consumer brands including Four Seasons Home Accents, KidStore, and RentSmart.

Wickes Furniture, founded in 1971, grew to be the largest furniture retailer in the United States by the early 80s. (Sold 2015)

Sterchi Brothers Furniture, at its height, was the world's largest furniture store chain, with 65 stores across the southeastern US and a worldwide customer base.


ORCOFI Holdings

French fashion house Orcofi, originally founded by Louis Vuitton family patriarch/former Chairman/CEO LVMH Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessey Henry Racamier, specializes in luxury goods (haute couture, ready-to-wear, handbags, perfumery, cosmetics). The original holding company joined French banking group Paribas and French cosmetics giant L'Oréal in buying Paris' oldest couture house Lanvin.

Between 1989-1991, Orcofi assembled an impressive portfolio: Leather conglomerate Andrelux Industries (Bohata et Cie, Lorenzo, Soco, Upla, Le Tanneur), legendary trunk maker Moynat est.1849, luxury grocer Hédiard, lingerie brand Orcanta, Acanta, Cristalleries Daum, Philippe Model (fashion shoe/accessories designer), ready-to-wear Ines de la Fressange and Lanvin. Mr. Racamier sold Orcofi to global insurance powerhouse AXA S.A.

AXA sold Orcofi's Orcanta to François-Henri Pinault's Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (Kering). Founded in 1995, the exclusive boutiques sold for $42.5 million. In 2006, PPR sold Orcanta to Groupe Chantelle who now offers seven lingerie brands/retail networks: Chantelle, Passionata, Darjeeling, Orcanta, Chantal Thomass, Femilet, and Livera.

In 1996, L'Oréal acquired 50% of Lanvin from Orcofi. Lanvin was then acquired by Taiwanese media magnate Shaw-Lan Wang from L'Oreal in 2001. Gordon-Choisy (one of the world's most prominent tanneries specializing in exotic leathers) initially sold to LVMH and then to Hermes International. Luxembourg-based luxury holding company Luvanis SA (Vionnet, Mainbocher) bought Moynat in 2009. Groupe Arnault, LVMH's CEO Bernard Arnault's holding company bought Moynat in 2010.

In 2011 Qatar Luxury Group (QELA) acquired Le Tanneur & Cie (est. 1898) and Euronext listed Soco, also signing a licensing agreement with Michael Kors and Celine. Financiere Saint-Germain, parent of Lalique, Haviland Porcelain Works now owns Cristalleries Daum.


Handleman Company

The original company was established as a partnership distributing pharmaceuticals in 1934 and had achieved over $30 billion in revenue since its founding. During the 1950s the company made a decision that proved to be crucial to its future growth: it began wholesaling records. Eventually stocking the racks for major retailers like Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Woolworth, Handleman became better at managing record displays than a large store could be. By 1980 the firm stocked records at over 8,000 retail stores. It was a tough year for record sales, with sales across the entire industry declining. Despite these troubles, in 1980 the company became the largest record and tape wholesaler in the United States, moving past the Pickwick division of American Can.

The number of music retail departments serviced by Handleman had grown to 6,500. The firm serviced even more video departments--7,400, book sales in 2,600 retail departments, and now serviced 4,700 software retail departments. Handleman remained heavily dependent on its two largest customers. Kmart, which was experiencing financial trouble, accounted for 40 percent of Handleman's sales, while Wal-Mart accounted for 25 percent.

In 1992, Vin Lee's Cinemagic Marquee approached the Handleman Company about a partnership offering it's patented technology for over 21,200 department locations. Grand Metropolitan began negotiations to purchase certain assets of the Handleman Company in 2008 following their bankruptcy. We finalized our efforts in 2014 and are rebuilding product lines and holdings.

The Handleman Company hopes to again supply mass merchandisers and big box retailers with a new line of proprietary products in 2015. Cinemagic Marquee is being folded under the company banner.


Cinemagic Marquee

Cinemagic Marquee patented technology that participated in founding the $6 billion/year automated display industry. Leading advertising and entertainment companies around the world including Universal Studios, Regal Cinemas, AMC, Disney, Lamar, and Clear Channel use these applications.

In the 1980s, Cinemagic Marquee was developing a multitude of projects within the entertainment industry initiated by relationships with Time Warner and Hanna Barbera. With the advent of the VCR, video stores were expanding at an exponential rate. Blockbuster Entertainment, the largest of the chains was in the midst of an industry rollup. It was opening a new location every 18 hours.

Cinemagic Marquee developed and improved upon in-store marketing tools employed by the video industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Movie studios, video distributors and snack and beverage companies competed to grab the attention of this audience. Cinemagic Marquee technology tripled that marketing real estate while adding motion and illumination. Our patented applications have expanded to billboards, stadiums, and mobile marketing throughout the world.

Select Early US Projects:

AMC Theatres
Regal Theatres
Harkins Theatres
Wallace Theatres
Walt Disney Complex
Blockbuster Entertainment
Universal Studios City Walk
Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Circus Circus, Las Vegas, NV
Ripleys Believe It Or Not Museums