Goode Partners Invest in Sneaker Villa

Private equity firm Goode Partners has taken a stake in Philadelphia-based Sneaker Villa Inc. which has more than doubled the size of its store base this past year. Goode, based out of New York, has had success with smaller retailers, having previously taken stakes in Intermix and All Saints.

Villa sells footwear and apparel from brands including Nike, Jordan, Timberland, Adidas, Puma and Rocawear. The company has stores in multiple Northeastern and Midwestern markets, like Philadelphia, York and Allentown in Pennsylvania as well as Chicago and Detroit.

Villa is led by chief executive officer and shareholder Jason Lutz, son Chris and Ruth Lutz, who opened the company's first store in 1989. Peter J. Solomon Co. managing director David Shiffman advised Villa on the deal.

The retailer plans to expand in its existing markets and break into new territory in the years ahead.

"We look forward to leveraging our experience investing in and advising growth consumer retail companies to augment the extremely talented management team already in place at Villa," said David Oddi, a partner at Goode.