Q&A
says, noting the company is a leading vendor for Kohl’s, Ross, Macy’s and DSW, among other majors. “They are a powerhouse.” To that end, Aerosoles is being integrated into White Mountain Footwear’s operations, enabling the brands to benefit from their respective core competencies. “White Mountain will be in charge of Aerosoles’ sales, sourcing, development, production, etc.,” he says. “Everything will stay in New England, but they will now have showrooms in New York as well.” In addition to smoother operations, Mamrout believes White Mountain’s deep retailer relationships will go a long way in helping Aerosoles get onto more shelves. “White Mountain’s reputation is just impeccable,” he says. “Their sales team handling Aerosoles will be a great way for us to get back in the marketplace in a very impactful way. This will be a gamechanger for Aerosoles.” What’s more, Mamrout notes, is the brands don’t cannibalize each other. “White Mountain is very core, basic comfort and crunchy granola, whereas Aerosoles is more on the fashion side of comfort. There’s reason for them to coexist on shelves.” While American Exchange Group may be relatively new to the footwear business, Mamrout possesses decades of business experience—even though he’s just 36 years old. That’s because he got his start in the business world at the tender age of 13. There are no high school, college or MBA schools listed on Mamrout’s CV. After emigrating with his family from Syria at age 8, two years later he began working in his brother in-law’s fine jewelry shop in Manhattan’s Herald Square. Three years later, when his brother in-law sought to transition into wholesale, Mamrout asked his father if he could take over the business. “I really pushed and finally convinced my dad that I was ready to work full-time,” he says. “My mom was freaking out, but my dad, coming from our culture, was ok with it. He actually bought the store, and I started out in business with two employees that I inherited.” Mamrout was a natural, if not a retail prodigy. By about age 16, the store grew from $400,000 to nearly $2 million in revenue. Then, during the Financial Crisis, he went into expansion mode, snapping up prime Manhattan real estate as other businesses shuttered. “I opened an additional eight locations, including Madison Ave., Lexington Ave., 57th Street and Bryant Park.” Over this stretch, Mamrout entered into partnerships with many major watch brands, including Swatch Group, Movado Group. Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Fossil. He also opened four Pandora jewelry boutiques—all by the time he was 25 years old. “I did really well,” Mamrout says, noting he first met American Exchange Group’s current executive vice president, Steven Cohen, at age 17. “He was the CEO of TechnoMarine, and I was a big
account of theirs. Now, he didn’t know that I was 17 at the time…” The exec adds, “It wasn’t normal, but I always had a desire to be in business, so that’s what I did.” It’s not surprising perhaps that Mamrout would be content with just a retail career. In fact, at age 17, he travelled to China to scout the Canton Fair with ideas of entering the wholesale watch business. “Wholesale was always a goal of mine,” he says. “I started American Exchange Group as a fashion watch company because I had insight into what was going on in the better watch world and believed there was a tremendous opportunity to elevate opening price point fashion watches.” At age 19, Mamrout received his first container shipment of watches under the Jessica Carlyle brand. Soon after, he expanded into private label for ALDO, Dress Barn, Charming Charlie and Francesca’s. Then as a wave of retail consolidation took hold in 2016,
into lifestyle categories.” Mamrout adds, “We’re in over 20 categories now. This is just the beginning for American Exchange Group.” White Mountain Footwear marks American Exchange Group’s second footwear acquisition within the year? Why are you bullish on this segment? First, our footwear division is growing fast and now ranks as our second biggest category after watches. We have great sourcing partners, strong relationships with retailers and, finally, the timing is good. Aerosoles and White Mountain are gigantic opportunities. There are certain things that are just not being done in the marketplace, at least in the area we want to be involved in. Our formula is to provide product that’s on-trend, high quality and of great value. Every aspect is very important.
O F F TH E C U F F What are you reading? The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty by Leonard Lauder.
What was the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received? Be humble.
What was your first-ever paying job? Working in an ice cream shop at the age of 8.
What was the last movie you watched? Top Gun: Maverick.
Who is your most coveted dinner guest? Candace Owens.
What are five words to describe your life? Motivated, energetic, positive, philanthropic, risk-taker.
What is your favorite word? Simple.
What trait do you value most in your employees? Loyalty.
What is your least favorite word? Impossible.
What is your moment of Zen? Listening to music.
What is inspiring you right now? Growth.
What talent would you like to have? To talk less and listen more.
What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be exactly as I am today.
What is your motto? Make it happen.
What might people be surprised to know about you? I never went to high school. I left school at the age of 13. I realized I was advanced for my years and had a desire to work in business. With my father’s permission and support, I bought a small, 300-square-foot jewelry store from my brother-in-law and started my career.
Mamrout shifted his focus even more to wholesale. The business quickly took off upon expanding into wearables. “That was our rise to fame,” Mamrout says. “We tripled our company by 2018.” Mamrout now believes American Exchange Group is just getting started, and he expects footwear to be a main driver of growth. “There’s a lot of opportunity, specifically in footwear,” he says. “With our sourcing capabilities and deep retail partnerships, there are opportunities to grow within the footwear space as well as extend those brands
What had Aerosoles not been doing when you acquired them? They were being run by a hedge fund, as opposed to an owner/operator, which does impact focus and management style. Actually, when I was first introduced to them, the deal initially was to produce shoes as a licensee. As the conversation went on, I ended up purchasing the company. Why buy Aerosoles, instead? I felt that if we entered into a licensing agreement
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