Rags to Riches

Sun Capital Partners Inc. (Boca Raton, Fla.), an investment firm with considerable retail holdings, has acquired Rag Shops Inc. (Hawthorne, N.J.), a 69-unit arts and crafts retailer with stores in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Tom Souza, a retail executive with 28 years of experience, has been named ceo.

Souza and Sun Capital have announced a sweeping rejuvenation plan, including new brand and corporate identity design; improved store layout and customer service; an updated merchandise mix; and enhanced marketing, customer outreach and in-store promotions. “We see a real opportunity to bring our customers the exact shopping experience they are looking for,” said Souza, who was previously president and ceo of Mirage Stores and, before that, president and coo of Claire’s Accessories. “The craft and home project areas are just exploding in popularity, and we are well positioned to take advantage of these trends. We’ve already seen strong results with our newly redesigned advertising inserts.”

Retail companies in the Sun Capital portfolio include Musicland, Sam Goody, Media Play, Mervyns, Mattress Firm, HUB Distributing (which includes Anchor Blue and Most Stores), Life Uniform, Wickes and Bruegger Bagels.