About

At Miramar, More Brands Turn to Us.

Results speak for themselves and this is how Miramar Brands Group, Inc. (“MBGI”) stands out from others.

MBGI is one of the first fully integrated brand management and consulting firms focused on global consumer goods brand management.  MBGI specializes as a “boutique” strategic consulting firm focused on brands, retailers, celebrities, global media, events, licensing, mobile media, digital media, mobile marketing and design.

We are in the middle of the biggest and most profound transformation in the history of retailing, driven by the disruptive dynamics of the most powerful consumers in history, facilitated by technology, the power of the Internet and our connected omnichanel world. It’s also being driven by globalization, essentially the powerful connection of the entire planet. So not only is this a time of opportunity for businesses to fundamentally transform their strategies and business models to serve this newly empowered consumer, it’s an absolute necessity. Those who do not change could disappear.

Together with our global partners, we are creating the supply chains of the future.

ELLE Women's Kohl's Miramar Miramarbrands Li & Fung KOHLS KOHL'S DEPARTMENT STORES

Everything you should know about us.

Miramar Brands Group®, Inc. (“MBGI”) is at the forefront of the new expansion for consumer brands worldwide with partners we’ve always dreamed about. Our focus is on brand management and development, web site traffic growth, web site UI, strategic marketing, design and the building of scalable and recurring sales revenue.

MBGI provides strategic consulting, including business plan & sales strategy development. At MBGI, we encourage brands, individuals, corporations, celebrity or media brands to think differently about how they connect in our new global world.

MIRAMAR, headquartered in Pasadena, California, is a privately held brand management and marketing company founded by Stephen Ascher, Jr.  Mr. Ascher is also the founder and creator of the Omnichanel™, Miramar®, Sideout®, King of the Beach®, King of the Court™, Queen of the Beach™, Queen of the Court™ and Havuk™ brands.

Welcome to the future of branding, where More Brands Turn to Us™ .

Why our Partners choose Miramar .

Miramar Brands Group®, Inc. (“MBGI”) and its executives have over three generations of brand management, marketing and licensing experience around the globe.  MBGI brings world class assets, experience and reputation immediately to any situation, and have engineered many industry leading transactions.   Today, MBGI management, its brands, clients and related services have led to over  $5 Billion in annual retail sales around the world, providing jobs to nearly 250,000 people in the Americas, EMEA and ASEAN countries.

Here at MBGI, your brand is more than a logo, name or slogan — for us it’s the entire experience your prospects and customers have with your company, product or service and its what we pay attention to when you step in our door.

Your brand strategy defines what you stand for, a promise you make, and the personality you convey.  Your brand lives in every day-to-day interaction you have with your market.

More Brands Turn to Us™ for repetutional brand management, innovative marketing, design,  strategy and leadership in today’s global economy.

We will be there for you and for your brand.

Brand Commitment

As remarkable as it sounds, our latest research shows that brands now need to nurture customers for at least two years before securing commitment. Over that time, the first year is devoted to building trust; the second, to strengthening the relationship. After that, brands reach what we call the “relationship tipping point,” when trust matures into a strong relationship and customers first show commitment to a brand.

And the story doesn’t stop there . . . We also found that the biggest incremental change in customer spend happens even further down the road – at the 5+ years stage. Similar to the relationship tipping point, this “revenue tipping point” occurs when the revenue value of a customer increases dramatically relative to a brand’s investment in that customer. We’re talking about the intersection of brand trust, relationship and spend – and it takes at least half a decade to get there.

In today’s business environment, that much time can be an eternity. But there are steps you can take to accelerate customer progression to the tipping point.

More specifically, our research shows that in order to move buyers along the customer journey, marketers need to focus their attention on three key elements. You need to:

  1. Build customer trust and commitment. Start by understanding the critical factors that drive customer commitment and how to best fulfill emotional needs for your customers. Successfully promoting your brand identity is a complex process that includes company ethics, transparency and the ability to efficiently and effectively deliver your brand promise.
  2. Meet functional needs to improve the customer experience. The customer experience you deliver must reflect the brand promise you establish in Step 1 – and it must be relevant ongoing, consistent, meaningful and mutually-rewarding. To accomplish all that, you’ll need to develop an integrated omni-channel experience, and you’ll need to use customer data deliberately, so you can deliver messages that are reliable, considerate and relevant. Once you do, you’ll start building the kind of credibility that matures into brand loyalty.
  3. Enable customer momentum by delivering a frictionless customer journey. The omni-channel experience you offer must include a variety of on- and off-line channels so customers can start, stop, rejoin and jump engagement levels, carving out their own highly individualized paths to purchase – and then ideally, continuing on to help build a community around your brand.

We’ve found that when brands routinely fulfill all three steps above, ROI improves significantly. Think of it as a three-way street: ROI comes at the intersection of journey, experience and commitment.  And the real payoff is an exceptional brand experience, as our data tells us that a committed customer spends 1.5 times more, on average, than a customer who is not engaged.

The most successful and preferred brands globally are those that fully understand these connections. They know that building trust is fundamental to securing a committed brand relationship.

Our Mission

MIRAMAR, means “sea-view” or “sea sight” from mira (“watch”) and mar (“sea”). Staying true to the repetutional philosophy by which it was founded, every MIRAMAR brand, client and partner is cared for in a special way.

Our mission is to become the number one brand management company and agency for our global clients. To accomplish this, we pledge to continue deliver the best product; striving to build upon our global transaction experience, partnerships and technological advances while pushing the limits on what we can learn each and every day together.

History

Headquartered in Pasadena, California, Miramar Brands Group, Inc. (“MBGI”) aims to help nurture and expand its partners, retail and consumer brands worldwide. MBGI is a leading global, privately held independent brand management, licensing, consulting, celebrity and media marketing and design company.

MBGI and it’s executives and agents worldwide have executed global license agreements and strategic partnerships that today exceed $5 Billion in retail sales annually.

We are in the middle of the biggest and most profound transformation in the history of retailing, being driven by the disruptive dynamics of the most powerful consumers in history, facilitated by technology, the power of the Internet and our connected omnichannel world. Retail is being driven by globalization, essentially the powerful connection of the entire planet. So not only is this a time of opportunity for businesses to fundamentally transform their strategies and business models to serve this newly empowered consumer, it’s an absolute necessity. Those who do not change will disappear.

The economics of this networked society are already staggering.  A McKinsey report studying thirteen of the worlds most advanced industrial economies found that over $8 trillion is already being spent through e-commerce.

Every minute of every day in 2014, 3 billion Internet users in the world sent 204 million e-mails, uploaded 72 hours of new YouTube videos, made over 4 million Google searches, shared 2,460,000 pieces of Facebook content, downloaded 48,000 Apple Apps, spent $83,000 on Amazon, Tweeted 277,000 messages, and posted 216,000 new Instagram photos.  What used to be a “New York” minute is now today’s “Internet minute” and today’s Internet minute makes New York seem like a sleepy village.

MBGI’s executive team has over 50 years and three generations of combined brand management experience in developing, marketing and manufacturing some of the most powerful brands in the world.

Brand partners, current clients and Brand Management Projects:

• Lagardère Active Enterprises, Paris, France
• Hachette Filipacchi Presse, Paris, France
• ELLE®, North America, South America and Middle East
• ELLE® Decor
• Strategic Partners for ELLE Nurses Uniforms, Footwear and Accessories Worldwide
• Hang Ten® and Hang Ten® Gold, North America
• Cherokee Global Brands 
• Tony Hawk® Clothing
• Berkshire Hathaway
• Fruit of the Loom®
• Union Underwear
• Russell® Brands
• Spalding® 
• King of the Beach® and Queen of the Beach™ Brands Worldwide
• USA Volleyball 
• The US Open of Beach Volleyball
• Playboy
• Reyn Spooner
• Quiksilver, Inc.
• Home Dynamix for ELLE and ELLE Decor
• Li & Fung for ELLE and ELLE Decor Wordwide

Contact Us at contact@miramarbrands.com

Stephen Y. Ascher, Jr.

Stephen Y. Ascher, Jr.

Chairman and CEO

Stephen Y. Ascher, Jr. has been the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Miramar Brands Group, Inc. since June 2004.

From November 1997 through November 2003, Mr. Ascher served as Executive Vice President, President of Sideout® and head of New Business Development for Cherokee, Inc. (Nasdaq:CHKE). As a college senior at The University of California at Berkeley, Mr. Ascher founded the Sideout®, King of the Beach® and Queen of the Beach™ brands.

From June 1983 until November 1997, Mr. Ascher served as Chairman of Sideout Sport, Inc.’s Board of Directors and as its Chief Executive Officer and President since the Company’s formation. Mr. Ascher is the Founder of Omnichanel™, Miramar®, King of the Beach®, King of the Court®, Queen of the Beach™, Queen of the Court™, Havuk®, and Sideout® brands.

Mr. Ascher received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international business from the University of California at Berkeley in 1984, where he played college volleyball as a setter for two club National Championship teams.

For 28 years, Mr. Ascher has been a member of Young President’s Organization/World President’s Organization (YPO-WPO) in both the San Gabriel Valley and Global One Chapters. Mr. Ascher is now a member of the YPO San Gabriel Valley 49’ers.

Mr. Ascher enjoys traveling and is a sports enthuiast, artist and photographer. He is passionate about skiing, heli-skiing, cross-country skiing, back country hiking, fly-fishing, mountain biking, golf, boating and surfing when not spending time with his wife, children, family and two golden retrievers Cody and Knox.

Stephen Y. Ascher, III

Stephen Y. Ascher, III

President, Global Brands

Stephen Ascher, III is the President of Global Brands for Miramar Brands Group, Inc. and oversees the development of Miramar’s owned brands and its clients around the world.

Mr. Ascher graduated from the University of Arizona, where he played D1 football at strong safety. Mr. Ascher earned a BA in Social Science with a minor in History.

Mr. Ascher enjoys outdoor sports and is frequently seen in his favorite ski spot, Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierras.

Stephen Y. Ascher, Sr.

Stephen Y. Ascher, Sr.

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Ascher is the Chief Financial Officer of Miramar Brands Group®, Inc (“MBGI”). Mr. Ascher has been with MBGI since its founding in 2004 in several key roles.

Mr. Ascher has served as a Principal and Director, its Chief Financial Officer, as an Executive Vice President and Chairman of the Executive Committee.

Mr. Ascher has been involved in the financial and licensing industry for over 55 years, specializing in fundraising in the mutual fund industry, solar, oil and natural gas fields. His early career began with Lionel Edie and Company and in the 1970’s at Sutro & Company in Los Angeles. Mr. Ascher was Executive Vice President of Roger Engemann and Associates from 1982 thru 1999 before forming Ascher Decision Services, a registered Broker Dealer based in Pasadena, CA.

Previously Mr. Ascher was a Board member of Sideout® Sport, Inc., a retail clothing manufacturer, since its founding in1984. He engineered its purchase by Cherokee in 1996. Conceptually he has been involved since that sale with the change of the retail clothing business to incorporate licensing, wholesale and retail direct selling, in which MBGI is now a global leader.

Mr. Ascher serves on numerous Boards, is a former trustee of the University of California at Berkeley, and is an avid golfer, belonging to Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena, CA, where he has served on its Board of Directors. In 2012, Mr. Ascher became Sr. Club Champion in his age divison at the Club.

Mr. Ascher has served on several Executive Committees of the National Association of Seurities Dealers (NASD) including FINRA. Mr. Ascher was an Officer and Marksman in the US Marine Corps.

Mr. Ascher is married to his wife of over 50 years, Catherine Aragon Ascher and has 3 children, 9 grandchildren and 2 grand-doggys, golden retrievers Cody and Knox.

Charles Singleton

Charles Singleton

Executive Vice President

Charles Singleton is the Executive Vice President of Miramar Brands Group, Inc. and King/Queen of the Beach Brands.

Mr. Singleton has an extensive background, education and experience in Marketing, Business Management and Graphic Design. His educational background includes Long Beach City College, Brooks College and California State Long Beach for Business Management.

Joel Barnett

Joel Barnett

Licensing Consultant

Joel Barnett is a Licensing Consultant Partner for Miramar Brands Group and is the President of Brentwood Licensing LLC.

Mr. Barnett specializes in the representation of both brands as well as manufacturers looking to acquire brands. With over 30 years of industry experience, Mr. Barnett has a track record of success and creative ideas.

Mr. Barnett’s articles have been published in Licensing Book for many years and he was most recently featured as the licensing agency for the October issue of Retail Merchandiser Magazine.

Andre Bourque

Andre Bourque

Managing Director

Andre Bourque (@SocialMktgFella) is an internationally-recognized brand growth strategist for businesses in the cannabis and blockchain industries. Andre consults cannabis brands on licensing, partnerships, distribution, and funding. He specializes in Miramar brand partnerships that introduce emerging audiences to a refined approach and attitude toward cannabis via trusted mainstream brands.

Andre also serves as general manager of Never Stop Marketing, a blockchain marketing consultancy arm of the organization led by globally-recognized, top-100 blockchain marketing expert Jeremy Epstein. His organization has driven marketing and media strategy for notable crypto projects including DaoStack, Zcash, OpenBazaar, and others. His charter is to introduce short-term mainstream brand licensing to innovative blockchain projects.

Andre has authored over 500 articles across Entrepreneur, Forbes, The Huffington Post, CIO Magazine, ComputerWorld, and Social Media Today. He has cannabis industry bylines on HERB, CannabisNow!, Merry Jane, American Cannabis Report, The Marijuana Times, and others. He is ranked as a “Top 5 Cannabis Media Influencer” by The Marijuana Times.

Andre has held technology marketing positions in the aerospace industry, at Sun Microsystems, Intel, several startups. He was featured in an interview by Forbes as the managing editor at Technorati.

Andre regularly dons his hallmark ascot at formal industry events, enjoys working out, gardening, cooking, and is an unabashed Celtics fan living in Los Angeles.