Here's what the Roots takeover will mean for the Canadian brand — and its shoppers

The Roots store on Robson street in Vancouver, BC, August 24, 2026. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

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Roots had been sold to the U.S. company Marquee Brands in partnership with JM&A Design and Development Inc., which is helmed by a longtime Canadian retail insider, Joseph Mimran, and his business partner, Frank Rocchetti.

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What that means for the heritage brand is an emphasis on a new creative direction, guided by JM&A, and ambitious strategic global growth by Marquee.

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What it does not mean, Mimran stresses, is the takeover of a Canadian company by a U.S. one.

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“We are buying the brand with Marquee, so we are owners of the company, as well,” says Mimran, of his company’s participation. “It is not simply a U.S. acquisition. This is a U.S.-Canadian acquisition.”

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Founded in 1973 by two American friends, Michael Budman and Don Green, in Toronto (they became permanent residents in the 1960s before eventually becoming Canadian citizens), the brand was rooted in their shared experience at Camp Tamakwa in Algonquin Park, Ontario, and their appreciation for the country’s outdoors.

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Since then, the company has become a global lifestyle brand with more than 100 stores across Canada, two in the U.S. and more than 100 partner store locations in Asia. It’s also become a recognizable brand for Canada, both at home and abroad, with sightings on Canadian celebrities over the years such as Celine Dion, Drake and Seth Rogen helping to further its association with the country.

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“It’s quintessentially Canadian,” Mimran says of Roots.

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The entrepreneur, who has built fashion brands such as Alfred Sung, Club Monaco, and Joe Fresh, says his company will oversee the direct-to-consumer operations in Canada and the U.S., both in the brand’s stores and online, as well as the design, development and manufacturing of the company’s apparel.

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The deal, which came about following a strategic review of the business that reportedly began in March of 2026, comes after the former Dragons Den investor says he’d been looking at the Roots brand for “many, many years.”

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“You’ve got men’s, women’s, and kids. You’ve got accessories, like a very strong leather goods business. When you’ve got all those components, I have experience in all of those areas,” Mimran says of the compatibility with his past brand building experience.

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That compatibility is a key point to Roots CEO Meghan Roach.

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Roots was founded in Ontario in 1973. The brand was recently acquired by Marquee Brands in partnership with JM&A. Photo by Roots Canada /Handout

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“Joe is a really strong product individual. He’s been doing that for many, many years in the Canadian marketplace, so we’re really looking forward to his inputs into that area, as well as any other inputs that he can bring to the table and provide perspectives on,” Roach says of Mimran.

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The company’s operations will continue to be headquartered in Canada, according to Mimran and Roach. And the goal is to grow the brand to “make it much larger than it currently is.”

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The early days will be spent observing and exploring the operations, Mimran says it will be very much business as usual from the brand over the next nine months or so. After that, he expects there will be some visible changes.

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But its offering will still be recognizably ‘Roots’, he assures skeptics.

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“I have founded a few brands myself, more than a few, and I know what it’s like when somebody takes on your baby and takes it forward,” he says. “So I’m very sensitive to that, very respectful of that, and moreover, Roots has this very unique position in the Canadian marketplace, and because of that, there is this added responsibility — not just taking on the heritage brand, not just moving it forward, but also having been entrusted with the brand.”

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All of the designing, sourcing and merchandising for Roots is done from Toronto, where some of its pieces are also still made. And the brand operates a leather factory in Ontario that’s a hub of creation for its accessories.