NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 21, 2026--
D.A. Davidson & Co. (“D.A. Davidson”) announced today that it served as exclusive financial advisor to Promise Holdings (“Promise”) for raising the debt and equity capital to support its acquisition of Beauty 4U (“Company”). D.A. Davidson successfully raised the financing from The Copia Group and Innovate Capital Growth Fund.
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“The D.A. Davidson team proved themselves essential in helping us find the right capital partners. Their knowledge and support throughout the acquisition process was invaluable in helping us execute on the start of our ethnic beauty platform,” commented Gordon Liao, Founder & Managing Partner at Promise.
“We appreciate the D.A. Davidson team’s support and expertise in securing an attractive and full capital solution, which enabled us to achieve a timely and successful closing,” noted Jacqueline Brooks, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Promise.
Founded in 2000, Beauty 4U is a one-stop shop retailer of quality beauty products and personal care products focused on women of color of all ages. Beauty 4U sells a wide variety of affordable hair and wig products, as well as skin and body care, makeup, and haircare products, and has 13 stores in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
“This transaction marks a significant step in building Promise’s footprint in the ethnic beauty and personal care sector and is highly synergistic with other Promise portfolio companies,” commented Jonathan Leong, Managing Director in the Consumer Investment Banking Group at D.A. Davidson.
“Our goal was to support Promise in delivering a full capital solution spanning debt and equity that aligned with Promise’s growth plans, and we are pleased with the outcome,” stated Steven Fleisher, Managing Director in D.A. Davidson’s Debt Advisory Group. “This transaction demonstrates our Debt Advisory team’s capabilities in arranging acquisition financing solutions across the capital structure for sponsors.”
About D.A. Davidson Companies
D.A. Davidson Companies is an employee-owned financial services firm offering a range of financial services and advice to individuals, corporations, institutions, and municipalities nationwide. Founded in 1935 with corporate headquarters in Great Falls, Montana, and regional headquarters in Denver, Greater Los Angeles, New York, Omaha and Seattle, the company has approximately 1,600 employees and offices in 30 states.
D.A. Davidson’s Investment Banking Division is a leading full-service investment bank that offers comprehensive financial advisory and capital markets expertise. The group has extensive transaction experience serving middle-market clients worldwide across four industry verticals: consumer, diversified industrials, financial institutions, and technology. Together with its European strategic partner, MCF Corporate Finance, D.A. Davidson originates and executes transatlantic M&A transactions under the common brand of D.A. Davidson MCF International.
Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., a full-service investment firm providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services, and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; D.A. Davidson Trust Company, a trust and wealth management company; and Davidson Fixed Income Management, a registered investment advisor providing fixed income portfolio and advisory services.
For more information, visit dadavidson.com.
About Promise Holdings
Promise Holdings is a private investment and holding Company established in 2015. Promise operates early and late-stage businesses in four primary Consumer industry sectors across North America: food and beverage, fashion and beauty, entertainment and leisure, and consumer technology. For more information, please visit www.promise-holdings.com.
Promise was established by Gordon Liao and Jacqueline Brooks, who bring over 10 years of experience working together in acquiring and enhancing companies. Gordon and Jacqueline have direct experience with similar sized companies operating in niche markets, where they oversaw significant operational improvements that led to increased market share and revenue growth.
D.A. Davidson & Co. announced today that it served as exclusive financial advisor to Promise Holdings for raising the debt and equity capital to support its acquisition of Beauty 4U.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.
On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.
“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.
The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”
Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.
The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”
“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”
The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”
Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.
Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.
The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”
“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”
The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.
“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
