Irish Smyths Toys has announced a deal with bankrupt toys giant Toys ‘R’ Us to take over all of its 93 stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Financial details about the deal were not disclosed.
French fashion chain Naf Naf, part of the Vivarte group, has a new owner. A chinese group, led by fashion group La Chapelle, paid 52 million euro to acquire it.
Dutch department store chain Hema, on sale since September, is not attracting much attention, because interested parties feel it is overpriced. Previous attempts to sell the company have also failed.
British fashion retailer French Connection, known for its FCUK quote, has sold its Toast subsidiary to Danish clothing group Bestseller, which also owns brands like Vero Moda and Jack & Jones.
Polyvore, a well-known American social media network and fashion inspirational platform, has been shut down as soon as e-commerce group Ssense acquired it. The users are dismayed and immediately launched a petition.
Starting in 2019, Lotus Bakeries will manufacture Bear’s fruit snacks itself. The Belgian cookie manufacturer signed a deal with South African Grassroots, which will result in a new factory in 2019.
Canadian investor, Alberta Investment Management Corporation, paid about 300 million euro for Docks Bruxsel, a shopping center in Brussels. Developer Equilis had been looking for a buyer as soon as it completed the project in 2016.
HelloFresh’ turnover last year grew 52 %, bringing it closer to profitability. The German meal box delivery service believes it will become profitable before the end of the year.
The Italian Bureau of Competition has approved Swiss Richemont’s acquisition of Italian fashion webshop Yoox Net-a-Porter. The full bid, yet to be accepted, values the company at 2.7 billion euro.
Dutch Franchise Friendly Concepts’ Délifrance Benelux acquisition is in full swing. The franchise organization will obtain the French sandwich chain’s Benelux master franchisee on 1 April.
Duvel Moortgat increased its minority stake in Italian brewery Birrificio del Ducato to 70 %. The Belgian brewery, known for Vedett, has been part of the brewery near Parma since 2016.
American retailer Albertsons has acquired its competitor Rite Aid, after the latter had already sold a series of stores to Walgreens. The acquisitions are mainly a reaction to Amazon and other online players’ onslaught.
German Signa Holding’s “unsolicited” bid for German department store chain Galeria Kaufhof has been rejected. Hudson’s Bay Company’s board, which currently owns the chain, unanimously voted no.
Irish Total Produce has acquired American Dole Food, which previously was a target for Belgian Greenyard. At first, it will obtain 45 % of shares, but it has an option to buy the entire company.
