French department store chain Galeries Lafayette announced it will acquire a 51 % stake in La Redoute and it will obtain the remaining 49 % at a later stage.
Complementary
“With the fashion and retail industries facing unprecedented global change, the complementary position of La Redoute and Galeries Lafayette – the group’s flagship brand – would establish us as a leading physical and digital retailer specialised in fashion and home furnishings, with French roots and international outreach”, said Galeries Lafayette Group CEO Philippe Houzé according to Fashion Network.
Nathalia Balla and Eric Courteille, backed by their team, will continue to lead La Redoute after the acquisition. The goal is for both companies to share their expertise and that La Redoute can create strong bonds with a major retail partner. It hopes to pass the 1 billion euro turnover milestone by 2021, thanks to the acquisition. Galeries Lafayette sees this as the perfect way to speed up its transformation into a omnichannel company.
The new group now has a joint 4.5 billion euro turnover and aims to increase that to at least 5.5 billion euro by 2020. No fee was disclosed for the company with an annual 750 million euro turnover and nine million unique monthly visitors.
