British company acquires Intertoys and Bart Smit

Dutch retail holding Blokker has sold its toy division Intertoys to British investor Alteri. The store chain sale is part of Blokker Holding’s new strategy to focus only on its namesake chain.

Transaction finalized next month

Not only Intertoys’ stores are sold, but also the Bart Smit and Toys XL stores and every one of the nearly 4,000 employees across the three chains will move to the new owner. It has not been disclosed how much Alteri paid for the acquisition, but the deal should be finalized by the end of next month.

“Alteri’s involvement and investment will enable Intertoys to build the brand, its online capabilities and the store network. The investor’s backing will allow Intertoys to speed up and effectively execute its plans related to omnichannel, supply chain, store innovation and marketing”, Blokker Holding CFO Jeroen Visser said.

“Even though the toy market has struggled for several years, our goal is to turn Intertoys into a company that is fully focused on the customer, where they can find their way in relevant, attractive and nearby stores with seamless integration for the online services and web shops. Once the transaction has been finalized, the company will have sufficient capital and be able to use our industry insights, our experts and our network”, Alteri CEO Gavin George said.

Restructuring operation

Nextail contains all of Blokker Holding’s online activities, from every chain and will also continue to service Intertoys, based on a “service level agreement”.

Intertoys, founded in 1976, currently has about 500 stores across the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Ever since June 2016, every Bart Smit and Toys XL store is also gradually being transformed into an Intertoys store. Its sale fits Blokker Holding’s new strategy, which is entirely focused on the Blokker chain. In that regard, it had already sold Leen Bakker.