La Redoute sale finalized

For a symbolic euro

Kering has sold its mail order subsidiary La Redoute and its delivery service Relais Colis to Balla-Courteille, as expected. The deal almost failed after labour unions did not agree to the deal back in March, but Nathalie Balla (La Redoute CEO) and Eric Courteille (parent company Redcats’ Chief Administrative Officer) still succeeded in finalizing the deal.

The duo will only have to pay a symbolic euro for the company, while Kering will add another 315 million euro to help transform the company into a competitive e-commerce company. On top of that, Kering will also pay 180 million euro for La Redoute’s social plan as 1,178 (out of 3,437) employees will have to leave the company.

The former mail order giant belonged to Kering since 1994, but several years ago, Kering decided to get rid of all of its shares in the distribution branch and focus on luxury, sports and lifestyle through brands like Gucci, Saint Layrent, Boucheron, Puma and Volcom.

Break-even in 2017?

Joint-presidents Balla and Courteille say they need until 2017 to get “La Nouvelle Redoute” back in black, with a focus on its traditional core business: ladies’ and children’s clothing, linen and decoration.

The first large challenge is to build a new logistics center in Wattrelos, near Roubaix (in northern France).