In what could be an indication of their European ambitions, Selfridges Group Limited has acquired iconic luxury brand de Bijenkorf from the Maxeda Retail Group. The acquisition sum remains undisclosed for the time being, but the takeover has followed talks with the Works Councils and has acquired approval from the authorities.
The family-owned Selfridges Group Limited has been running luxury fashion retail stores across the United Kingdom for a century now. Henry Gordon Selfridge started the first Selfridges store in 1909. The luxury retail group’s years of expertise will come into play following the takeover of de Bijenkorf. The latter is the leading departmental store in Netherlands. Established as early as 1870, de Bijenkorf is practically a Dutch institution, and an award-winning one at that.
W. Galen Weston, Chairman of Selfridges Group Limited described de Bijenkorf as “one of the most important luxury goods companies in the Netherlands”, adding that the acquisition of the Dutch luxury department store chain would greatly strengthen Selfridges’ position on the European continent. Weston is also the chairman of the Toronto-based Wittington Investments, Limited, of which Selfridges is a subsidiary.
One of the important aspects of this takeover by Selfridges is that de Bijenkorf will not be losing its identity. On the contrary, it will continue to run as a separate business by a team in the Netherlands. The team will, however, report to Paul Kelly, Managing Director of Selfridges Group Limited.
With the strategic acquisition of de Bijenkorf, the Selfridges Group are now looking at business of nearly £2 billion.
Via: Fibre2Fashion.com
