Galeries Lafayette plans 51% shareholding in La Redoute

02 Sep '17

3 min read

Galeries Lafayette Group, via its holding company Motier, intends to acquire 51 per cent shareholding in La Redoute and to own 100 per cent in the future. The joining hands of the two with their iconic brands would create a new leading omni-channel retail group specialised in fashion and home furnishings, with French roots and international outreach.

Thanks to the complementarity of their retail channels, offer and positioning, this transaction would create the leading player in the French apparel market in terms of revenues.

After having successfully launched an ambitious transformation plan in 2014, La Redoute is now one of France’s leading e-commerce players in fashion and home furnishings. Thanks to its €750 million revenues, 9 million unique monthly visitors and a strong awareness in France and the rest of Europe, La Redoute’s mission is to make available French style in fashion and home furnishings by offering contemporary collections and a high-quality customer experience across both its e-commerce sites and physical stores dedicated to home decor and furnishings.

The landmark tie-up would bring major benefits for both parties. It would enable Galeries Lafayette group to accelerate its digital transformation and La Redoute to consolidate its future and a profitable and sustainable growth, by the backing of a long-term family-owned group.

The transaction would also help to unlock synergies and share experience on a large scale, notably in procurement, store network and data. Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, co-chairmen of La Redoute, would continue to run the company with the team in place.

Commenting on the announcement, Philippe Houzé, executive board chairman of Galeries Lafayette group, said: “The combination with La Redoute is a great opportunity for our Group, our employees and our customers. While the fashion and retail industries face unprecedented global change, the complementary positioning and expertise 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.”

Nicolas Houzé, chief executive officer of Galeries Lafayette and BHV MARAIS, added: “With La Redoute, we will start a new chapter in our century-long retailer story. We are delighted to take this decisive step forward with Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, as we share both their vision and their values. Under their leadership and thanks to contribution by all the teams, La Redoute has made a spectacular recovery that we wish to support over the long term. We firmly believe that together we will build a compelling project serving our customers’ needs.”

Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, La Redoute’s co-chairmen, said: “La Redoute and Galeries Lafayette are two historic French companies, both pioneers and innovative retailers that have served their customers for 180 and 120 years respectively. This project marks the beginning of a new era for La Redoute. It is a source of tremendous pride for all our teams, which are working relentlessly to deliver our transformation plan successfully. The backing of a prestigious and long-term investor such as Galeries Lafayette group will give us the resources and capabilities we need to pursue and accelerate our strategy. The opportunities created by this link-up will facilitate further new developments in France and internationally, bringing us closer towards our sales target of €1 billion by 2021.”

Finalisation of the transaction, which is anticipated over the next few months, remains subject to approval by the consultation of La Redoute’s employee representative bodies and relevant regulatory authorities. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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