ARQUES Austria takes over textile trade chain, Schöps
02 Apr '07
3 min read
The Austrian ARQUES Austria Invest AG with headquarters in Vienna, a subsidiary of the Starnberg-based equity investment company, ARQUES Industries AG, acquires the majority in the Austrian textile trade chain, Schöps. The transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant cartel authorities.
Schöps is one of the largest and best known traditional textile trade chains in Austria and has a country-wide branch network. Schöps is represented in all Austrian federal states with a total of 120 branches of which 30 are located in Vienna. The product range of the traditional company founded in 1954 consists of ladies' wear for the fashion conscious woman from 20 upward as well as for young girls and children. Lingerie, accessories as well as swimwear round off the range.
Richard Schöps & Co AG generated revenues of around EUR 70 million with approximately 800 employees. The previous owner, Private Holdings of Investments Luxembourg S.A., will maintain shareholder in the textile chain. ARQUES subsidiary manager, Dr. Wolfgang Neubert, will be appointed to the executive board as CEO and the Italian retail expert, Cristina Romagnoli, who has already been working for Schöps in a consulting capacity for several months.
After studying communications engineering in Vienna, Dr. Neubert worked at McKinsey where he managed the Austrian office as managing partner. ARQUES Austria Invest AG with headquarters in Vienna was founded in autumn 2006 within the context of the internationalisation of the ARQUES business model; ARQUES manager, Franz Maurer, manages the company locally.