Dutch department store chain Hema, which was acquired by London-based private equity firm Lion Capital last year, is mulling expanding its operations to Scandinavia and Switzerland.
Dutch department store chain Hema, which was acquired by London-based private equity firm Lion Capital last year, is mulling expanding its operations to Scandinavia and Switzerland.
Speaking to Dutch publication Marketing Tribune, Hema's marketing manager Rene Repko said Lion Capital had set clear growth targets for the retail group that would for a large part have to be achieved by opening more stores outside the Netherlands. Hema already has a strong presence in Belgium and smaller operations in Germany and France. Repko said Hema intends to expand in these markets too.
Hema sells a wide variety of products, including clothing, food, household products and office supplies, at relatively low prices. Repko said the retail formula would have to be adapted to local conditions in new markets and that Hema may sell its brands via other stores initially to get a foothold in foreign locations.
Lion Capital never disclosed the amount it paid to acquire Hema from Dutch retail group Maxeda last year, but the Sunday Times suggested the price tag was in the region of EUR 1.1bn.
