Galeries Lafayette sets its sights on taking over La Redoute

Galeries Lafayette is eyeing up La Redoute for a future take over. The retail company is set to acquire a 51 percent stake in the French brand, and plans to expand its share in La Redoute to 100 percent in the future in order to strengthen its e-commerce division.

​ “The combination of the two businesses with their iconic brands would allow to create a new leading omni-channel retail group specialised in fashion and home furnishings, with French roots and international outreach,” wrote Galeries Lafayette in a press release. Following its acquisition of La Redoute, Galeries Lafayette aims to be the leading player in the French apparel market in terms of revenues. La Redoute, which started out as a catalogue brand, underwent a digital transformation in 2014 and currently generates a turnover of 750 million euros annually, attracting 9 million unique monthly visitors.

Galeries Lafayette to take 51 percent stake in La Redoute

The deal is set to benefit both companies, added Galeries Lafayette, helping the group speed up its digital transformation and aid La Redoute in consolidating its future growth. “The combination with La Redoute is a great opportunity for our Group, our employees and our customers,” said Philippe Houzé, Executive Board Chairman of Galeries Lafayette. “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.”

In addition, the acquisition is also set to help both companies share their retail experience on a larger scale in procurement, store network and data. The agreement sees Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, Co-Chairmen of La Redoute, continue to oversee the fashion brand company with the team in place. “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,” added Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, La Redoute’s Co-Chairmen. “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 ​ ​ Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, La Redoute’s Co-Chairmen. “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 euros by 2021.”

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 totake this decisive step forward with Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, as we share both their ​ ​ 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.”

The transaction of the acquisition is set to be finalised over the next few months, after which Galeries Lafayette will hold a 51 percent in La Redoute.

Photos: Galeries Lafayette