Beeline Group currently operates 114 fashion jewellery and accessories stores across Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, and France, under the brands Six and I Am.
Most will be rebranded to Lovisa stores, while some are likely to be closed. Notably, the deal will more than double Lovisa’s store count in France, from 24 to 54; 13 of Lovisa’s current French locations were opened within the last financial year.
Shane Fallscheer, managing director Lovisa, said, “We are very excited that this transaction gives us the opportunity to add six new countries to our global store network, and provides us with a strong base and quality team to grow the Lovisa brand further in these markets into the future as part of our ongoing global rollout strategy.”
Indeed, the deal follows an aggressive US expansion over the past 12 months, where Lovisa opened 29 new stores. Internationally, 14 new Lovisa stores have opened in the past six months, bringing the company’s total store count to 449.
As previously reported by Jeweller, Lovisa recently appointed a “senior leasing executive based in the Northern Hemisphere” to oversee future store openings, shortly after withdrawing from the Spanish market due to landlord intransigence.
Lovisa will acquire Beeline Group’s subsidiaries for a nominal €70 ($AU113), taking over €3 million in bank guarantees associated with the leases on the Beeline Group stores. According to the terms of the share purchase agreement, Lovisa is obliged to pay Beeline Group an additional €3 million from its existing credit facilities before 31 March 2022.
The deal is expected to be completed between 1 March and 31 May 2021.
Lovisa’s largest markets are Australia, where it operates approximately 152 stores, and South Africa, with 62 stores.
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