|
FAO Schwarz in shop window
|
 |
April 14, 1999: 9:47 a.m. ET
Report: U.S. toy chain's new Dutch owner may sell company; focus on Europe
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - Has Vendex already outgrown its latest toy? The new Dutch owner of FAO Schwarz may put the U.S. company up for sale in order to focus on its European operations, according to a published report Wednesday.
Vendex, the parent company for 1,350 department and specialty stores in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, is apparently dismayed with the performance of the upscale toy merchant, which it acquired last year as part of its takeover of Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer (KBB), the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The merger is expected to be completed in May. The new entity, Vendex KBB, will be the leading non-food retailer in the Netherlands.
Vendex chairman Jan-Michiel Hessels told the FT his company was reviewing its international strategy and that a disposal of FAO Schwarz is "not impossible."
Hessels described the toy retailer's profit performance as inadequate and suggested that unless the balance sheet showed improvement, it wouldn't make sense to retain the toy retailer - Vendex's only operation outside Europe.
The remarks came as Vendex rolled out earnings showing a 6.7 percent increase, to 9.2 billion guilders ($4.5 billion) in pro-forma revenue for the merged Vendex KBB in 1998. Operating profit for the fiscal year jumped 52 percent, excluding real estate gains.
Hessels told the FT the group's aim was to beef up its operations in Benelux, France and Germany. "We don't want to go too far from home," he said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAO Schwarz
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
