Maxeda is a Dutch retail company owned by American investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) which is currently a market leader in the DIY retailing in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. When Maxeda acquired Vendex KBB (KBB = Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer), Maxeda owned the three most prominent Dutch department stores: Vroom & Dreesmann and De Bijenkorf, both sold in 2010, and HEMA, sold in 2007.

Maxeda DIY Group
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Headquarters,
Key people
Guy Colleau, CEO
ProductsGeneral merchandise, financial services
BrandsBrico, Praxis, Brico, BricoPlanit. 2004–10: V&D, La Place, De Bijenkorf. 2004–7: HEMA.
Revenue 1.337 Billion (2015)[1]
101 Million (2013/2014)[2]
OwnerKohlberg Kravis Roberts
Number of employees
7,000
Websitewww.maxeda.nl Edit this at Wikidata

Activities

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Maxeda DIY Group is the market leader in the DIY segment and has 345 stores in the Benelux and more than 7,000 employees. Most stores have a floor space of 3,000 to 5,000 m2 and carry the name Praxis in the Netherlands (195 stores) and Brico in Belgium and Luxembourg (153 stores). Annual turnover is approximately 1.3 billion. All stores have a total of more than 1 million m2 of retail space, with more than 1.5 million customers in the store and online every week.[3]

History

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The company was created in 1999 after a merger of Vendex (previously its largest chain Vroom & Dreesmann) and Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer (KBB) (with De Bijenkorf and Hema). From 1999 to 2004 it was called Vendex KBB NV.

In 2004, it was announced that Vendex KBB NV would be taken over by a group of investors, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), Change Capital Partners and AlpInvest Partners (united in the consortium VDXK Acquisition BV led by KKR). Change Capital later left VDXK. In July 2004, Vendex KBB was definitively taken over by VDXK after all shares were acquired by the group.[4]

Until 2 August 2004, Vendex KBB was listed in the Midkap index of Euronext Amsterdam. The company was converted from an NV into a BV, after a few months Koninklijke Vendex KBB BV was closed down, and the BV that had set up the investment company to buy Koninklijke Vendex KBB BV was renamed Vendex KBB BV. KBB stood for Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer, but because of the loss of the Royal designation, the K had become a letter without meaning.[5]

The company was based in Amsterdam with 25,000 employees (16,000 FTEs) in seven countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Germany, France and Spain) and net sales of more than €4 billion (2003/04). The CEO was Tony DeNunzio (chairman of the board).[citation needed][year needed]

On June 14, 2006, the new owners of Vendex KBB announced that the name was changed to Maxeda to highlight a new business philosophy.[6]

In July 2007, HEMA was sold to the British investment company Lion Capital.[7] The acquisition amount has not been released, but analysts estimate it to be approximately €1.3 billion, roughly equal to HEMA's 2006 sales. At the time, HEMA employed approximately 10,000 employees in 336 branches in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.[citation needed]

The strategy changed around 2010 and Maxeda continued with the DIY activities and all Maxeda Fashion businesses were sold. V&D was quickly sold to Sun Capital Partners, de Bijenkorf to Selfridges Group and lingerie chain Hunkemöller to investment company PAI Partners. In January 2011, M&S Mode, a chain of women's fashion stores, was sold to Excellent Retail Brands group (ERB). At that time, M&S Mode had an international network of 417 stores [8]

In 2016, private equity parties Ardian and Goldentree, as venture investors (or so-called Distressed Debt Funds), became part owners of Maxeda by converting their loans into shares.[9] The director of Maxeda DIY Group Roel van Neerpelt then left for Friesland Campina and was succeeded by a director of Kingfisher, Frenchman Guy Colleau.[10]

Do-it-yourself chains

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  • Brico (Belgium and Luxembourg)
  • BricoPlanit (Belgium)
  • Praxis (Netherlands)

Former chains

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Clothing

  • MS Mode (at the time known as M&S Mode) (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France and Spain) - sold in 2010 to Excellent Retail Brands
  • Hunkemöller (Lingerie) (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Denmark, Aruba, Curaçao, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait) — in 2010 sold to PAI Partners.
  • Claudia Sträter (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany) - sold in 2009

Restaurants

  • La Place — sold to Sun European Partners (along with Vroom & Dreesmann)

Department stores

Variety stores

  • HEMA (Netherlands, Belgium and Germany) — in 2007 sold to the British investment group Lion Capital LLP

Consumer electronics

Jewellery and watches

  • Schaap & Citroen (Netherlands) - sold in 2009

Do-it-yourself

  • Formido (Netherlands) - closed 2020

See also

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Philips Computers, former parent of Vendex which sold personal computers under the Headstart brand

References

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  1. ^ "Continue Strategic Growth: Maxeda DIY Group Highlights & Facts 2015" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  2. ^ "Sustainable growth in a challenging market: Maxeda DIY Group 2013/14 Annual Review (Building the Best)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  3. ^ "Results - About us - Maxeda DIY Group". www.maxedadiygroup.com. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  4. ^ "EUR-Lex - C2004/138/03 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  5. ^ "Vendex KBB niet meer Koninklijk". NU (in Dutch). 2005-12-02. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  6. ^ "Vendex KBB verandert naam in Maxeda". Trouw (in Dutch). 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  7. ^ "Maxeda rondt verkoop Hema aan Lion Capital af". Trouw (in Dutch). 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  8. ^ "Maxeda verkoopt M&S Mode - Nieuws.nl". 2014-07-14. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  9. ^ ""'Aasgieren' willen van Maxeda af" - MIXonline". mixonline.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  10. ^ "Maxeda vervangt ceo". RetailNews (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-07-23.
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