Since the Signa Group acquired the long-standing company kika/Leiner in June 2018, it has focused all the company’s activities on its Austrian core business again. Previously operated independently of the Austrian core business, kika’s eastern European business has now been sold to XXXLutz as part of this strategy.
XXXLutz signed the contracts for the sale of the 22 locations in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania on April 26, 2019. The sale includes both the operational retail business with 1,500 employees and the 22 properties. The proceeds from the sale will be reinvested in the national core business, allowing kika/Leiner’s modernisation programme in Austria to gain further momentum.
“As a long-standing Austrian company, securing kika/Leiner’s future for the long term in Austria and regaining a sustainable outlook was important to us from the very outset. Signa has invested a triple-digit million figure in the Austrian core business and the modernisation programme is progressing extremely well. We have now taken the next step and are focusing even more on our home market,” said Signa Holding’s CEO Christoph Stadlhuber.
“The kika/Leiner team has succeeded in repositioning the company perfectly in recent months. We are regaining the trust of our customers, which is also reflected in rising sales,” explained Wolfram Keil, Chair of the Supervisory Board of kika/Leiner. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price and the acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.
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