German fashion retailer Gerry Weber has bought fashion group Hallhuber to target a younger clientele of ‘trend-oriented’ women in their mid-twenties.

Gerry Weber has bought Hallhuber

Gerry Weber has bought a 100% stake of Hallhuber from private-equity fund Change Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum.

£110m

Sales expected by Hallhuber for the year ending October 31

Gerry Weber chief financial officer Dr David Frink said: “The Hallhuber brands are complementary to our existing Gerry Weber brands, they operate a completely vertical business model and they are ready to move into new European markets.

“Hallhuber is looking at enormous sales and profit growth potential and its options for further development have barely been tapped. Now we have to work together to make the most of these options.”

The acquisition is part of Gerry Weber’s strategy of expanding beyond its home market by buying brands to complement its Taifun and Gerry Weber brands, which cater for women in their mid-thirties, and the plus-sized womenswear brand Samoon.

Gerry Weber is reportedly seeking to buy a menswear brand after quitting the menswear market in 2009 to focus on women’s clothing.

The Hallhuber acquisition is subject to anti-trust approval in Germany and Austria.

Change Capital acquired Hallhuber from Italian fashion company Stefanel in 2009 for £23m and under its ownership the company doubled its sales and tripled profits.

Under Change Capital Hallhuber increased its retail network from under 100 stores to 219 and has expanded into a number of new European markets.

Hallhuber now has stores in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Stephan Lobmeyr, partner at Change Capital Partners, said: “When we acquired Hallhuber it was an undermanaged brand that was underinvested and performing below its full potential.

“There was a compelling opportunity to transform the business through restructuring its existing operations, expanding its store network and launching an e-commerce platform. We thank Norbert Steinke, Richard Lohner, Susanne Hallhuber and the entire team for transforming this vision into reality.”

Hallhuber expects to post sales of about £110m for the year ending October 31 with adjusted EBITDA of £11m.

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