Next confirms Cath Kidston acquisition for £8.5m
NextCath Kidston
It added that the “cathkidston.com domain will be licenced back to the administrators for a period of up to 12 weeks to effect stock clearance, prior to relaunch under the company’s ownership”.
The brand had been put up for sale by owner Hilco last month, only eight months after the turnaround specialist bought it.
The latest buy follows Next’s recent purchase of two other distressed retailers, Joules
The Cath Kidston buy came as no surprise having been widely flagged on Monday and analysts said on Tuesday that the purchase makes good sense for Next.
Charles Allen, retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said: “Next’s strategy is to build its ‘Total
However, he added that “currently, Next doesn’t have the warehouse capacity to add more brands to Total Platform but will later in the year. Any deal is therefore likely to postpone integration until there is room in the fulfilment facilities.”
We already know that the administrators will be operating a clearance programme that’s set to run until June. After this, it’s unclear whether Next will continue to operate the brand’s flagship store on London’s Piccadilly.
We could hear more on Wednesday with Next set to reveal its annual results in the morning.
