German retail giant Galeria has announced its plans to sell off its Belgian department store chain Inno, De Tijd repots. The store's 16 locations and online shop will be put up for sale.
"Concrete negotiations on the sale of Inno have not yet begun. This means that for the time being everything remains unchanged for the co-workers, partners and customers of the 16 department stores and Inno.be," the company announced in a press release. Inno employs 1,100 people across its locations.
Despite the sale, Galeria's top executive Armin Devender assured that the financial future of the Belgian department store chain was secure.
"Inno is doing well and ready to pursue an independent course. Our strategic repositioning in recent years has achieved its goal. In the 2021-2022 financial year, Inno achieved gross operating profit of more than €10 million, and we are also heading for an excellent result for the financial year that just ended," he explained.
The company's financial health has not always been so stellar, however. In 2018-2019, Inno was deep in the red. Recovering significantly in 2022, it reinvested its €2.6 million net profit into the renovation of its shops, investment in e-commerce, and improving the quality of its services. This has paid off, with its revenue increasing by around 25% to €285 million in September last year.
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This turnaround enabled the company to renegotiate loans with its lenders Belfius and parent company Galeria earlier this year. Now back in a strong financial position, Galeria is seeking to cash in on its investment.
The German company has had some rocky years itself, being propped up heavily by German state aid and seeking protection from creditors twice in the last three years. Proceeds from the sale of Immo will raise between €50-100 million, and will be used to repay the German state, according to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
