Quantore Member KantoorExpert Purchase Staples Retail in Netherlands

One of Quantore’s top members – KantoorExpert, have bought the Staples retail business in the Netherlands which is worth around €80m. Clearly over time this could represent a major opportunity for the continued development and growth of Quantore both with its members and in the NL market where they have already demonstrated expertise in the retail supply market with customers such as Bruna over the years.

Staples Sells Dutch Stores

Staples Solutions has sold its 39 stores in the Netherlands to KantoorExpert, a Dutch supplier of office products.

KantoorExpert, which has four stores and a turnover of €13.5 million ($15.6 million), reached an agreement this week to take over the much larger Staples Office Centre – which has annual sales of €80 million – for a purchase price of €40 million.

The deal comes after Office Centre – which was acquired by Staples Inc in 1999 during the height of its European expansion period – was put on the market by Staples Solutions’ private equity owner Cerberus after it decided that retail operations in the Netherlands did not fit in with the new Staples philosophy.

Following the acquisition, the Staples name will be dropped and the stores will revert to their previous Office Centre branding.

Speaking to Dutch media, KantoorExpert CEO Frans Davelaar said:

“It may seem odd for outsiders: Tom Thumb swallows the giant. But after 18 months of deliberation it feels like a comfortable deal for us.”

He also said cost reductions in areas like IT systems would enable Office Centre to improve its profitability, while the product and services offering will be better tailored to the Dutch market.

Staples Solutions also has retail operations in Germany, Portugal and Norway, and the sale of Office Centre may just be the first in a number of such deals.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Article Source: https://www.opi.net/