Sat, 22 Mar 2014 | BUSINESS SALE
Morrisons has decided to put maternity specialist Kiddicare up for sale, just three years after buying the business.
The supermarket has been struggling recently with the management of its various channels, and a sale of the business has been floated as a possibility. A number of potential buyers are thought to be interested.
But first, the chain appears to be offloading some of its less critical businesses. Kiddicare is one such firm; bought in 2011 for £70 million, the online company provides products and accessories for babies and children. Morrisons interest at the time stemmed largely from the need to grow its online platform and Kiddicare's requirement for capital growth.
However, Morrisons revealed earlier this month that over the course of the last year, Kiddicare incurred a loss of over £160 million, after a “disappointing” performance.
Scott Weavers-Wright, who founded Kiddicare, spoke at Retail Week Live recently to say that Morrisons had “acquired Kiddicare for its technical platform and did not implement it”. He added that this lack of integration with the supermarket's “core business” was a major factor in the company's woes.
What will happen with Kiddicare isn't clear at the moment. The maternity sector as a whole appears to be facing difficulties of its own, with Mothercare reporting issues due to the increasingly strong presence of supermarkets and online retailers, which are now managing to beat the outlets on price.
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Related information:
Morrisons acquires Kiddicare
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