Next has snapped up boutique kids’ goods business JoJo Maman Bébé, marking its latest expansion.
The retailer has a record of teaming up with rivals, such as a joint venture with Gap in the UK and a 25 per cent stake in Reiss, and it sells hundreds of third-party brands on its website.
It has taken a 44 per cent stake in JoJo, with the remainder bought by asset manager Davidson Kempner. Next did not say how much it paid, but it will plough £16.3m into the brand.
Expansion: JoJo Maman Bébé’s 87 stores selling maternity wear and children’s clothes will stay open and there will be no job losses
The deal will keep the businesses separate, but JoJo will migrate to Next’s ‘Total Platform’, which offers online sales infrastructure. The firm was founded by current chief executive Laura Tenison in 1993. In the year ending last June it made a pre-tax profit of £5.8m on sales of £63.5m.
JoJo’s 87 stores selling maternity wear and children’s clothes will stay open and there will be no job losses. Tenison will be replaced by commercial director Gwynn Milligan.
Next chief executive Simon Wolfson said his firm would be ‘supporting JoJo on the next stage of its growth’.
Lord Wolfson added: ‘We are excited to see what can be achieved through the combination of JoJo’s exceptional product with Next’s infrastructure and Davidson Kempner as our investment partner.’ Next said the deal would boost profits from next year.
