HBC in talks with Signa for Kaufhof JV

Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is said to be in talks with Austrian property and retail group Signa Holding GmbH to form a joint venture for its German retail chain Kaufhof, reports Reuters quoting sources familiar with the development.

Canada-based HBC had earlier rejected Signa’s 3 billion euros (3.7 billion dollars) bid for Kaufhof earlier this year, finding it to be too low. The report added that now HBC is looking at a possible joint venture for Kaufhof. If the talks reach a positive conclusion then Signa’s department store operator Karstadt is expected to acquire half of Kaufhof’s property company, and 51 percent of its operating company, with an option of acquiring the entire remaining stake in future.

For the first quarter, HBC reported revenue of 3,088 million Canadian dollars, an increase of 1 percent, while overall comparable sales declined 0.7 percent. Comparable sales at HBC Europe including Galeria Kaufhof and Galeria Inno decreased 6.6 percent for the quarter under review.

Picture: Galeria Kaufhof