The Natland investment group sells a group of fashion e-shops associated under the Digital People brand, such as Zoot.cz or Bibloo.cz, to Across e-commerce from the CS Apparel Group. It belongs to the Slovak group Across. The transaction is assessed by the Office for the Protection of Competition.
–
“Across e-commerce, which is part of the same business group as the CS Apparel Group, is to be given sole control over Digital People. The proposed merger takes place mainly in the areas of wholesale and retail sales of clothing and footwear, ” stated by the authority. It assesses the transaction in the so-called simplified procedure, so it issues a decision within 20 days.
In mid-September, Natland announced that it would merge fashion activities, including the Zoot, Different, Urban Store and Bibloo brands, under the joint Digital People group, which originally operated the Urban Store and Bibloo e-shops. The sole shareholder of Digital People is Company New from the Natland investment group. “Unfortunately, I cannot say anything specific for the moment, we are not commenting on the ongoing negotiations and business cases,” said Natland spokeswoman Hana Filipová.
–
–
Natland bought Zoot through Company New in 2019, and in May this year the Office also authorized the purchase of the Bibloo and Urban Store brands.
The buyer Across e-commerce is a sister company of the CS Apparel Group. CS Apparel Group represents the American brand Under Armor on the Czech market, operates the Czech brand Sam 73 and also includes the company CS Retail 1969, which is in charge of the Gap brand entering the domestic market.
