Shoppers Stop exits non-core business

Hyderabad: Shoppers Stop concluded the sale of a controlling stake of its 100 per cent subsidiary, Crossword Bookstores to Dinesh Gupta, Aakash Gupta and Family (owners of Agarwal Business House) (ABH), Pune, pursuant to the share purchase agreement signed by the parties. The business of Crossword Bookstores is valued at Rs 41.6 crore. Under the […]

Hyderabad: Shoppers Stop concluded the sale of a controlling stake of its 100 per cent subsidiary, Crossword Bookstores to Dinesh Gupta, Aakash Gupta and Family (owners of Agarwal Business House) (ABH), Pune, pursuant to the share purchase agreement signed by the parties.

The business of Crossword Bookstores is valued at Rs 41.6 crore. Under the agreement, ABH will take over all the assets and brand. Any liabilities will be adjusted for arriving at the final consideration.

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The sale of the Crossword Bookstores is consistent with the company’s strategic plans, which is to focus on its core business and expand its strategic businesses that include First Citizen, private labels, beauty products and most importantly, its omnichannel business, which has grown over three times in the last one year.

At the Board Meeting of the company held on August 31, 2021, the Board has approved the transaction. Subject to receipt of necessary consents, Shoppers Stop shall divest 51 per cent stake (expected to be completed within 15 days) and another 39 per cent in the next 12 months.

Commenting on the sale, Venu Nair, MD and CEO, Shoppers Stop said, “This represents another step in our progress to elevate Shoppers Stop to a customer-focused, omnichannel retailer, to enable us to deliver on the promises we make to our customers and shareholders. Most importantly, we are selling Crossword Bookstores to our franchisee ABH, who has been in this business for more than two decades and are extremely passionate about the book business.”

Aakash Gupta on behalf of the acquiring family said “Crossword 2.0 is about focusing on readers and improving the overall customer experience. We are planning to infuse a significant amount for renovation, expansion, and the new omni journey.”

Spread across 83 department stores in 44 cities, Shoppers Stop also operates premium home concept stores (11 stores), 127 Specialty Beauty stores of MAC, Estée Lauder, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Smash box, Jo Malone and Arcelia, occupying an area of 4.4 million sq ft.

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