Hellenic to buy Nuance's Greek business-UPDATE

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The two retailers have signed a preliminary agreement as Nuance continues its European rationalisation

Hellenic Duty Free Shops has announced it has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire The Nuance Group's interests in Greece. A price has yet to be determined for the deal, which is subject to approval from Greek competition authorities. Nuance runs five fashion and accessories stores in Athens International airport's Schengen zone; branded outlets by Hermès and Hugo Boss plus three multi-brand stores, including its Cocoon concept. The company also operates an Olympic Store at the location following last year's Athens Games. The concession for these operations was recently renewed and is valid until the end of 2009.

"Our Greek operations were largely dominated by our Olympic Store concept," said Nuance Europe CEO Carlo Bernasconi. "After the end of the Olympic Games, we found it hard to reach critical mass in this market. Handing the operation over to Hellenic is a good solution for all involved."

Hellenic investor relations manager Theodore Gitzos told RavenFox.com: "It is likely that the Hermès and Boss stores will remain in place but we are still considering what we might do with the Cocoon and Olympic stores."

The retail space of the four shops totals 380sq m (4,088sq ft). Gitzos said that the acquisition price will not be revealed until due diligence is complete, but he expressed the hope that the deal would be finalised within two months.

He added that Hellenic will seek further travel-retail acquisitions in the near future.

Keep an eye on RavenFox.com for more details as they emerge.