Online shoe retailer Spartoo set to buy Vivarte's Andre

[PARIS] French online shoe and fashion retailer Spartoo plans to buy rival shoe brand Andre from debt-laden clothing retailer Vivarte, a source close to the matter said on Monday.

"The sale will be announced on Tuesday," the source told Reuters.

Spartoo, founded in 2006, generates annual sales of 150 million euros (S$239.7million) and competes with online fashion retailer Zalando among others in Europe.

It would nearly double its annual sales by acquiring Andre, which generates sales of over 100 million euros a year, and has a network of around 100 stores and employs around 750 people.

Vivarte, which faces competition from larger clothing retail chains such as H&M, Kiabi and Primark, is restructuring its business to improve its financial situation.

It sold its Kookai fashion brand, Pataugas shoes and Spanish shoes brand Merkal last year.

Spartoo was founded by Boris Saragaglia, Paul Lorne and Jérémie Touchard and is active in 20 European countries.

Its main shareholders are the co-founders, the funds A Plus Finance, CIC, Belgium's Sofina, and Highland Capital Partners from the United States.

REUTERS