Lovisa has bolstered its support team in both its Melbourne and Germany headquarters as it readies to expand further across Europe following its acquisition of the Beeline retail business in November 2020.
The Australian jewellery retailer will enter Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria for the first time when the deal finalises in May 2021.
Of Beeline’s 114 locations, Lovisa will convert and open approximately 90 stores, with the remainder already closed or to be shuttered after completion.
MD Shane Fallscheer welcomed the expansion.
"We are very excited that this transaction gives us the opportunity to add six new countries to our global store network and provides us with a strong base and quality team to grow the Lovisa brand further in these markets and into the future."
Lovisa will also launch local eCommerce sites in Q4 to support its new bricks-and-mortar stores, trading the websites in local currency and languages.
Lovisa welcomed the Beeline business with €11.8 million of cash in the business at handover, after paying only €70 (70 Euros) for the shares in Beeline.
The acquisition was cash-flow positive immediately, with the acquired cash offsetting €6 million in implementation costs and aggregate capex and working capital investment.