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In 2019, HEMA owned over *** stores across two continents. HEMA, an abbreviation for Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam, is a Dutch retail chain characterized for its generic housewares. With their original product designs and relatively low pricing, it is a well-known and respected brand within the Netherlands. From 1984 HEMA expanded to Belgium, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, France, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. In terms of the number of employees in 2019, HEMA employed over people in the Netherlands, whereas Belgium and France had about *** and *** employees, respectively.

HEMA and Lion’s Capital

HEMA used to be part of Maxeda, a group owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), but in 2007 the company was sold by KKR to Lion’s Capital, another private equity firm from the United Kingdom. After three years, Lion’s Capital decided to sell HEMA to gain a financial benefit, but an acquisition deal with several potential buyers including Ahold (parent company of e.g. Albert Heijn supermarkets, drugstore Etos etc) came to an early end. Afterwards, Lion’s Capital could not find another buyer and the economic recession partially caused a decline in HEMA’s financial performances. The EBITDA of HEMA went from *** million euros in 2010 to ** million euros in 2015, and therefore became less attractive for potential buyers. With their financial problems, argues with franchisers, the rise of discounters like Action and the difficult interrelationship with Lion’s Capital, it became clear that the earlier successes of HEMA was not cast in stone.

Back in Dutch hands

After a failed acquisition deal with a Jordan sheikh in 2016 and Core Equity in the spring of 2018, Investor Marcel Boekhoorn decided to buy HEMA and the retail chain came back in Dutch hands. Nevertheless, the company had an excessive indebtedness due to the way Lion’s Capital financed the retailer. In 2018, the sale of HEMA resulted in a goodwill impairment of million euros, which is the year HEMA recorded a net loss of just over *** million euros.