Next Plc, a British clothing, footwear and homewares retailer, announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Tom Joule for a start-up company to acquire a majority stake in lifestyle brand Joules for £34 million in cash .
Next has already acquired Joules’ current headquarters for £7 million in cash.
After the acquisition, Next will own 74 percent of the shares, while the remaining 26 percent will be owned by Tom Joule, the founder of Joules.
Joules will go live on Next’s Total Platform in early 2024. Upon completion of the transaction, Joules’ websites and online activities will be operated by NEXT through NEXT’s Total Platform.
“Total Platform will also provide warehousing and distribution services for Joules’ retail, franchise, wholesale and concession businesses, all of which will continue to be operated by Joules,” Next said in a statement.
Next intends to continue operating around 100 of the current 124 Joules stores in the UK. On December 1st, 19 shops are closed by the insolvency administrator.
Joules CEO Jonathon Brown will remain in his role after the transaction. (dpa)
This post has been translated from English.