British financial investor TDR Capital, which has owned NKD since 2019, is preparing to sell the company, according to reports by Manager Magazin. The clothing chain has around 2,200 stores in seven European countries, including around 1,300 in Germany.
The potential candidate for a takeover is the Polish retail giant Pepco, which has been trying to gain large-scale access to the German market for the past few years. With currently only around 50 stores in Germany, a takeover of NKD would massively expand Pepco’s store network, and an annual turnover of more than 6 billion euros, also ensures that the company has the necessary financial resources for an acquisition. Also, while in the non-food sector, companies such as Tedi, Action and Woolworth see themselves at the forefront, such an acquisition could significantly strengthen Pepco and reorganize the market.
Following the potential takeover, consumers would have to adjust to a new product range and possibly changed price structures, as it is primarily the store locations, but not the business model or the brand, that are of interest to Pepco. For especially smaller towns and rural regions, where NKD is often one of the few providers of affordable everyday clothing and home textiles, this could mean major changes.
