Basicnet continues to invest in the retail sector in Italy to consolidate the presence of most of its brands in a difficult market. It has made an offer to take over 22 outlets and discount stores for €440,000 from Fashion Network, an Italian retailer undergoing bankruptcy proceedings that belongs to Mariella Burani Fashion Group. Basicnet has also proposed to buy the inventory in the stores for €950,000 and to retain up to 60 people working on the premises. Under the proposal, it will rent the business until it is sold in an auction, due to take place shortly, in which it will have right of first refusal.
The acquisition of the stores would significantly increase the group's presence in Italy's main outlet centers and boost its franchising network. Basicnet already has about 270 stores, mostly in Italy, where it sells mainly its RdK, Superga and K-Way brands, leaving its main sports brand, Kappa, for the multi-brand retailers. The group had plans to add a total of between 60 and 70 new stores this year. In the first months of 2012, it opened one RDK store and nine Superga shops in Italy as well as an RDK store and two Superga locations in Greece.
This year the company will continue to build up its international network of licensees, boosting royalties and sourcing commissions. A new agreement is about to be finalized in Brazil. In the meantime, Italian activities are expected to be hit in the first half by weak domestic demand but are expected to pick up in the second part of the year.
Basicnet expects that measures being taken to boost profitability in Italy and to grow abroad will lift 2012 results. The company finished 2011 with consolidated sales down by 7.9 percent to €121.9 million and net profit down by 4.2 percent to €8.1 million. The company will pay a dividend of €0.05 per share.
