Macintosh Retail Group, parent company of Brantano, Scapino and other major shoe retail chains in the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.K., has outlined a €180 million refinancing package intended to strengthen its shoe formats and its omni-channel retail operations. After a rise of 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2014, its sales in the Fashion segment grew by 12.0 percent in the second quarter, building up to an increase of 10.1 percent to €316 million for the first half of the year. As sales declined by 3.5 percent to €89 million in its Living segment, which is due to be divested, the group's total revenues went up by 6.8 percent to €405 million in the first six months. The group claims that its shoe retail operations performed better than the market in the first five months of this year: The shoe market grew by only 2.1 percent in the Netherlands, by 3.3 percent in Belgium and by 2.0 percent in the U.K., according to GfK and Kantar, but the group's sales in these three countries increased by 21.6 percent, by 5.8 percent and by 11.8 percent, respectively. Excluding the stores that are due to be shut down, these sales jumped by 24.4 percent, 7.1 percent and 13.3 percent. The group opened ten new factory outlets in the Netherlands and it stepped up the collaboration between Scapino and Aktiesport, a Dutch sporting goods retailer.

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