Inno has found a buyer: the Belgian department store chain has been acquired by the owner of Swedish sector peer Åhléns and investment company SKEL. Together, they want to bring Inno to “many more Belgian cities”.
More shops and own brands
Axcent of Scandinavia, the majority shareholder of department store chain Åhléns, and SKEL, an Icelandic-listed investment company, are jointly (and equally) acquiring Inno. The transaction is expected to be completed this month, but the sale price is not disclosed.
“We will soon bring Inno to many more Belgian cities, where we will be able to serve Inno’s loyal customers even better in new department stores,” said Swedish entrepreneur Ayad Al-Saffar, CEO and main shareholder of Axcent of Scandinavia.
Inno CEO Armin Devender calls it a “perfect match” and looks forward to “new projects” for the chain. “For example, new opportunities will arise to develop and distribute our own brands. We have also been thinking about an additional Inno shop concept and opening new store in Belgium since the initial talks with Axcent/SKEL,” says the top executive.
In 2022, Ayad Al-Saffar, together with partners, acquired Swedish department store chain Åhléns, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Åhléns has 48 department stores in Sweden and made a profit for the first time in a decade in the last financial year. The chain opened a new department store in June and will open two more this later year. SKEL chairman Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson and his investment partners led the restructuring of Magasin Du Nord and Illum and acquired House of Fraser in the UK.
