Darty PLC subsidiary Etablissements Darty et Fils, also known as Darty France, announced it has purchased MisterGoodDeal.com, a French discount seller of home goods and electronics. The purchase price is 2 million euro (US $2.77 million) in cash.
MisterGoodDeal was part of Groupe M6, No. 50 in the Europe 500. Darty.com, No. 51 in the Europe 500, sells electronics and appliances and operates stores in France and e-commerce sites in several countries including France, Turkey, Spain and Switzerland.
“The acquisition of MisterGoodDeal.com provides us with a well-known brand,” says Régis Schultz, Darty CEO. “This, together with Darty’s superior buying terms and supply chain, is expected to create a profitable channel by year two of ownership.”
MisterGoodDeal has reported declining sales in recent years and had been losing money, according to Groupe M6. MisterGoodDeal’s 2013 online sales totaled 121.2 million euros (US $167.50 million) compared with 129.9 million euros (US $179.52 million) a year earlier, according to Groupe M6’s annual report. It also posted a net operating loss of 4 million euro (US$5.53 million) for 2013. Groupe M6 took a 11.2 million euro (US $15.46 million) write-down for the company in 2012
The purchase will be paid in two installments in June and December, Darty says. As of December, MisterGoodDeal’s cash position was 5.2 million euro (US $7.18 million) and it had equity of 10.4 million euro (US $14.36 million).
At MisterGoodDeal, consumers who use the company’s Four Stars credit card have the option to pay for their purchases in six installments, and the retailer offers a 90-day return policy. Those customer service features are important for appealing to French shoppers who want flexibility when shopping online, consumer research suggests.
A 2013 poll from web measurement firm comScore Inc.(Read mobile research from comScore Inc. ) finds:
- 50% of French consumers surveyed want more flexibility to choose a delivery date and 37% wanting more options for collecting packages at retail locations.
- 97% say tracking a purchase is essential or nice to have, 70% want to track their packages through e-mail alerts, and 73% want the ability to track shipments directly on a retailer’s web site.
- 49% of French consumers say they are more likely to shop with a retailer if they can buy online and collect the item in a store, while 58% want the option to buy online and return items in a store.
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