According to reports Dixons is set to increase its stake in online retailer Pixmania. The British based retailer is said to be buying the 22% interest in Pixmania currently held by its founders Steve and Jean-Emile Rosenblum for €10 million (£8 million, $12 million). It will also waive about €5 million (£4 million, $6 million) owed to Dixons by the French brothers.
Dixons Retail already holds a 77% stake in the business, says the acquisition will enable it to take full control of the business and tackle the “significant challenges” it faces.
Pixmania had a turnover of £665 million for the full year ended 28th April 2012 and an underlying operating loss of £20 million. It experienced a like-for-like sales decline of 10 percent and blamed much of its misfortune on natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, which “severely limited” the supply of high-margin products such as photography, camcorder and hard-disc drives.
Pixmania currently stocks twenty different product categories and operates across twenty six countries. It also has a store network of some 20 branded Pixmania stores across Europe whilst Dixons of course own the Dixons, PC World and Currys stores in the UK as well as other holdings across Europe.