News

Redcats Group, subsidiary of PPR Group, and KarstadtQuelle’s mail order division announce the launch of common commercial activities in Germany.

“We are going to cooperate in several fields of business. In doing this we will make use of our individual competences in the interest of both our companies and our customers,” said Marc Sommer, CEO of KarstadtQuelle’s mail-order division.

Thierry Falque-Pierrotin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Redcats Group, underlines: “These commercial agreements support Redcats Group strategy to accelerate the internationalization of its strong brands, either through fully owned subsidiaries or partnerships.“

The cooperation will include the following:

• Both companies will test during the last quarter of 2006 La Redoute’s apparel range (women, men, and children) within the German catalogue and web site of Neckermann, subsidiary of KarstadtQuelle mail order division.  This commercial agreement allows La Redoute, already present in 21 countries, to move into Germany, and will strengthen neckermann.de’s position as an attractive fashion retailer. If successful, La Redoute’s fashion assortment will be offered on neckermann.de from 2007 onwards, with the intention to integrate La Redoute’s assortment also in Neckermann’s Eastern European catalogues and websites where La Redoute does not already operate.  This move would strengthen its own assortment as well as enable the French fashion home shopping brand to enter the new growth markets on a broader scale.

• The two groups have also agreed on international cooperation in another business development.  The specialised brand Vertbaudet, subsidiary of Redcats Group, will prepare its introduction into the German market in 2007 through a partnership that includes a joint venture with KarstadtQuelle mail order division. Through this agreement Vertbaudet mother-to-be, newborn and children range of apparel products will be sold through a multichannel approach (catalogue, retail, Internet). Vertbaudet will therefore continue to expand geographically after its successful openings in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain and more recently in Switzerland. The larger range of Vertbaudet will ideally complement Baby Walz, a mail order business of KarstadtQuelle mail order division which targets new parents.

About Redcats Group
Redcats is a global leader in Home Shopping for apparel and home furnishing. Drawing on a multichannel network combining catalogues, e-commerce and stores, Redcats generated 4,4 billion euros of sales in 2005 with 17 brands in 26 countries and a staff of 20 000 associates. International sales account for 52% of the total. Redcats is a PPR Company. For any further information: www.redcats.com.

About PPR
PPR is a global player in Retail and Luxury Goods, with approximately 84,000 employees in 74 countries. Through its Retail businesses Redcats, Fnac, Conforama, Printemps and CFAO, and the Luxury brands of Gucci Group (Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, YSL Beauté, Balenciaga, Boucheron, Sergio Rossi, BEDAT & CO, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney), PPR generated sales of EUR 17.8 billion in 2005. PPR shares are listed on Euronext Paris (# 121485, PRTP.PA, PPFP). For more information: www.ppr.com

About KarstadtQuelle Mail Order Division
KarstadtQuelle Mail Order –business division of KarstadtQuelle AG – in Europe has a leading position in mail-order business. In the financial year 2005, the group with a staff of more than 29,000 yielded Euro 6.75 bn. Its core business is the universal and special mail-order business. Within the framework of multi-channel offerings, over the past few years e-commerce has developed into an important distribution channel besides catalogues and stationary sales and is still pushed ahead with.
The universal mail-order business’ core brands in Europe are Quelle and neckermann.de. Both brands are kept distinct and address different target groups through special and thus distinctive ranges of products. Quelle is market leader in Germany; neckermann.de is Germany’s third-largest mail-order company. In many European countries, Quelle and neckermann.de obtain leading positions.
The 19 special mail-order company (Hess Natur, Madeleine, Mode&Preis, Baby Walz, among others) fulfil the very special wishes their customers have: from baby products to leisure wear and working clothes, fashion collections, advertising articles and household goods. The special mail-order companies these days also operate in various European countries and are part of the mail-order group’s growth segment.    
Pure mail-order business aside, KarstadtQuelle’s mail-order segment also has a service group, which specialises in comprehensive solutions from customer care to logistics in Europe.