Egypt’s Arafa eyes European clothing brand
April 6th, 2008 | by admin |CAIRO, April 6 (Reuters) - Egypt’s Arafa Holding AIVC.CAis seeking to spend at least $300 million to buy men’s clothingbrands in Italy or Germany this year to raise the company’sprofile, the firm’s chairman, Alaa Arafa, said.
Arafa, which agreed last month to pay 21.5 million sterling($43 million) for British menswear retailer Speciality RetailGroup (SRG), also made between $30 million and $31 million innet profit last year, up about 26 percent from the previousyear, Arafa said.
Arafa Holding’s financial year ended March 31.
“Our sales were up in the UK and Germany and we were moreefficient,” Arafa told reporters.
Arafa, founded in 1907 as a fabric retailer in the Niledelta, says it is Egypt’s oldest textile company.
Exports account for 90 percent of Arafa’s sales, with about70 percent to the UK and 30 percent to the United States. Storesincluding Harrods, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, and Bloomingdalescarry Arafa apparel, according to a company information book.
Arafa, which also agreed to buy the wholesale business ofclothing company John Langford, was in talks with companies inEurope, Arafa said.
“We have up to $300 million ready and we want to buy aninternational brand,” Arafa said. “We could spend more thanthat,” he said, adding he hoped for two acquisitions this year.
“Italy is a dream for us,” he said. “If we have aninternational brand in Italy this will change our dimensions.”
An economic slowdown in Europe had made prices of possibletargets more attractive, he said. (Writing by Will Rasmussen; Editing by Paul Bolding)
