Avallon MBO Invests in S’portofino
Private equity fund Avallon MBO has just notified the OCC (UOKiK) of its intention to acquire a majority stake in SAT sp. z o.o., based in Poznań. This is the seventh transaction of Avallon MBO Fund III, and the second one in the last month. SAT has been operating on the market since 1990, originally as a distributor and representative of premium sports brands, specialising in ski-related offerings. In the following years, the company built and developed its own shop brand on a European scale under the name S’portofino. It is present on the Polish market, as well as on foreign markets, offering an interesting concept of combining sport with fashion in clothing. It is a carefully selected and chosen portfolio of more than 110 premium brands addressed at a discerning customer, and a strong e-commerce site, i.e., sportofino.com.
Source: https://avallon.pl/
June 27, 2023
Private equity fund Avallon MBO has just notified the OCC (UOKiK) of its intention to acquire a majority stake in SAT sp. z o.o., based in Poznań. This is the seventh transaction of Avallon MBO Fund III, and the second one in the last month. SAT has been operating on the market since 1990, originally as a distributor and representative of premium sports brands, specialising in ski-related offerings. In the following years, the company built and developed its own shop brand on a European scale under the name S’portofino. It is present on the Polish market, as well as on foreign markets, offering an interesting concept of combining sport with fashion in clothing. It is a carefully selected and chosen portfolio of more than 110 premium brands addressed at a discerning customer, and a strong e-commerce site, i.e., sportofino.com.
The company focuses on omnichannel sales based on a network of eight flagship shops located in prestigious locations in Poland, and after entering foreign markets in 2018, it is also experiencing rapid growth in its online activities in Europe.
“We have been keeping an eye on this family-owned, Poznan-based company for some time now, while having more and more advanced discussions with its owners. The company has done very well in recent years, increasing the scale of its business at a very rapid pace. However, we can still see very strong potential for further dynamic expansion, above all in foreign markets. The company is about to enter markets of another four European countries with its S’portofino assortment. Helping to achieve this ambition is our priority,” says Krzysztof Kuźbik, partner at Avallon responsible for the transaction.
The omnichannel model that has proved successful for S’portofino shops in Poland is to be repeated in some of the new markets. More flagship stationary shops will be opened in good, prestigious locations, but their main task will be to exploit S’portofino’s potential and present the brands that are sold in the online shop.
“We have decided to sign the agreement with Avallon MBO only recently, but discussions have been going on for some time now. We appreciate the fund’s long experience in working with managers and owners, its know-how in the context of new markets. In turn, we – by remaining in the company – can provide our understanding of this challenging market, where great knowledge of brands and trends as well as understanding of the specific needs of the customer we are targeting are the key elements. At the same time, the fund can provide us with the necessary know-how to facilitate organisational changes and fully professionalise the company’s current operations. This is a key aspect for us in the context of the coming quarters,” explains Bożena Ślęzak, co-founder and CEO of SAT.
According to Statista’s forecasts, between 2022 and 2026, the value of revenues of the entire clothing market in Europe will record a significant growth of 4.2 per cent on average per year, reaching €447.7 billion at the end of the period. Other calculations by Statista analysts show that in 2021, 34.5 per cent of clothing sales revenue in Poland came from online shops (30 per cent in the EU market), and this share is forecast to increase significantly to 47.8 per cent in 2025 in Poland (43.3 per cent in the EU).
SAT will join the other portfolio companies of the Avallon funds. There are nine other companies in the fund’s portfolios: Wosana and Hortimex – reperesenting the food industry; the marketing company EDC Expert; the B2B shopping platform Marketplanet; TES – a manufacturer of electrical machines and components used in the energy industry; Clovin – a company producing cleaning products; a manufacturer of high-quality lighting equipment and aluminium castings – Norlys; Globema, which is a provider of geospatial software; as well as the premium mobile home manufacturer Letniskowo. At the same time, Avallon is actively seeking further investments. The Avallon MBO Fund III has raised EUR 137 million for this purpose.
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