Business News
Mail-order group Otto buys brand-name Quelle and Russian operation
Nov 5, 2009, 11:48 GMT
Hamburg - Otto, Germany's last major mail-order retailer, bought on Thursday the brand-name and the Russian subsidiary of Quelle, its bankrupt former rival, for an undisclosed price.
The insolvency administrator at Quelle said Otto had placed the highest bid. For decades, Quelle and Otto have delivered their glossy catalogues to small towns and rural homes all over Germany and eastern Europe and supplied goods by parcel post.
Quelle has 280 employees in Russia. Executives said a merger made a good fit, since the two companies had tended to sell different types of product and Otto, which considers itself market leader in Russia, was eager to expand.
Otto is acquiring the rights to the Quelle brand, some sub-brands and its internet domains in Germany and eastern Europe.
The administrator ruled two weeks ago that Nuremberg-based Quelle could not be saved and has begun a discount sale of its inventory and a layoff of staff.
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