GUS sale signals home delivery consolidation
Business Express and Reality, the two biggest home delivery specialists emerging from the catalogue retail fulfilment market, will come under joint ownership if competition authorities approve a proposal by GUS to sell its home shopping interests to the Barclay brothers.
News of the deal was just coming in as we closed for press, and indicated that GUS had agreed a price of just under £600 million for the sale, which will include Reality and GUS’s agency catalogue businesses, and will involve an estimated 17,000 staff. Reality will continue to provide some services to Argos, which GUS retains.
The Barclay brothers bought Littlewoods’ stores and catalogue operations last October, including Business Express, and have since reorganised them into seven divisions.
Early indications suggested some rationalisation in the combined catalogue operations, but the effect on fulfilment operations was not clear. Reality has a large network of depots, including several major automated sortation centres. Business Express also a has depot network, with a modern automated hub at Shaw, Greater Manchester.
Walter Blackwood is due take over as chief executive of Business Express Network in June, having previously been one of the motive forces at Parcelnet, the Otto catalogue group’s main UK home delivery arm. Former managing director Mick Janicki left the company some months ago.
