TNT Express sells fashion logistics arm to Belgian-Turkish consortium
TNT Express has sold its Dutch fashion supply chain logistics business to a consortium of Turkish and Belgian logistics firms. The company said this afternoon that regulators have now approved the deal to sell TNT Fashion Group B.V. to the partnership between Belgium’s Belspeed and Turkey’s Netlog Group.
TNT Fashion in the Netherlands is being sold as part of a company-wide restructuring and cost-cutting programme, which is attempting to improve TNT Express’s operating efficiency after the disappointing financial performance since the company demerged from postal operator PostNL in 2011.
The sale of TNT Fashion only involves the Dutch side of the business, since TNT is keeping the UK and Ireland side of the business, merging it with its core TNT Express service. The operation includes about 200,000 square metres of warehousing.
TNT did not disclose the terms of the sale of TNT Fashion Group B.V. to Belspeed and Netlog Group, but said it would have “limited book gain”.
Oldenzaal-based TNT Fashion employs about 660 people and generates an annual revenue of about EUR 120m in providing supply chain and logistics services to the fashion and lifestyle industries.
TNT Express said it was selling as part of its strategy to “focus on core express delivery services”.
“TNT Express will continue to offer express delivery services to its customers in the fashion, lifestyle and retail industries,” it said.
Buyers
Belspeed is a third party logistics provider that specialises in fashion and lifestyle logistics, and is co-owned by its management — CEO Johan Milliau, COO Steven Rymenans and CSO Philippe Desmedt — and also Saffelberg Investments.
The company currently operates through 28 countries in Europe.
Belspeed said that combined with TNT Fashion, it will become a “strong European player in fashion, lifestyle and e-commerce logistics”, with annual turnover of more than EUR 150m.
The restructured operation will run through 300,000 square metres (3.2m sq ft) of warehouse space in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, with a total peak workforce of about 1,500.
Belspeed said it was planning to rebrand the combined companies now the acquisition process is completed.
Netlog Group is one of Turkey’s largest logistics and transport firms, with a turnover of about USD 500m. It operates logistics services for various industries including retail, fashion, consumer goods and automotive logistics.
Belspeed has had an ongoing relationship with Netlog Group which involves joint operations in Turkey. About 45% of its business is international logistics, and the company sees the acquisition of TNT Fashion as opening the door to expansion across Europe and into the Far East and America.
