Takko considers IPO after successful year

German fashion discounter Takko is still mulling an IPO. “We continue to explore different options with Apax,” a spokesman said when presenting the company’s annual report on Wednesday. But no decision has been made yet about the possible flotation.

The private equity investment firm Apax bought Takko from its competitor Advent in 2010. At the time, it was reported Apax paid 1.2 billion euros for the purchase. But like many brands in the fashion industry, Takko was impacted by the retail crisis in the last years, trigged partly by online competitors such as Amazon and Zalando.

After a period of financial difficulties, the company has returned to growth. Revenues rose by 1.3% to 1.1 billion euros ($1.2bn) last year, while EBITDA increased by around 11% to 148.1 million euros ($172m). But there was an important financial figure left out: net income. In 2015 and 2016, the company was deeply in the red.

“Overall, we are very satisfied with the performance for the financial year and continued to make good progress thanks to a strong performance. We want to continue to drive growth nationally and internationally,” said CEO Arnold Mattschull.

As an international fashion discounter, Takko competes with Primark, Kik and H&M, and has over 1,900 stores in 17 European countries. 70 new branches were opened last year, according to the financial report. And in the spring, the company announced 100 new openings for the current financial year.

Takko has also recently opened its first stores in France. Overall, the value retailer plans to open 13 new locations in France this year. “We are testing the market, but we see great potential for Takko Fashion in France,” said Mattschull.