France: Regulator clears The Kooples Group/Maus Frères takeover

In April this year the group Maus Frères notified the Autorité de la concurrence his project of taking over the company The Kooples Group. By a decision the Autorité clears the transaction without conditions.

The family group Maus Frères incorporated under Swiss law is mainly active in the retail distribution of clothing and footwear, through the Lacoste, Aigle and Gant brands, globally, as well as in the DIY distribution sector in Switzerland.

In particular, the Autorité examined whether the acquisition of The Kooples brand by an actor already holding well-known ready-to-wear brands is likely to restrict competition in the retail clothing and footwear retail markets, especially at the local level where the parties’ stores are located in the same catchment areas.

It found that in each of these areas, consumers will continue to benefit from alternative offers equivalent to the parties’ brands, in terms of price and commercial positioning (ranges). These competing stores remain in sufficient numbers not to encourage the new entity to increase the price of the items sold or to degrade the quality of the services provided in its stores.