The Polish footwear retailer Gino Rossi has reportedly initiated talks to sell its Simple clothing brand, the daily Puls Biznesu reports. Market observers are speculating that the move is simply a way to measure demand for the Polish chain. However, Tomasz Malicki, CEO of Gino Rossi, assures that no talks have taken place. “It seems that shareholders are not interested in selling the brand, particularly after changes that have been recently introduced to the company,” Malicki told the daily, adding, however, that the company has been looking for ways to raise new capital for a while. “We were thinking of acquiring a strategic investor, but eventually decided to issue bonds,” Malicki said.
The newspaper points out that Gino Rossi was in talks with a private equity fund to offload Simple two years ago. The fund had reportedly offered to buy the chain for PLN 90m.
