Dreambaby to move forward with a new owner

Colruyt Group has reached an agreement with the management of Supra Bazar ("Supra Bazar") for the sale of 100% of the shares in Dreambaby. Supra Bazar is a Belgian family-owned business that has grown to become a major local retail player in the non-food segment. The company has extensive relevant experience in the baby sector with its Supra Bazar stores and the recently acquired Kabine family concept stores. Colruyt Group believes that Dreambaby will have a healthy and sustainable future under the banner of Supra Bazar, and will be fully able to implement its renewed strategy as Belgium’s national baby specialist store, with a focus on young families.

Dreambaby: Belgium's national baby specialist

Dreambaby, Colruyt Group's baby specialist, has been fine-tuning its strategy over the past year and has been particularly focusing on this in recent months. As the Belgian market leader, Dreambaby aims to be Belgium’s specialist baby store, and a clear decision has been made to excel in this niche market. The focus is on the perspectives and experiences of pregnant women and families with babies up to two years. The brand has opted for an omnichannel experience, with the customer right at the centre. Dreambaby aims to empower future parents so that they and their baby can get off to a great start as a new family.

Dreambaby also has its private label: 'dreambee'. This high-quality collection has been developed by a passionate in-house team in Belgium for a decade now. Having this private label also gives Dreambaby a competitive advantage in the baby sector.

Dreambaby achieved a revenue of approximately EUR 60 million in the 2022/23 financial year with its 32 stores that were operating at the time. Dreambaby now has 27 stores and 256 employees.

Supra Bazar and Kabine: Belgian local retail players with experience in the baby sector

Supra Bazar is a Belgian family-owned business that has grown to become a major local retail player in the non-food segment. It has four stores in West Flanders and one in East Flanders, with a sales area of 11.000 m², allowing customers to find everything under the same roof in different price categories: from home decoration to DIY, and from gardening and pet supplies to a huge toy department. Supra Bazar also provides a baby gift registry service.

At the end of 2023, Supra Bazar also acquired Kabine, which owns two high-end family concept stores on the coast. Supra Bazar not only has in-depth, long-standing knowledge of the non-food retail and baby sector, but it also has a proven track record of running a retail network profitably and of successfully implementing an omnichannel approach.

A healthy and sustainable future for Dreambaby

For several months, Dreambaby has been working on a more flexible SME structure to make it more agile in a challenging and rapidly changing market. Supra Bazar has many years of experience encompassing the non-food market, the baby sector and an omnichannel approach. This makes it the ideal partner to continue providing flexible, dedicated support to Dreambaby, building on its new momentum and giving the business a healthy and sustainable future. The existing Dreambaby management will remain on board. Dreambaby can thus continue to push towards its strategy of remaining Belgium's number one baby specialist while also taking on new opportunities. In this strategy, Dreambaby will continue to exist, as a brand, as a legal entity and as an employer. Nothing will change for Dreambaby customers: the stores and their employees will remain in place and all its baby gift registries will be maintained.

Like Colruyt Group, Supra Bazar believes it is important to play a role at every stage and at key moments in its customers' lives. Dreambaby is a great opportunity for Supra Bazar to continue to fulfil that role, to operate on a national level and to play a significant part in the lives of young families. Dreambaby's stores and product range match Supra Bazar's overall approach and will complement its existing operations.

Stefan Goethaert, CEO of Colruyt Group, explains: "Dreambaby has already taken some very positive steps in the past year. We believe the efforts already made will lead to even greater successes alongside the management of Supra Bazar. The past year has been especially challenging for all Dreambaby employees, and this news will be difficult at first. It is always difficult to say goodbye to 256 hard-working colleagues. At the same time, we are convinced that this is the best solution for the employees and also for the brand’s future."

Bavo Vanhalst, CEO of Supra Bazar, adds: "We are very much looking forward to welcoming Dreambaby’s employees, and its customers too. This is the perfect opportunity for us to take a big step nationally in the baby market, which we see as highly attractive and indeed essential for us. The customers will of course continue to benefit from the excellent support they have come to expect from Dreambaby."

The transaction

Colruyt Group and Supra Bazar's management have reached an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of Dreambaby's shares, so that Supra Bazar gains control of Dreambaby. The transaction is subject to approval by the Belgian Competition Authority. It is intended that the transaction will be finalised by the summer. The parties have both agreed not to disclose any details regarding the agreement.

In the annual figures for the 2023/24 financial year, Dreambaby's result will be presented as a 'result from discontinued operations'. Dreambaby's estimated result for the 2023/24 financial year is a loss of no more than EUR 20 million, comprising the operating loss and a number of one-off effects such as impairment losses and the expected impact of this transaction. Some of these one-off effects have already been accounted for in the first half of the 2023/24 financial year.

Upon completion of the transaction, Dreambaby will no longer be fully consolidated in the consolidated figures for Colruyt Group. Colruyt Group will, as the case may be, communicate on further developments in accordance with the applicable regulations.

• Founded in 2001
• 27 shops
• 600 m2 average retail area
• 8,000 references in shops and webshop
• 256 employees