Two of France’s major online shopping sites, Topachat.com and Clust.com have just been sold to leading online retailer Rue du Commerce. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
Since 2006 Both Topachat.com and Clust.com have been owned by France Telecom e-Commerce, who originally acquired the sites to enhance their online shopping market through their web based alpage.com shopping site.
France Telecom e-Commerce is a subsidiary of France Telecom who is the main telecommunications company in France and indeed one of the largest in the world. Well known names like Orange are owned by France Telecom, and also Wanadoo, which used to be known as Freeserve in the UK, Wanadoo is now also operating mostly under the name Orange.
Topachat.com and Clust.com specialise in online sales of technical and electrical products such as computers, printers, hi-fi’s, phones, audio visual equipment, cameras and many other related appliances.
Existing customers don’t need to worry though, nothing much looks set to change. They will both continue to operate under their own brands, which already have a very strong reputation in France and throughout the world as well as a loyal client base.
The purchase of these two shopping sites looks set to put Rue du commerce well in front as the leading French online retailer of consumer IT and electronic products.
CEO Gauthier Picquart said “we are carrying out a significant acquisition which reinforces our leading High Tech position in France. At the same time, we are continuing to develop the diversification of our offer through La Galerie. We thus pursue our strategy of profitable growth and begin 2009 in positive circumstances, even if the economic context is clearly delicate”.
Rue du Commerce was established back in 1999 and has gone from strength to strength since then. In 2006 their website was elected “best website for customer relations management” by Journal du Net. Their website can boast of up to 4 million visitors a month.
It has been expanding rapidly for the past 2 years and now Rue du Commerce has product offerings in many diverse areas from IT and electrical goods to beauty, fashion and sport amongst others. Only last year it reported sales of over 300 million euros.
This latest double acquisition was signed and sealed on the 6th February but will take effect later this month on 27th February.
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