Ovs, binding offer to take over Kasanova

New move by Ovs in retail. "The Ovs group is increasing its presence in the home segment, where Upim already operates under the Croff brand, through a binding offer involving the subscription of a capital increase of up to €15 million as a result of which OVS will acquire 100% of the share capital of Kasanova SpA," announced the Tim-controlled group. For Ovs, which capitalises over 1 billion at Piazza Affari and has guaranteed a 53% total return to shareholders over the past 12 months, the move is important, but measured.

Kasanova is a brand specialising in household products, characterised by a high level of recognition and widespread distribution in Italy. It has a solid and loyal customer base to which it offers a wide assortment of products, mainly under its own brand name, with a particular focus on household goods and home textiles. Kasanova has a network of around 700 sales outlets, of which around 220 are directly operated, 280 are franchised and 200 corners inside DIY shops, all in prime locations in the main shopping centres or in central areas of major Italian cities.

It achieves high sales per square metre, and a good trading margin. The rationale of the operation, it is stressed, 'lies in strengthening itself in the homeware sector, which is characterised by high fragmentation and great resilience, by assuming a leading position in this market at a national level. Croff will be able to take advantage of Kasanova's strong know-how in the living segment, and Kasanova, in turn, will benefit from Croff's increased competence in the textile segment. The quantitative relevance and good quality of Kasanova's shops will be further enhanced by identifying the best signage solutions within the entire OVS group network, and the company will also benefit from the expansion of the existing homeware corners within the approximately 150 Upim full format shops. The OVS group's expertise on product sourcing, the possibility of rationalising back-offices and relations with major property owners will enable further significant synergies, thus bringing the company to an adequate level of profitability.Despite having a good commercial performance, Kasanova has been suffering from poor profitability for some time, mainly due to excessive structural costs. In October 2024, it requested access to the Negotiated Crisis Resolution procedure, and then started a major turnaround plan with closures of less profitable shops and more generally to reduce costs and inefficiencies'.