Fashion retailer C&A sells China business to local investor

The company said in a statement that the transaction would accelerate the growth of the brand in China. Allan Leighton, chairman of C&A, noted that local expertise with a strong network was critical to realizing C&A’s full potential in the vast and complex market. “This is truer than ever today, in the new COVID-19 reality our retail industry is navigating through,” he said.

C&A is said to have 67 stores in China, having opened its first outlet in the country in 2007. The company claims a presence in 21 countries, with a 1,400-store network in Europe. In the past year, C&A has also sold its Mexico operation and spun out its Brazil-based business through a local IPO.

Xuefeng Duan, an executive director at Zhongke Tongrong, said the PE firm would leverage C&A's expertise as one of the world’s largest users of organic cotton. He expects children's clothing made from organic cotton to be a key growth area in China. 

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Little information is available on Zhongke Tongrong. Duan has served as an executive director since 2013. Before that, he held posts with Guoxin International Guarantee and Everbright Equity Investment Fund Management.

Duan has executive roles in several companies across the metallurgy, fashion and textiles spaces. Earlier this year, he was named chairman of Hong Kong-listed Chinese fashion brand La Chapelle. The company subsequently relocated from Shanghai to Xinjiang province.

There are links between several other companies in which he is involved. For example, Xinjiang Hengding Textile International Trading is backed by state-owned Wulumuqi Investment Group and Maierfu Fashion, another of Duan's investee companies.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• China
• e-commerce