(News Bulletin 247) – The online shoe seller would have its sights set on the struggling sneaker resale specialist Wethenew, according to l’Informed. An initiative which would corroborate the words of Spartoo, whose manager had recently indicated in the press that he was interested in buying companies in difficulty.

Spartoo wants to expand its shoe offering. The shoe seller would have designs on the struggling sneaker resale specialist Wethenew, l’Informed reported on Monday.

Founded in 2018, Wethenew saw its sales take off with the sale of limited edition sneakers. Its activity then collapsed with the surge in inflation which affected the consumption of non-essential goods. The group therefore requested its placement in receivership at the beginning of August. As part of this procedure, Spartoo would have made an offer of 150,000 euros to buy the portal and would consider retaining 15 of Wethenew’s 94 employees.

The Grenoble group is not the only one to be in the running, specifies L’Informé since five other candidates would also be interested in taking over the company in difficulty.

Contacted by News Bulletin 247, a company spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on this information.

Better cash management

This initiative may seem surprising given that Spartoo is also a victim of the reduction in household spending on clothing and shoes. Last week, the group published its half-year accounts, notably marked by a 10.5% decline in its turnover to 65.3 million euros.

In this difficult context, Spartoo managed to control its investment expenses, notably with the closure of a warehouse allowing rent savings and optimization of marketing expenses, recalled Florent Thy-tine, head of equity research at TP ICAP Midcap. .

Meanwhile, Spartoo has managed to limit its cash consumption. “The stability of the gross operating profit (Ebitda) allows the group to post a free cash flow in balance with a reduction in investment expenditure and good inventory management which fell by 1.3 million euros”, continued Florent Thy-tine. Operating cash flow improved by €0.7 million compared to the first half of 2023.

“This publication is more likely to reassure us about the good management of the group regarding its cash,” estimated Florent Thy-tine. This discipline on cash management thus allows the group to be active in terms of acquisitions.

To our colleagues at Essor Isère, Boris Saragaglia, CEO and founder of Spartoo, declared last week that he was attentive to the various bankruptcy filings which are currently numerous at the commercial courts. “This year we are stronger in cash, so we are looking very actively at five or six files. We will see if it comes to fruition,” explained the manager. Wethenew would fit perfectly into the targets favored by Spartoo…