Kookai UK

Amery Capital formed a joint venture with Kookai SA, a subsidiary of leading French retailer, Vivarte, and acquired the assets of Kookai in the UK following its administration in January 2006. 

KOOKAI SA is a subsidiary of Vivarte, one of Europe’s leading distributors of footwear and clothing.  Vivarte operates about 2,500 stores under 12 different brands including KOOKAI.  The KOOKAI brand is sold in 37 countries worldwide, through 390 standalone stores and over 650 concessions.

KOOKAI UK began trading in January 2006 in a small number of  standalone stores and department store concessions nationwide.  Approximately 500 jobs were protected by the formation of the joint venture.

Maurice Helfgott, Founding Director Amery Capital said at the time: ”The joint venture underlines the strong commitment of KOOKAI SA to develop the KOOKAI brand in this country.  We are confident that there is huge potential for growth and our priority will be to really sharpen up pricing and improve the look and feel of the stores.  We are looking forward to working closely with our French partners – they are a dynamic team with enormous strength in design and marketing.”

Jacques Levy CEO, KOOKAI SA said:  “KOOKAI has a proven track record worldwide. The joint venture vehicle is crucial as it allows us to share our brand experience and passion for style with our UK partners.  It also fulfils our goal of strengthening and maintaining the integrity of the KOOKAI brand in the UK.  We are delighted to work with such experienced retailers as Maurice Helfgott and Maurice and Michael Bennett - their knowledge and experience of the UK retail scene is second to none.”

Kookai UK is chaired by Maurice and Michael Bennett and led by Matthieu Dietsch.  Maurice Helfgott is a non-executive director.

Kookai trades from six stand alone stores and 27 concessions across the UK and Ireland.

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