Dutch retailer Hema which operates some 660 stores throughout Europe has opened its first UK store in London Victoria followed by locations in Bromley and Kingston. A value outlet, but quite unlike any other on the UK High Street, Hema balances keen pricing with style, edging more toward an IKEA feel in terms of design. The business was launched in the early 1920s by Arthur Isaac and Leo Meyer with an initial store in Amsterdam. It is now a respected multichannel retailer with strong online demand, annual sales of 1.2 billion euro, and is owned by Lion Capital, who acquired it from Dutch retail group Maxeda in 2007.
The first wave of store openings are to be followed by the imminent launch of a UK website which many believe will quickly gain Hema significant sales as many UK consumers are already Hema fans having bought from its stores during trips to Benelux, France and Germany.
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