Hilco Capital acquires Xtra

Newsletter
Hilco Capital acquires Xtra-vision
Founded in 1979, Xtra-vision
is one of Ireland’s best known
retail brands and has a leading
position in the rental and retail of
both film and games, along with
a growing presence in music,
mobile telephony and a range of
consumer electronics products and
confectionery.
Hilco appointed former Blockbuster
UK Commercial Director, Gerry
Butler, as CEO of the new business.
Ireland’s leading entertainment rental and retail chain,
Xtra-vision, joined HMV UK and HMV Canada in Hilco
Capital’s $1bn turnover international entertainment retail
division in June. Hilco acquired the Tallaght, Dublinbased business from its Receivers, including stores in
the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The exact store portfolio of the new company is
currently being determined following discussions with a
number of Xtra-vision’s landlords, aimed at regularising
the terms and conditions of leases, but the business is
likely to trade from around 90 locations.
HMV turnaround hits the right note
The restructuring and turnaround of HMV UK has
made strong progress on all fronts in the three months
since the entertainment retailer was acquired out of
administration by Hilco Capital.
The lengthy administration period had left the stores
critically understocked and much of the initial focus of
the HMV and Hilco team has been on reengaging the
supply chain and stabilising the business. The stores
are now the best stocked across both new releases
and back catalogue that they have been in five years.
The product mix has been revised to refocus HMV on
its core competencies as an entertainment specialist
and an extensive store remodelling programme
has been completed, introducing new layouts and
fixturing to accommodate the updated offer. Consumer
electronics ranges have been scaled back while vinyl,
CD, DVD, Blu Ray and video game ranges have been
expanded. New music and movie merchandise and
T-shirt ranges, including many HMV exclusives, have
been rolled out across the estate.
A new promotional strategy has been introduced with
an emphasis on leveraging HMV’s deep catalogue and
product expertise, starting with the Decades series
of promotions throughout the summer which sees
the retailer curate pivotal music and films from each
decade from the 1950s onwards.
An increased emphasis on in store events
www.hilcouk.com • Tel 020 7317 2050
p2 ➤
Newsletter Q2 2013
Hilco rolling out
new name and
branding
Hilco Capital is the new name for
Hilco UK, replacing the existing
Hilco UK, Hilco Commercial and
Valco Capital Partners brands. The
new brand reflects the evolution of
our business which now operates
in multiple territories and with a
longer term investment horizon,
across a diverse range of sectors.
The new brand forms part of a
wider rebranding exercise across
the entire Hilco organisation
worldwide, led by Hilco Global –
the new name for Hilco Trading.
The rebranding programme
includes a new corporate identity
(pictured, above) which will roll out
across all touch points during the
second half of 2013, culminating
with the launch of the Hilco Capital
website in the fourth quarter.
Hilco Capital’s operations in
Canada and Australia will continue
to trade as Re:Capital. The
Re:Capital brand was launched
to the Canadian market in
May, followed by the launch of
Re:Capital Australia in June.
Newsletter
➤p1 has already seen high
profile talent including US
singer-songwriter Demi Lovato,
Liam Gallagher (pictured) and
Simon Pegg come face to face
with fans while store teams have
been empowered to regain their
store’s rightful place in the local
community by promoting local acts
and events and managing their
own Twitter accounts. The brand
has also stepped up customer
engagement on Facebook in a
move that has seen ‘likes’ of the
HMV brand page rapidly increase
to exceed 200,000.
Clipper Marine sails into top spot
designed by the world’s preeminent yacht design
bureaus, including Design Unlimited, BMW
Designworks and Farr Design. Clipper Marine
will debut three new Bavaria boats on its largest
ever stand at the Southampton Boat Show in
September. The Bavaria Dealer of the Year award
is testament to the continued hard work of the
Clipper Marine team since the company was first
established, with Hilco’s financial and operational
support, in 2007.
Bavaria’s sleek and stylish sail and motor boats are
Although owning a Bavaria may remain an aspiration
for many, Clipper Marine operates Bavaria yacht
charters which provide a very cost effective way for
everyone to experience the thrill of riding the ocean
waves in a Bavaria 40 sport. For more information
on private hire or corporate charter – and to claim an
exclusive Hilco Newsletter discount – head to
www.clipperyachtcharter.co.uk.
Burleigh delivers for Royal Baby
Kraus Group spins a good yarn
The retailer opened a new store
in Cheltenham in July and further
new openings are lined up for
Swindon in August and Bristol and
Watford in September. Additionally,
a number of stores are set to
open in Ireland in September and
the company’s head office has
relocated to Blackfriars. A number
of seasonal pop up stores are
being negotiated with landlords.
Burleigh pottery was
quick off the mark
to respond to news
of the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge’s
new arrival. Burleigh had
already designed two mugs
– one for a boy and one for a
girl – and was able to start production on the final mug
as soon as Prince George’s name was announced.
The turnaround at Kraus Group continued to gather
pace during the second quarter as initiatives in
new product development, sales, marketing and
manufacturing reaped rewards. The Canadian flooring
manufacturer and wholesaler introduced a raft of new
products, including two new fibres, Perpetual Pashmina
– a luxurious residential yarn – and Perpetual Contract
– a strong and durable commercial yarn.
Behind the scenes, several major
projects are nearing completion
with a new, content-rich website,
innovative mobile apps and digital
music services, a revitalised Pure
loyalty scheme and a significant
new central London store all set to
launch in the Autumn.
The heritage pottery, which has a long-standing
relationship with HRH The Prince of Wales through The
Prince’s Regeneration Trust’s acquisition of Burleigh’s
Middleport Pottery home, has already taken a large
number of orders for the Royal Baby mug from both
the UK and Japan. The mug is now available to order
for £15 from Burleigh’s website.
www.burleigh.co.uk
2 Hilco Newsletter Q2 2013
One of Europe’s biggest yacht manufacturers, Bavaria
Yachtbau, presented Clipper Marine with its ‘Dealer of
the Year’ award in June. Since acquiring distribution
rights to Bavaria boats in 2007, Clipper has risen to
become the German brand’s third largest distributor
out of its network of over 50 dealers worldwide.
Meanwhile, just as the Hilco Newsletter was going to
press, Kraus announced that it had been awarded its
largest single carpet order in over 25 years. The huge
order is topped only by the company’s commission to
produce the carpets for the Calgary Winter Olympics
back in 1986.
Kraus Group also improved its green credentials
with the announcement that it has reduced waste in
manufacturing processes by 50% in the past year.
www.hilcouk.com
Newsletter
Hilco to trade
Modelzone stores
Hilco Capital was appointed
by Deloitte in June to manage
retail operations in Modelzone’s
47 stores during the specialist
models and collectibles retailer’s
administration.
Modelzone started life as a single
store called Model Aircraft in
Brighton in the 1930s but suffered
in latter years as a result of overambitious expansion.
Strong performance by HMV Canada George & Freddie
awarded for
HMV Canada continued
excellence
to trade ahead of forecast
during the second quarter,
significantly outperforming
the rest of the market for
physical media, driven by
strong promotions and the
high performance of Gifts
& Collectibles ranges.
The company opened new stores
in Quebec, Edmonton and Calgary
and is due to open a further HMV
Express store in Vancouver in
August and a full range store in
Fort McMurray in October.
In store signings and performances
continued to play a key part in
HMV’s strategy with appearances
by Australian singer Cody Simpson
(pictured) proving particularly
popular with HMV’s customers and
the Canadian media.
Monsoon Children range a first for Denby
drawing on the brand’s rich pattern archive and
Scandinavian folk influences.
Back at the company’s Derbyshire home, the Denby
Visitor Centre has received a ringing endorsement
in the form of a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.
The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is
given only to establishments that consistently achieve
outstanding traveller reviews on the hugely popular
TripAdvisor website. Only the top-performing ten per
cent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor worldwide
receive this prestigious award.
Denby has announced its first range designed
specifically for children. The Monsoon Children Home
Collection is the latest development to come from the
fruitful collaboration between Denby and Monsoon.
The new range, including the Butterfly Fairy gift set
(pictured), will launch initially in Monsoon, Monsoon
Children and Denby stores in September.
Denby has also introduced a new tableware range,
Malmo, that brings a fresh look to the Denby portfolio,
www.hilcouk.com
The Denby Visitor Centre welcomes over 200,000
visitors annually with a year-round programme of
events. Attractions in the summer months include
the sand and ‘seaside’ fun of the perennially popular
Pottery Beach and live cookery sessions with leading
TV chef James Martin.
The company has also signed up to open a store in
the forthcoming London Designer Outlet scheme in
Wembley, which is due to open in October.
The George & Freddie store in
the Freeport Talke outlet centre in
Stoke-on-Trent has been awarded
a Certificate of Excellence by
the centre’s management team
following outstanding scores in all
categories during a recent mystery
shopper exercise.
The store, which sells discount
branded toys and electricals,
scored 98% overall with its friendly,
knowledgeable staff singled out
by inspectors for particular praise.
George & Freddie regularly ranks
in the centre’s top five stores for
sales per square foot, beating
many of retail’s big names.
The Talke store is one of a growing
number of bricks and mortar
outlets of the George & Freddie
ecommerce business which
trades primarily in the Amazon,
eBay and Play marketplaces. The
business, which is named after the
founder’s children, is now one of
the largest independent traders on
the Amazon platform in the UK and
one of only a handful of traders in
Europe to hold one of Amazon’s
prestigious Platinum Accounts.
www.georgeandfreddie.com
Hilco Newsletter Q2 2013 3
Newsletter
MIG helps HMV to recover His Master’s Voice
Customer data specialist MIG has
repermissioned, rebuilt and enhanced HMV UK’s
database, tripling the number of customers that
HMV can engage with its eCRM programme.
Initially appointed by Deloitte to maintain footfall
into the stores during the administration of HMV
plc, MIG was subsequently engaged to manage
the legal transfer of customer data to the new
business, protecting the value of a key asset
and ensuring compliance with data protection
regulations. As part of the ‘permission pass’
process, MIG doubled the number of accessible
records by a combination of gathering new
registrations and enhancing the existing data.
Following the administration, MIG has been
retained by the new HMV business to further
expand the database of active customers to
three times the number available to the old
company, in the process creating one of the
largest and most valuable consumer databases
in the nonfood retail sector.
MIG is also playing a key role in the
redevelopment of the Pure loyalty scheme in
both the UK and Canada.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE POND
Hilco Global has been unveiled as the new name
for Hilco Trading and a brand umbrella for business
units worldwide.
500 highly skilled, experienced professionals located
around the world are laser-focused on attaining the
greatest level of success for each client. That’s the
message our new brand tagline “Hilco Global – Vested
will also change their name to be more consistent
with the overall Hilco Global branding and vision
as follows:
Hilco Appraisal Services will
change to Hilco Valuation
Services
Since it was founded almost
25 years ago, Hilco has
successfully evolved into a
platform of more than 20
business units in 11 countries.
“The new Hilco Global brand
accurately captures and
projects our expansion into
markets, worldwide. It also
speaks to our vision and values as a financial
services company,” said Jeff Hecktman, who
founded the company in 1987. He added, “Hilco
has earned a reputation internationally for the quality
and commitment of our people. Approximately
SD Retail Consulting will
become
Hilco
Retail
Consulting
Hilco UK will become Hilco
Capital.
in Your Success” will help deliver.”
While the holding company name will change, most of
the business units and speciality business practices will
retain their present identities. However, a few others
The international introduction of the Hilco Global
brand begins on July 1, 2013, with the rollout of
a new logo, marketing communications programs
and materials, and a new website to follow.
New starter joins Hilco team Twice2much in the frame
Matthew Lloyd joined Hilco Capital
as an Investment Analyst in May.
A Chartered Accountant by training,
Matt worked most recently for EY
in the restructuring team in their
Edinburgh Office.
During his four years at EY, Matt
has worked on a number of trading
administrations, corporate finance
assignments and independent
business reviews of stressed and
distressed companies.
All of us are pleased to welcome
Matt to the team at this busy time
in Hilco Capital’s development.
Twice2much has won a coveted
place on the UK Government
Procurement Service framework
as one of five companies approved
to provide spend analysis and
recovery services to government
organisations.
The award followed a rigorous
tender process that saw ten
competing recovery audit providers
rejected.
In 2011, Paymaster General,
Francis Maude, directed all
Central Government Departments
and Arms Length Bodies to
commission recovery audits.
Published by Hilco Capital Limited, 80 New Bond Street, London W1S 1SB · Tel (0)207 317 2050 · Fax (0)207 317 2051 · © 2013 Hilco Capital Limited · All rights reserved
4 Hilco Newsletter Q2 2013
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