Germany's Peek & Cloppenburg acquires Debenhams' Magasin du Nord

Magasin du Nord, the Danish department store owned by collapsed UK chain Debenhams, has been acquired by Germany's Peek & Cloppenburg.

The historic Danish department store, Magasin du Nord, was founded in 1868 and operates seven stores including a flagship at Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen, along with branches in Lyngby, Roedovre, Fields, Odense, Aarhus and Aalborg, as well as an online store.

Debenhams paid £12.9m for the business back in 2009. It was put up for sale in September 2020 while Debenhams was struggling for survival. However the UK chain was already in administration and began liquidation proceedings at the beginning of December.

The Debenhams chain of stores could not be saved but online retail group Boohoo acquired the brand name and online business and has since relaunched it.

Magasin du Nord was viewed a jewel in Debenhams' crown and the price German group Peek & Cloppenburg has paid was not revealed.

In a statement the new owner said: “Magasin du Nord, like Peek & Cloppenburg, is a retail company with a long tradition. Due to the current market dynamics, the opportunity has arisen to bring Magasin du Nord under our umbrella and we are convinced that both companies will benefit from this new partnership.”

Magasin du Nord will continue to exist as an independent business and will join Peek & Cloppenburg’s store estate which currently comprises around 140 Peek & Cloppenburg stores and Anson department stores in 15 countries.