Moonpig’s parent company Photobox Group has acquired its Dutch rival Greetz for an undisclosed sum as it moves to become the largest card retailer in Europe.
Gifting specialist Photobox Group, which also owns Spanish retailer Hoffman, already trades across 15 markets in Europe, and reported revenues of £325 million in the year to April 30 2017.
This move positions it as a leader in what Photobox’s chief executive Jody Ford says are the two largest markets in the EU.
“The UK and Netherlands are the two main greetings card markets in Europe and we now have leadership positions in both”, she said.
This comes amid troubled times for the UK market, which saw rival Card Factory post a profit warning earlier this month.
Greetz is understood to have maintained a year-on-year growth rate of 25 per cent, selling 7.5 million cards last year, making it a comfortable market leader in the Netherlands.
Greetz boss Niek Veendrick said joining Photobox would help the firm access “a Europe-wide pool of talent, expertise and creativity” as the company continues to grow.
“Our vision is to be the number one destination for personal gifting and greeting, enabling consumers to surprise and support people close to them.
“This is a perfect match with Photobox Group’s ambition and in Moonpig they have a very similar business that we can grow with.”
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