Maxeda DIY Group Snapshot
Fashion is out of fashion at Maxeda, the Dutch retail group that has sold its department store and specialty apparel chains to focus on home improvement retail. The company operates about 355 DIY home improvement stores under the Brico, Brico Plan-it, Formido, and Praxis banners in the Netherlands and Belgium. Beginning in 2010 the company sold more than 1,000 shops, including its De Bijenkorf and Vroon & Dressman department store chains, its Hunkemöller lingerie chain, and M&S Mode. Maxeda (formerly Vendex KBB), is owned by investment firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Cinven, Permira, and AlpInvest Partners.