Hööks
Country: Sweden
Region: Västsverige
Investors: Accent
Accent acquired Hööks in 2011, with the previous owner, the Hööks family, re-investing a substantial share. Hööks, headquartered in Borås, is the Nordic region's leading retailer of equipment for horseback riders, horses and dogs. Sales are conducted via own retail stores and distance sales (mainly e-commerce) in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. Hööks' history dates back to 1931, when the grandfather of the current CEO Joachim Höök set up a saddling business. Accent saw an opportunity to continue organic growth and expand the Nordic store network, as well as increasing the online sales share and expanding and refining the offering. Accent sold Hööks to Inter IKEA’s investment company Alipes in April 2014.
Joachim Höök
CEO - Hööks
I would like to express my gratitude to Accent for their great contribution to our positive development in the past few years.
17
new stores – around 70% increase
2x
increase in employees to 200
What did the business need?
Committed partner to contribute to continued growth and develop the company further
Intensified roll-out of new stores in the Nordic countries
Broader and refined offering
Improved online sales and marketing, particularly for growth outside Nordics
How did private equity backing create lasting value?
Enabled development opportunities that previously had not been prioritised
Grew organically and rapdily through successful roll-out of new retail stores in the Nordic countries
Improved store sales operations resulting in substantial like-for-like growth
Developed the online shop and launched a website for pan-European sales
Increased social media presence for marketing and customer interaction
Introduced a customer loyalty programme
What outcomes did private equity investment achieve?
Developed the company faster than planned
Opened 17 new stores – an increase of close to 70%
Nearly doubled the number of employees, from 115 FTEs to around 200
Grew sales organically by almost 15% per year, with increasing margins and doubled EBITDA*
*EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and is a measure of company performance
Investors
