Aurelius Group snaps up Scholl Footwear

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Jul 22, 2014

Scholl Footwear has changed hands. The footwear brand, founded in 1907 by foot care pioneer Dr. William Mathias Scholl, has been purchased by Aurelius Group.

The European investment group announced the purchase for an undisclosed sum of the footwear division of Reckitt Benckiser, which is specialized in hygiene products (Veet, Calgon, Harpic...).

This is Aurelius’ first investment in a fashion brand, its investment portfolio encompassing companies in sectors such as business services, food/beverage, chemicals and even yacht production.

The group, which has offices in London and Stockholm, announced that it will develop Scholl through "organic growth focused on new product offerings and expansion into new markets."

The brand boasted a 90 million-euro turnover last year, with a presence in pharmacies and drugstores in Europe as well as more traditional footwear distribution in Asia. The transaction should be finalized by the end of the third quarter 2014.