Aga buys Divertimenti

[magnolia]

Very interesting.

Aga Buys Divertimenti

[MobyP]

AGA Foodservice buys cookware company Divertimenti for 1.4 mln stg

What does "1.4 mln stg" mean? 1.4 million pounds seems insanely low. stg - stock giveaway?

[battleofthebulge]

Yup that's £1.4 million all right. A steal for a co. that turned over £2.5 million last year (but made a loss). Be interesting to see if Aga keep the expensive shop space, or concentrate on mail order and developing specific cookware ranges.

Sarah

[Jon Tseng]

What does "1.4 mln stg" mean? 1.4 million pounds seems insanely low. stg - stock giveaway?

←

Sterling

[MobyP]

They must have really botched their recent expansion to have been taken to the cleaners like that. A real shame. They were much too expensive, but they seemed to fill that 'Sur La Table' slot.

[silverbrow]

It would be a damn shame if they were to shut their shops. The Marylebone High St one in particular is always busy - although it's hard to know just how well it does.

Their shops are good for browsing, or buying that rare Japapnese knife. Personally, however, I reckon Selfridges kitchen dept is the best. John Lewis has gone seriously downhill.

[battleofthebulge]

If I were Aga I'd look to have concessions within department stores like Selfridges. (Like that icky Nigella Lawson stuff, only nicer.) And sell the kitchenware alongside the cookers in their showrooms.

Sarah

[Gary Marshall]

Yup that's £1.4 million all right. A steal for a co. that turned over £2.5 million last year (but made a loss).

←

surely that depends on what they got for their £1.4m?

other than stock i doubt there'd be much else in the way of assets, such as freeholds, but plenty of lease liabilities etc.

AGA also own 'fired earth' trivia fans.

[Jonesey]

It would be a damn shame if they were to shut their shops.  The Marylebone High St one in particular is always busy - although it's hard to know just how well it does.

Their shops are good for browsing, or buying that rare Japapnese knife. Personally, however, I reckon Selfridges kitchen dept is the best.  John Lewis has gone seriously downhill.

←

Selfridges is way better than John Lewis especially as it seems to be stocking more diverse brands of kitchenware.

BTW, does anyone know if Aga will continue to run the cooking school? Hope so cos I've got some booked for later in the year

[Mark Donnelly]

Personally I prefer Pages on Shaftsbury Avenue. Aimed at trade sales but very happy to sell to drop in shoppers. Only place I manged to find squeezy bottles (and in differnt sizes to boot).

[magnolia]

I think Divertimenti must make a lot of money on their workshops; they 'co-brand' cooking classes; demos; and workshops with high calibre (IMHO) partners, often after hours - which extends the revenue generating time beyond their regular business hours. There's usually one, possibly two, employees on hand so the staff costs don't go up much just for keeping the place open late. This also entices people who might not otherwise shop there, who pass by all the goodies on their way downstairs and then perhaps return to buy at another time.

[Jonathan Day]

I wandered into the Marylebone High Street Divertimenti today. The display featured Falcon range cookers (now owned by Aga) and wine refrigerators. There was a brochure for a Falcon fridge (the usual kind, not limited to wine), that looked pretty good. I asked the clerk for the cost. After five minutes of shuffling through notebooks, calling various people, calling Aga, the answer was...we don't know. In fact, we're not even sure if we can get these fridges. Call Aga on Monday, they told me. Maybe they can sell you one.

If Divertimenti are owned by Aga, the new owners have some work to do...