Drogist.nl acquires clothing webshops from Vetex

Online drugstore Drogist.nl has acquired the webshops of online clothing retailer Vetex, best known for its underwear and swimwear webshop Sloggies.nl. With this transaction, Drogist.nl expands its product range, as also stated on its website.

Drogist.nl

Over the past ten years, Drogist.nl has grown into one of the largest online drugstores in the Netherlands, offering a range of more than 70,000 different products in health, weight loss, makeup, perfumes, and personal care.

Drogist.nl’s growth and strategy have been recognized in recent years with six FD Gazellen awards and a spot in the Top 250 Growth Companies of nlgroeit. To accommodate its expansion, Drogist.nl relocated to a new warehouse in Goes in 2020. Last year, the company processed over 700,000 orders, generating a revenue of 22 million euros.

The expansion of its product range through the acquisition of Vetex’s webshops aligns with Drogist.nl’s philosophy. Initially, the company considered growth through acquiring other online drugstores. However, expanding the product range took priority:

“We’ve been wanting to broaden our assortment for a while, and underwear fits perfectly into that philosophy. After all, in many physical drugstores, you’ll also find a rack of underwear, vests, and swimwear,” said Jacco Luijk of Drogist.nl. “When we still had two brick-and-mortar stores in the 1990s, we also sold these products.”

In close consultation with Crossminds, the market was explored, and Vetex, an online clothing store, emerged as the ideal acquisition candidate. After initiating discussions with Vetex, the rest, as they say, is history.

Vetex

Founded in 1966 by textile trader Henk van Veghel, Vetex started as an online webshop in 2009. Vetex operates several underwear and swimwear webshops and won the Public Choice Award at the 2011 Webshop Awards for best XS-webshop. Approximately 200,000 orders are processed annually through its online platform.

About the acquisition

In addition to Sloggies.nl, the webshops tencateondergoed-vetex.nl, kinderondergoed.nl, and Twyst.nl – which offers exclusive brands like Calvin Klein, Björn Borg, and Tommy Hilfiger – are also part of the acquisition.

The acquired webshops will continue to operate separately from Drogist.nl. However, their product ranges will be offered on Drogist.nl as well, creating cross-selling opportunities.

Vetex’s warehouse has now been fully relocated to Goes.

“With this acquisition, we’re expanding our reach. We see great potential in both our own brand and the Vetex webshops, with the goal of growing to a combined turnover of 75 million euros by 2027,” said Luijk.

Crossminds

Crossminds supported Drogist.nl throughout the entire acquisition process, from market research to the delivery of shares. Crossminds also conducted due diligence and arranged the financing for the transaction.

The Crossminds team consisted of Pieter Poortvliet, Lars van Heeren, and Donna van der Ven, supported by Kristian Aarnoutse (accountant) and Werner van Zundert (tax advisor) from Moore DRV.