Colruyt Group to sell Dreamland to ToyChamp

Colruyt Group is to restructure its ailing Dreamland and Dreambaby chains: six stores will close, 192 jobs are at stake.

What happened

Colruyt Group is to restructure its ailing Dreamland and Dreambaby chains: six stores will close, 192 jobs are at stake. Belgian toy chain ToyChamp will acquire 75% of Dreamland’s shares.

Why it matters

After a critical evaluation, Colruyt Group has decided to restructure Dreamland and Dreambaby, which together form one technical business unit. Specifically, the retailer plans to close one Dreamland store and five Dreambaby stores. This would cost 192 of the approximately 1,100 jobs, making the Renault law on collective redundancies applicable.

The restructuring should give Dreambaby a new impetus to grow permanently on its own and in a sustainable way, the company says, but more is needed for Dreamland: that retail chain needs a strong partner. Colruyt has found that in Belgian family-owned toy chain ToyChamp, which operates more than 30 stores in Belgium and the Netherlands and has a distribution centre in Genk. Together, Dreamland and ToyChamp would become Belgium’s largest toy retailer.

ToyChamp would acquire 75% of Dreamland’s shares, gaining control of the chain, which will remain as a brand and legal entity. Current management will remain on board. Further details on the deal are not given by those involved.

This news brief is based on reporting published by RetailDetail on 2023-04-19. The original report is linked below.