Morrison Supermarkets (LON:MRW) has acquired multi channel online retailer of baby products Kiddicare along with the rights for its technology platform for £70 million.
Kiddicare’s turnover in the financial year 2010 amounted to £37.5 million and has grown by 75% in the past three years.
Over 80% of sales are currently through the online channel.
Morrisons called the acquisition the first step in building its online business. The company intends to build its online non-food business, developing the kiddicare.com platform and management team, launching its first products in 2012.
“This acquisition brings not only a respected, successful and fast growing specialist retailer into the Morrisons group but also a robust, scalable and highly advanced technology platform around which we can begin to build our e-commerce offer,” said chief executive of Morrisons Dalton Philips.
The company will continue to trade separately as kiddicare.com.