Matalan denies Asda takeover rumour
Discount retailer not for sale
June 12 2003
UK discount clothing retailer Matalan has denied that is has had a takeover approach from Asda.
Responding to the latest retail takeover rumour to sweep the City this week, Matalan stressed that it had received no approaches, and said that the controlling stake in the business controlled by founder and chairman John Hargreaves is not up for sale.
Matalan has grown phenomenally in the UK since its inception, but has seen sales slip over the past few months. Last week, it reported a decline of 7.5 per cent in sales across the first 13 weeks of its new financial year, with a disappointing response to its spring and summer ranges.
Asda is owned by Wal-Mart, which has put a focus on growth of clothing sales in the past year, including the worldwide rollout of the George clothing brand.
