Thailand’s Pace Development Corporation has sold its 50 per cent stake in Dean & DeLuca Japan. According to a filing with the Thai stock exchange, Pace said its joint venture partner Welcome Co paid US$10 million to take full control of the business. Pace, which reported a loss of $162.5 million last year, said it would use the proceeds of the sale to repay short-term loans and meet working capital requirements.
The company bought the US-founded delicatessen and grocery retailing brand in 2014, paying $140 million for it. Since then it has adapted the concept to a cafe model, rolling out stores in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and the Middle East. Most of the US delicatessens have been closed. Last October, the company announced a partnership with travel retail specialist Lagardere to open up to 150 Dean & DeLuca stores in airport terminals internationally over the next five years, starting in Hong Kong.
