enterstore group will help UNUO with its expansion abroad, it bought a majority stake

May 5, 2023

The Czech e-commerce group enterstore has entered the family company unuodesign, which operates an e-shop with children’s clothing of its own production under the UNUO brand. Enterstore acquired a majority stake in the company. The investor’s main goal is to accelerate the company’s expansion abroad and support its further growth.

Currently, UNUO operates besides the domestic market also in Slovakia and is planning to expand to Germany and other markets this year. In 2022, the company’s turnover reached CZK 114 million.

The company wants to triple this amount within five years. Petra Plemlová, the company’s founder and so far sole owner, retains a minority stake in the company and will continue to manage it.

This is the fourth e-commerce investment for enterstore as UNUO will join Astratex, one of the largest online lingerie retailers in Europe, Sportega, a leading retailer of specialist sports equipment, and Oveckarna a specialist in goods made from sheep’s wool and other natural materials.

The enterstore group plans to continue its acquisitions of specialised domestic and foreign e-shops with a strong market position and the potential to succeed abroad.

Long-term partner

“My several years of thinking about the future of the company and a suitable partner for its further successful development finally resulted in a partnership with the enterstore group, whose e-shops have been showing great results for a long time. What I appreciate most about working with the enterstore team is their professional approach to the acquisition, a clear and specific long-term development plan and an active approach to managing the company,” says Petra Plemlová.

Unuodesign has shown continuous growth in turnover and number of employees in recent years. “This year, we are planning a sustainable growth rate of 10 to 15 percent in terms of turnover, and we want to focus on setting up processes for further growth in the future. However, for the next period with a new partner by our side, our targets are considerably more ambitious. We want to at least triple the current figures within five years. The goal for this year is to establish ourselves with our own e-shop on the German market, which will be the first major step in our expansion across Europe,” adds Petra Plemlová, who is also an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award winner.

Enterstore sees a lot of potential in the company. “Unuodesign convinced us not only with its strong story that spans the company’s entire history, but especially with its unique product and now stable and loyal customer base supported by high consumer awareness of the UNUO brand in its specific market segment. UNUO proves, despite prejudices, that traditional local textile production can still be run efficiently, profitably and successfully in the Czech Republic. With the combination of a unique product a strong market position and its own brand with potential for international expansion, unuodesign meets the investment criteria of the enterstore group without reservation”, says David Hort, Investment Director at Hartenberg Capital.

“Enterstore is a group of mutually cooperating companies across which there are operational and economic synergies and shared know-how in key areas. Enterstore companies currently operate in 16 European countries and employ a total of 500 people. For 2023, we expect consolidated sales of CZK 2.5 billion in the enterstore group,” adds Karol Guláš.

About unuodesign

The history of unuodesign dates back to 2005, when Petra Plemlová started her business in the clothing industry. However, the modern history of the company started in 2016, when organized production of children’s clothing under the UNUO brand in Tábor has begun.

In 2021, the company’s annual turnover exceeded the CZK 100 million mark for the first time in its history. Unuodesign currently operates two e-shops in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, one with children’s clothing under the UNUO brand and the other with design fabrics and additional tailoring assortment called unuodesign.

Since the beginning, the online environment has been the company’s main sales channel. In 2017, the company won the Vodafone Company of the Year award for the South Bohemia region and 3rd place in the same competition in the national round. In the same year, the company’s founder Petra Plemlová was awarded the EY Entrepreneur of the Year title in the Story category.

The list of the company’s awards includes, among others, the Quality Award in the Heureka ShopRoku poll or a place in the prestigious Deloitte Fast50, which annually recognizes the 50 fastest growing companies with digital or technological overlap in the region. Petra Plemlová was awarded, among other things, the title of Woman of the Year 2019 in the business category. Today, nearly 100 employees work for the company and this number can be expected to grow further with the upcoming international expansion.