Coin

Italian department store. The founding generation was that of Vittorio Coin who, in 1916, obtained a pitchman’s license to sell fabric and haberdashery. Between 1926 and 1933, the firm had its first spurt of growth, with the opening of 4 shops, all of them in Venice and its surroundings, and all specialized in fabric, yarns, and linen. It was in the early 1960s that the Coin family opened its first department stores with sales divided according to merchandise category and a greater variety of goods including toys, small leather goods, fragrances, and household objects. In 1972 the company established Oviesse, aimed at middle to low level consumers. In 1998, the figures showed: 4,200 employees; 2,132 Coin, Oviesse, and Bimbus stores in 64% of the Italian cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants; and 8 million customers. In 1996 sales were more than 1,250 billion liras.”
The Group acquires 167 Standa department stores.
It expands in Germany. An agreement with the German Divaco (owned in part by Metro Bank and Deutsche Bank) allows Coin to take over the Kaufhalle selling network, which is present all over Germany, with 99 points-of-sale. Kaufhalle has a turnover of about 1,400 billion liras.
Coin’s acquisition strategy is rewarded with a rise in the share price. The company’s shares reach a historical high of around €16, an increase of 5.26%. The company has also signed an agreement with Magazine Zum Globus (Migros Group) to open Oviesse department store franchises in Switzerland. At the end of August, the acquisition of Kaufhalle is concluded.
The Creativity Young Fashion Designer awards, organized by Coin together with Sistema Moda Italia. It is open to the best students from three schools: Domus Academy, the Marangoni Institute of Milan, and Polimoda of Florence. Piero Costa, the director of the association of textile-clothing and fashion industrialists, has promised to produce the designs of the three winners. First prize goes to a Korean, Kim Jeong-Sun of the Domus Academy; the second prize also goes to a Korean, Kim In Hee; third prize goes to Giorgia Collodoro, from Arezzo, who attends Polimoda.
In the first six months, Coin has consolidated revenues of €689.5 million, with a gross operating margin of €6.3 million. Excluding Germany, the balance sheet is positive compared to the first six months of 2001. In Italy, in fact, the gross operating margin is €44.6 million compared to €31.2 million, with a profit of €15.1 million against €2.2 million, and a pre-tax result of around €14.6 million against a loss of €8.8 million. In Italy things have gone well, both for Coin and Oviesse, while the situation is the opposite in Germany, where the Kaufhalle chain is being changed into Oviesse stores.
After the losses of the first six months, Coin’s figures improve. The third quarter shows an increase of 5.6% compared to the same period in 2001, while the profit is around €2.2 million.