Founded in 1987, Merkal has grown to become a leading Spanish footwear and accessories retailer with 208 stores across Spain. OpCapita, an international private equity firm specialising in operational transformation in the retail, consumer and leisure industries, acquired Merkal in December 2017 from the French based Vivarte Group.

As part of OpCapita’s transformation programme, Gordon Brothers was appointed in January 2019 to complete a slow moving and prior season inventory clearance programme over a 9-week period, clearing €30m of inventory at retail value from the 208 Spanish stores.

This is not the first time Gordon Brothers and OpCapita have worked together. Gordon Brothers partnered with OpCapita back in 2013 when the private equity firm acquired the German discount fashion retailer, NKD. The retailer had amassed aged and excess inventory through its 1,369 stores in Germany. Gordon Brothers was appointed to implement a stock clearance programme to help generate cash for the business, clearing €30m of out-of-season inventory from all German stores over a 6-week trading period.