The fact that HEMA as well as Marcel Boekhoorn have been clients of our firm for years led to a bit of  an awkward situation, Teska says. " When word reached us that Marcel was  contemplating buying HEMA, I contacted him to discuss this. Luckily, he was very understanding when I told him we could not help him in this matter. But he was happy with our advice to turn to De Brauw; in fact, he even had 200 tompoezen ( HEMA's signature pastry) delivered to our Rotterdam office."

Founded in 1926, HEMA has 750 stores in nine countries, but Holland and Belgium are its core markets. Its wide product range includes apparel, make up, stationary and home decor, among others. The Dutch retailer said in its statement that it is looking for opportunities to increase the number of international partners to accelerate its expansion overseas.

Boekhoorn added: “HEMA is an iconic brand with fantastic international opportunities, but there are also sufficient prospects for growth in the Netherlands. The acquisition fits my ambition to let businesses grow. Together with HEMA 's staff and its franchisees, I want to support HEMA in becoming a global brand”.