Michal Zámec may sell a stake in Notino, Czech record deal looms

The founder of the perfume giant Notino, Michal Zámec, is considering selling a minority stake in the company — or possibly an even larger share. It could turn out to be the biggest deal on the Czech market in years. The negotiations were reported by the newspaper Hospodářské noviny.

Zámec founded Notino back in 2006, and today it is the largest online seller of cosmetics and perfumes in Europe. In an interview with Forbes at the end of last year, the entrepreneur spoke of the company's huge growth potential: “I see so much room to keep growing in Europe. I honestly believe we can grow several times over.”

As part of preparations for a possible deal, a so-called sale teaser has been drawn up — a document meant to attract potential investors. It is believed to have been produced by the American investment bank Jefferies. Among the possible bidders mentioned are strategic players, multinational funds and Czech billionaires.

Investor Jakub Čanda could be interested in particular, together with the international fund CVC, which has already invested in the Douglas chain. Other potential buyers include the A.S. Watson group, which owns stakes in the Rossmann and Marionnaud chains, and, according to rumours, the French giant LVMH.

Zámec himself, however, insists that Notino is not for sale: according to him, the ongoing process is only about finding the most advantageous way to finance the company's future growth, and at most a very small stake might change hands. It's also possible that the whole process is simply a way to test the market's interest.

The company's financial results are impressive: in the 2025 financial year, Notino's turnover reached a record 1.76 billion euros (about 43 billion crowns), with average annual growth of 25% over the past seven years. In the current financial year, revenue could approach two billion euros (almost 50 billion crowns). The company serves 30 million customers a year, offers 120,000 products, employs 2,500 people, and runs 27 stores in eight European countries, including Poland, the UK and Spain.

By the Around Prague newsroom