The embattled Australian online retailer dstore has been bailed out by the bricks and mortar department store Harris Scarfe for an undisclosed figure.
"The business isn't in trouble, Harris Scarfe have traditional retail understanding," dstore CEO David Gold said.
However, Gold confirmed the online store was having difficulty raising funds, which he attributed to market volatility.
"The market is shakey and hard to raise funds. The e-commerce sector is unfashionable in the financial markets," Gold said.
dstore Director of Merchandise and Marketing, Murray Taylor, told ZDNet prior to the announcement that the operation is expecting an increase in online sales by 2000 percent this Christmas, expecting up to 16,000 visitors to the Web site a day.
Gold believes that the rescue deal will not discourage customers, saying the announcement "hasn't effected sales today."
"I think it will add extra security to the business," Gold said.
Harris Scarfe says the deal represents "excellent value" for its shareholders and the deal was "an opportunity we could not ignore".
The retailer says the takeover "ideally positions Harris Scarfe at the centre of the emerging convergence between online and offline retail environments as the industry rapidly moves towards fully integrated multi-channel distribution".
dstore's assets which are included in the acquistion are investments in wishlist.com.au and eFill.
