Benetton Leads Store Acquisition Group

Italian fashion group Benetton has led a consortium that fought off several rival bidders to win a multi-million dollar tender for a state-owned Sarajevo department store.

The huge Sarajka store is in the heart of the Bosnian capital and its new owners include Benetton's property arm Edizione Property.

The consortium has told the store's 450 workers their jobs are safe and it plans to invest around $40 million in the store's redevelopment and refurbishment.