Editors’ Top Reads: News from Net-a-Porter, END. and more…

Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.

Mytheresa agrees deal to acquire Yoox Net-A-Porter to create global luxury fashion giant

Last Friday, we asked ‘Is a Mytheresa and Yoox Net-a-Porter merger on the cards?‘ and by Monday it was confirmed that it sure is. This week, the news broke that Mytheresa agreed to a deal with Richemont to acquire Yoox Net-A-Porter Group (YNAP). This move will see Mytheresa hold all the playing cards when it comes to luxury e-commerce market in Europe.

The German retailer will pay luxury conglomerate Richemont a cash sum of €555 million and 33% of its own fully diluted share capital to secure the deal, while YNAP will be offered free of debt and with a six-year €100 million revolving credit facility from Richemont.

The e-tailer has been flying sky high above its rivals – just look to the collapse of Matches and Farfetch – in recent months. Despite industry professionals wondering why Mytheresa would want lossmaking Net-a-Porter,  Mytheresa said the new group has the potential to achieve a GMV of €4 billion by FY29 (the current combined GMV of YNAP and Mytheresa is €3 billion). This isn’t too far of a stretch considering its biggest rivals have been dropping like flies and it now holds the market share.

Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.

E-commerce sees first growth since April 2021 with beauty sales booming

Online retail grew by 3.2% year-on-year in September 2024, the first growth in e-commerce since April 2021. Between then and September 2024, there have only been two months where growth has been flat or minuscule: up 0.2% in November 2022 and 0.5% in August 2023.

The resurgence in September was largely driven by the first two weeks of the month, which saw year-on-year revenue increase 11.6% and 10.8%, respectively. This growth can be attributed to several online product categories achieving big revenue spikes, and I was pleased to hear fashion and beauty were among the standout categories.

What does this mean for e-commerce going forward? Well, optimism could now be growing among brands and retailers ahead of Black Friday and peak Christmas trading. So, it will be interesting to see how the online channel performs over the next few months!

Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.

END. acquired by private equity firm Apollo as it nears 20th anniversary

More corporate movement in the high-end multi-brand fashion retail space this week as private equity house Apollo acquires 20-year-old END. This follows on from luxury etailer Mytheresa acquiring larger rival Yoox Net-A-Porter (see above).

The move is perhaps not as seismic as Mytheresa/YNAP as Apollo is simply taking over where another investor, The Carlyle Group, left off. But it is interesting insofar as Carlyle is exiting just three years after buying its majority stake (which is quick even by private equity terms) and also potentially heading for the exit are founders Christiaan Ashworth and John Parker (though this has not been confirmed).

Details on the deal are scant at this stage but it’s going to make for interesting watching. When founders fully exit a business like this, they can lose their shine (see Net-A-Porter and Matches for details). Let’s hope END. bucks the trend as it did with its choice of new parent, because this might have been an obvious one for Frasers to snap up.

Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.

The Interview: Christopher Donnelly, C-Founder of Gio Goi, tells us all about his new brand, Rules of Faith

A must read this week is my interview with the charismatic Co-Founder of Gio Goi, Chrstopher Donnelly, who has just launched a new luxury streetwear brand called Rules of Faith in Selfridges.

Anything he was going to do next was always going to be of interest to fashion industry folk of a certain age. Especially those who remember the rise of Gio Goi through the early 90s and beyond – a brand that grew from a cult following on the Manchester rave scene to UK-wide acclaim.

However, Donnelly’s new Rules of Faith brand has been two years in the planning, and the appeal is very much to a contemporary, tech-savvy customer who likes their streetwear to have a luxe appeal, something a bit different about it, and is willing to pay for it (it doesn’t come cheap).

Donnelly’s new brand merges graphics from the Vatican, hoodies with plush velvet-lined hoods, and first-to-market integrated technology in the form of a chip in the back neck yolk of a garment that allows anyone who purchases a piece to join the Rules of Faith ‘Congregation’. It’s like an inner circle for those in the know. The chip can be updated with information, invites, chances to purchase seriously limited-edition pieces – anything Donnelly sees fit. It’s the ultimate in exclusivity and community building, and it will be very interesting to see how it develops.

Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor

ASOS completes Topshop and Topman sale

Obviously we knew this was happening but such is my affection for Topshop (and I’m not alone in having this), I thought it worth mentioning this. ASOS has officially completed the sale of the brand it bought from the collapsed Arcadia Group to a new joint venture led by Heartland, which represents ASOS shareholder Anders Holch Povlsen and his fashion business Bestseller.

We are told to expect a revamped Topshop and Topman in the coming months and the investment being made as a result of the deal will result in return to bricks & mortar retail, if only via wholesale deals.

I can’t express how much I miss Topshop Oxford Circus especially now that I have a daughter who would love it as much as I did. I’m excited to see what gives following this deal as ASOS has done very little with Topshop since its landed the deal (I realise it’s had a lot on its plate). This is a brand that deserves a resurgence. I can’t wait to see what it looks like – even if it won’t involve a return to Oxford Circus.

Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.