APRIL 2010 – RICHEMONT GOES ONLINE WITH NET-A-PORTER
Richemont buys online fashion retailer Net-a-Porter
April 1 – Cie Financiere Richemont SA, one of the top three luxury groups, owner of brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Dunhill or Jaeger Le Coultre, agreed to buy the online fashion retailer Net-a-Porter LLC. The Swiss group already owned 33% of the web company, this acquisition values the 10-year-old company at 350 million pounds (source Bloomberg).
Net-a-Porter will remain an independent company with its founder, Nathalie Massenet, as executive chairman of the business.
This acquisition will boost Richemont in the 3.6 billion-euro ($4.9 billion) online luxury market which Bain & Co estimates grew by 20% in 2009. Net-a-Porter should bring its strong online retail expertise to the other companies of the group. Richemont’s main competitor LVMH already owns its own fashion website eLuxury mainly operating in the US.
Luxury brands has been slow, and sometimes reluctant, to adopt the web as a distribution channel on concern that internet undermines the shopping experience and depreciate their products.
Net-a-Porter sells 300 different brands and ships in 170 countries. In 2009, the company generated 120 million pounds revenue through more than 1 million orders declared Richemont in a statement.
Yvon Le Gall
Luxury-world