Luxury conglomerate Richemont has made the decision to sell more than half of its stake in online fashion retailer YOOX Net-A-Porter (YNAP), in a move aimed at accelerating the growth of Richemont’s platforms and strengthening its online presence. This announcement comes after months of speculation about the potential sale of YNAP, and it is now confirmed to happen for the 2022/2023 season.
In a statement released on August 24, Richemont revealed that e-retailer Farfetch will acquire a 47.5% stake in YNAP, while businessman Mohamed Alabbar will acquire an additional 3.2% through his investment structure, Symphony Global. This agreement also paves the way for Farfetch to potentially acquire the remaining shares of YNAP through a buyout and sale mechanism.
This strategic move marks an important step for Luxury New Retail, as it seeks to boost the performance of YNAP’s platforms. Richemont’s “Online Retailers” activity saw a modest growth of only 2% from April to June, prompting the need for a renewed strategy. Richemont and Farfetch had already partnered with Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, to enhance their “Luxury New Retail” strategy in China. The collaboration with Farfetch will now provide Richemont with effective solutions to strengthen the online presence of its brands.
In addition to leveraging Farfetch’s solutions, Richemont’s brands, including AZ Factory and Chloé, will soon join the Farfetch marketplace through e-concessions. This means that these brands will optimize their own e-commerce platforms while also benefiting from Farfetch’s marketplace reach. Moreover, Richemont intends to use the same strategy to further digitalize its jewelry and watch portfolio, which includes renowned brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, and Jaeger-LeCoultre. This move is particularly significant considering the impressive revenue increase in Richemont’s jewelry and watch segments in the previous fiscal year.
The jewelry segment experienced a substantial 49% revenue growth, surpassing €11 billion, while watch sales surged by an impressive 53%, reaching €3.4 billion. By expanding its presence in the digital marketplace through Farfetch, Richemont aims to capitalize on the growing trend of online luxury retail and further strengthen its position in the industry.
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