After reports last week that Amazon was in talks to acquire Net-a-Porter and its subsidiaries, news has come to light that the bargain bin of the high-fashion world, Yoox, is really, actually, totally looking at buying Net-a-Porter. In contrast to the Amazon news, which rested a little bit more on rumors and a whole lot of "we're talking but you never know" type vapors, Yoox has come out to publicly confirm that they are in the process of negotiating the acquisition. I mean, the company put out a press release and everything.
Now, Amazon would have been a great suitor for the Net-a-Porter brand and everything that comes along with it, but if there's a better partner for "brand synergy" it's probably Yoox. Yoox owns the market when it comes to finding obscure pieces from last season's designer collections and scooping them up for a very dope low price, not to mention already pushing super high-end goods via The Corner, their full price site. Personally, I've found many a jawn on Yoox the season after it dropped because I tend to gravitate towards swagless cast-offs. Yoox also operates the online stores for a few big name fashion brands like Armani, Lanvin, Valentino and Marni, so this potential retail coup lines up pretty damn perfectly for both sides it seems. We'll just have to wait and see if this ends up happening.
UPDATE: This morning, Net-a-Porter’s owner, Richemont confirmed that Yoox Group and Net-a-Porter are set to merge. There’s a lot of business speak involved with “shares” and shit like that but Yoox CEO Federico Marchetti told The New York Times that coming together will save the company a lot of money down the road. He also mentioned that the editorial interests, like the Mr. Porter Journal and Net-a-Porter’s Porter magazine, are a good spark for Yoox, which has never really ventured into that territory. The sites will remain separate and there are plans to expand its warehouses around the world to make logistics more seamless. Sounds like a good deal for everyone involved.
