Dive Brief:
- Frasers Group has acquired luxury retailer Matches from Apax Partners’ subsidiary MF Intermediate Limited in a cash deal of 52 million pounds, or about $65.9 million at current exchange rates, according to a Wednesday regulatory filing.
- Since Apax acquired Matches in 2017, the company has gone through several CEO swaps, including one in 2020 and one in 2021. It hired Nick Beighton in 2022, who currently holds the title. During the acquisition, Beighton will work closely with the Frasers team to build on the business, per the filing.
- Matches has been experiencing a loss in recent years, as noted in the filing. The e-commerce business, which also has a retail component, experienced shaky financials after the pandemic.
Dive Insight:
Frasers, which also owns Flannels, Agent Provocateur and House of Fraser, said the deal develops its strategy to strengthen its luxury offering. The assets of the acquisition total 170 million pounds, as of Jan. 31, 2023, the last accounting reference that was available, per the filing.
Matches, an e-commerce luxury site with three retail locations selling womenswear and menswear, generates most of its revenue internationally, per the filing, and delivers to 150 countries outside of the U.K.
“Whilst the global luxury environment is softer, we are confident that, by leveraging our industry-leading ecosystem, we will unlock synergies and drive profitable growth for MATCHES,” Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers, said in the filing.
Since his hire, Beighton said the company has made good progress in sharpening its brand and product curation.
“As a result, we have seen a resilient trading performance despite the challenging economic backdrop,” Beighton said in the filing. “Being part of Frasers, with their utter commitment to luxury, will give this business access to greater scale, best-in-class retail expertise and the financial stability it needs to more effectively deliver for our brand partners and our customers."
U.K.-based Frasers Group recently sold its Missguided apparel brand to fast fashion giant Shein.
Frasers generated 2.77 million pounds in revenue for the first half of its fiscal year, reported in December. That represented a 4.4% increase from the same period last year.
The news comes after the announcement that Farfetch, Matches’ competitor in the luxury e-commerce space, would be acquired by Coupang after weeks of speculation it was planning to delist from the New York Stock Exchange amid a general softening in the luxury clothing market.
