Amazon is planning to open a series of warehouses in Central Europe after being hit by a series of strikes in Germany.
According to Polish newspaper Puls Biznesu the online giant is exploring the possibility of opening three locations in Poland and two in the Czech Republic.
The Financial Times said German workers have demanded better pay from the firm and a Christmas strike threat looms. But the newspaper says that the firm relies on 'razor-thin' profit margins and that the business model 'does not sit well with unionised European work forces'.
Polish and Czech centres, well within striking distance of Germany, could allow the firm to reduce the scale of its operation within Germany. Polish and Czech wages are also lower than in western Europe and far fewer workers belong to unions.
Amazon confirmed the Polish plans to the FT, saying the centres would 'ensure Amazon continues to keep its promise of prompt and reliable delivery to European customers , especially during the ramp-up phase before the holiday season'.
Friday, 18 October 2013
Thursday, 17 October 2013
M&S Needs Online Food Delivery, Says Former Chief
Marks & Spencer risks falling behind its big food rivals if it fails to develop a plan for online delivery, former chief executive Sir Stuart Rose has said.
Rose, who has been chairman of Ocado since January, told journalists at the sidelines of the Internet Retailing Conference in London yesterday that the retailer may have to bow to customer demand.
'If the customer wants it, eventually they are going to have to provide it. By next year M&S will be the only large scale grocer that doesn't have it [an online delivery service],' he said.
Online delivery firm Ocado will begin a trial with Morrisons as soon as next month with the full launch of the supermarket's online service planned for January.
Marks & Spencer, whose food business is worth over £4 billion a year, will be the only one among Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Waitrose that does not have such a service. The Co-operative group has said it plans to begin testing a service this year and even the Iceland chain has online delivery offer.
At present the retailer only has a limited 'Food to Order' party food delivery service including sandwiches, quiches and cakes. The retailer is understood to have previously considered food delivery - including a possible tie-up with Ocado - but the plans were not pursued.
On Tuesday, Marks & Spencer plans to update the City on its food strategy amid fears that its Autumn clothing sales have failed to perform as well as expected. It has previously argued that a delivery service would not work as well as those launched by supermarkets because its customers rarely carry out a full weekly shop at its stores.
Rose, who has been chairman of Ocado since January, told journalists at the sidelines of the Internet Retailing Conference in London yesterday that the retailer may have to bow to customer demand.
'If the customer wants it, eventually they are going to have to provide it. By next year M&S will be the only large scale grocer that doesn't have it [an online delivery service],' he said.
Online delivery firm Ocado will begin a trial with Morrisons as soon as next month with the full launch of the supermarket's online service planned for January.
Marks & Spencer, whose food business is worth over £4 billion a year, will be the only one among Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Waitrose that does not have such a service. The Co-operative group has said it plans to begin testing a service this year and even the Iceland chain has online delivery offer.
At present the retailer only has a limited 'Food to Order' party food delivery service including sandwiches, quiches and cakes. The retailer is understood to have previously considered food delivery - including a possible tie-up with Ocado - but the plans were not pursued.
On Tuesday, Marks & Spencer plans to update the City on its food strategy amid fears that its Autumn clothing sales have failed to perform as well as expected. It has previously argued that a delivery service would not work as well as those launched by supermarkets because its customers rarely carry out a full weekly shop at its stores.
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Argos Joins The Tablet War With Tesco
Argos has stepped into the battleground for tablets this Christmas by launching a tablet computer today, less than a month after Tesco launched its own version.
The Argos MyTablet undercuts Tesco by £20 with a price tag of £99.99. Argos said that while 'millions' of people have already bought a tablet over the last year there are still around 75 per cent of the population without one.
'We know that tablets will feature heavily on Christmas lists this year. MyTablet is highly competitive with a great specification and fits neatly in the range of tablets we have on offer,' said Argos managing director John Walden.
While Argos's motivation appears more about gaining a slice of the tablet market - and to complete with online rivals like Amazon and Ebay - rival Tesco clearly sees it as an opportunity to hook in customers to its wider array of online and digital services.
The tablet market has grown form virtually nothing three years ago to 15 million users in the UK. This is expected to triple to 44 million by 2020 Enders Analysis predicts.
Benedict Evans, a mobile analyst at Enders, told the Financial Times: 'The price of tablets has dropped to the point where tablets are becoming customer acquisition tools. Retailers are thinking about how they can use it to build their business.'
Tesco's 7 inch device, priced at £119, also runs Android Jelly Bean, is pre-loaded with apps such as YouTube and has bespoke versions of its own digital services such as Blinkbox and access to Clubcard TV. It has 16GB of storage with an option to expand it to 48GB comes in blue, red, black and purple.
MyTablet has a 7 inch, 1024x600 resolution LCD glass screen and and has 8GB of memory. With a Micro SD card it can support 32GB. It runs Google's Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating system and is powered by a 1.6GHz dual core processor.
It is also clearly targeting the teenage market. It is available in pink or silver metal cases, comes with free pre-loaded games and apps including BBC iPlayer, Angry Birds, Facebook, Twitter, an e-Book reader app and a front facing camera for Skyping. Its association with Google means that users will also have access to millions of apps through Google Play.
The Argos MyTablet undercuts Tesco by £20 with a price tag of £99.99. Argos said that while 'millions' of people have already bought a tablet over the last year there are still around 75 per cent of the population without one.
'We know that tablets will feature heavily on Christmas lists this year. MyTablet is highly competitive with a great specification and fits neatly in the range of tablets we have on offer,' said Argos managing director John Walden.
While Argos's motivation appears more about gaining a slice of the tablet market - and to complete with online rivals like Amazon and Ebay - rival Tesco clearly sees it as an opportunity to hook in customers to its wider array of online and digital services.
The tablet market has grown form virtually nothing three years ago to 15 million users in the UK. This is expected to triple to 44 million by 2020 Enders Analysis predicts.
Benedict Evans, a mobile analyst at Enders, told the Financial Times: 'The price of tablets has dropped to the point where tablets are becoming customer acquisition tools. Retailers are thinking about how they can use it to build their business.'
Tesco's 7 inch device, priced at £119, also runs Android Jelly Bean, is pre-loaded with apps such as YouTube and has bespoke versions of its own digital services such as Blinkbox and access to Clubcard TV. It has 16GB of storage with an option to expand it to 48GB comes in blue, red, black and purple.
MyTablet has a 7 inch, 1024x600 resolution LCD glass screen and and has 8GB of memory. With a Micro SD card it can support 32GB. It runs Google's Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating system and is powered by a 1.6GHz dual core processor.
It is also clearly targeting the teenage market. It is available in pink or silver metal cases, comes with free pre-loaded games and apps including BBC iPlayer, Angry Birds, Facebook, Twitter, an e-Book reader app and a front facing camera for Skyping. Its association with Google means that users will also have access to millions of apps through Google Play.
Former Kiddicare Executives Create Digital Start-Up Investment Vehicle
Former Kiddicare executives Scott and Elaine Weavers-Wright have set up a digital start-up investment fund.
Haatch has been set up by the husband and wife team to provide funding and assistance to technology-driven firms in the early stages of development.
Scott Weaver-Wright was chief executive at Kiddicare, the online children's retailer which was acquired by Morrisons in February 2011. Elaine was head of buying and merchandising at Kiddicare.
Fred Soneya, an e-commerce troubleshooter at Morrisons who also previously worked at Kiddicare, is also joining the investment team.
In June it was revealed that Scott Weavers-Wright - described as the architect of online at Morrisons - had decided to leave the supermarket following the completion of the landmark deal with Ocado. Soneya left the same month.
Haatch said in a statement: 'With an investment focus on graduates and start-ups in the digital realm, Haatch will provide much more than a desk space and a lump sum. We will work alongside start-ups in their early stages, wrapping the services and support you need to grow your seed into a flourishing new business.'
To create an environment for the firms to develop, Haatch says it is building a £1.5 million 'state of the art business incubation centre' planned to open in Stamford, Lincolnshire in summer 2014. Stamford was earlier this year named the best place to live in Britain by the Sunday Times.
The Stamford centre, also known as The Hub, will house over 100 people in an open-plan, 5 storey building, complete with a roof terrace and 'super fast internet'. It will be an 'inspiring and collaborative atmosphere,' according to the company.
The Kiddicare business was founded by Neville and Marilyn Wright. Scott and Elaine Weavers-Wright are their son-in-law and daughter. The acquisition was billed as a way for Morrisons to gain knowledge of the online world as well as a successful children's products business.
Haatch has been set up by the husband and wife team to provide funding and assistance to technology-driven firms in the early stages of development.
Scott Weaver-Wright was chief executive at Kiddicare, the online children's retailer which was acquired by Morrisons in February 2011. Elaine was head of buying and merchandising at Kiddicare.
Fred Soneya, an e-commerce troubleshooter at Morrisons who also previously worked at Kiddicare, is also joining the investment team.
In June it was revealed that Scott Weavers-Wright - described as the architect of online at Morrisons - had decided to leave the supermarket following the completion of the landmark deal with Ocado. Soneya left the same month.
Haatch said in a statement: 'With an investment focus on graduates and start-ups in the digital realm, Haatch will provide much more than a desk space and a lump sum. We will work alongside start-ups in their early stages, wrapping the services and support you need to grow your seed into a flourishing new business.'
To create an environment for the firms to develop, Haatch says it is building a £1.5 million 'state of the art business incubation centre' planned to open in Stamford, Lincolnshire in summer 2014. Stamford was earlier this year named the best place to live in Britain by the Sunday Times.
The Stamford centre, also known as The Hub, will house over 100 people in an open-plan, 5 storey building, complete with a roof terrace and 'super fast internet'. It will be an 'inspiring and collaborative atmosphere,' according to the company.
The Kiddicare business was founded by Neville and Marilyn Wright. Scott and Elaine Weavers-Wright are their son-in-law and daughter. The acquisition was billed as a way for Morrisons to gain knowledge of the online world as well as a successful children's products business.
SecretSales.com Heads For Profit After Advertising Kick Starts Sales Surge
Flash sales site SecretSales.com expects to make a profit next year after start-up costs plunge it into an expected loss of around £3 million this year
The fashion etailer revealed it made a loss of £3.9 million in 2012 on sales of 10.8 million. Sales increased 22 per cent across the year but accelerated in the last quarter to 84 per cent.
The website benefited from a television campaign in the quarter that co-founder Nish Kukadia told Drapers magazine was ‘essential for setting the foundations of the business’ and ‘building scale’.
‘It’s a volume business and what dictates our profit is membership,’ he said. The TV campaign provided a ‘step change’ in the company’s development.
The etailer expects to membership to increase by around a quarter this year, reaching 3.1 million. He said he expected the firm to hit profitability next year which would be achieved when membership reaches 3.5 to 3.6 million.
He said the site, whose target customers earn around £75,000 a year, was not just about luxury brands but ‘desireable ones’ as well.
The fashion etailer revealed it made a loss of £3.9 million in 2012 on sales of 10.8 million. Sales increased 22 per cent across the year but accelerated in the last quarter to 84 per cent.
The website benefited from a television campaign in the quarter that co-founder Nish Kukadia told Drapers magazine was ‘essential for setting the foundations of the business’ and ‘building scale’.
‘It’s a volume business and what dictates our profit is membership,’ he said. The TV campaign provided a ‘step change’ in the company’s development.
The etailer expects to membership to increase by around a quarter this year, reaching 3.1 million. He said he expected the firm to hit profitability next year which would be achieved when membership reaches 3.5 to 3.6 million.
He said the site, whose target customers earn around £75,000 a year, was not just about luxury brands but ‘desireable ones’ as well.
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Sainsbury's To Open First Dark Store In South East London
Supermarket Sainsbury's plans to open its first online-only delivery warehouse as it expands its billion pound grocery delivery business.
The so-called 'dark' store will be built in Bromley-By-Bow - just five miles east of Sainsbury's head office in Central London - and open in the next few years. The facility will cover 185,000 square feet and serve 20,000 customers a week.
Jon Rudoe, Sainsbury’s director of online, digital and cross-channel, told the Daily Telegraph: 'The site will be purpose-built with the Sainsbury’s customer in mind and will support our existing store-based operation, something that will continue to be the foundation of our online grocery business.'
Sainsbury's revealed earlier this month that its food delivery business turnover had reached £1 billion on a 12 month rolling basis. It fulfills 190,000 orders a week.
Tesco, Asda and Waitrose have all opened dedicated online delivery warehouses. Tesco is due to open its sixth this month, Waitrose has one with plans for a second, both in London, and Asda has three in Leeds, Enfield in North London, and Nottingham.
But Sainsbury's management has historically appeared dismissive of dark stores arguing that it is more cost effective to make store picking more efficient rather than set about creating costly, dedicated centres.
Chief executive Justin King was quizzed on the subject by analysts during the firm's second quarter results conference call just two weeks ago and appeared to have changed his tune. He said: 'Dark stores will come, I don’t think that that’s in debate, and as we’ve seen from our competitors the capacity constraint for them will be the same for us, it will be in the southeast.'
But he also made an effort to play down expectations that any strategy was urgently needed: 'The progress that we’ve made over the last two or three years, both in the layout of our stores but also in the timing and approach of our picking operations, means that we remain confident we’ve got capacity growth there. The key balance in an in-store pick is that you don’t want it to interfere with the in-store experience for real customers in the store.'
He continued: 'Our first focus is to invest on productivity in our existing operations, and we continue to exceed our own expectations of what’s possible from a store pick operation, both in terms of the productivity of that operation, but also in terms of the capacity.'
The Bromley-By-Bow warehouse will employ 375 people when it opens.
The so-called 'dark' store will be built in Bromley-By-Bow - just five miles east of Sainsbury's head office in Central London - and open in the next few years. The facility will cover 185,000 square feet and serve 20,000 customers a week.
Jon Rudoe, Sainsbury’s director of online, digital and cross-channel, told the Daily Telegraph: 'The site will be purpose-built with the Sainsbury’s customer in mind and will support our existing store-based operation, something that will continue to be the foundation of our online grocery business.'
Sainsbury's revealed earlier this month that its food delivery business turnover had reached £1 billion on a 12 month rolling basis. It fulfills 190,000 orders a week.
Tesco, Asda and Waitrose have all opened dedicated online delivery warehouses. Tesco is due to open its sixth this month, Waitrose has one with plans for a second, both in London, and Asda has three in Leeds, Enfield in North London, and Nottingham.
But Sainsbury's management has historically appeared dismissive of dark stores arguing that it is more cost effective to make store picking more efficient rather than set about creating costly, dedicated centres.
Chief executive Justin King was quizzed on the subject by analysts during the firm's second quarter results conference call just two weeks ago and appeared to have changed his tune. He said: 'Dark stores will come, I don’t think that that’s in debate, and as we’ve seen from our competitors the capacity constraint for them will be the same for us, it will be in the southeast.'
But he also made an effort to play down expectations that any strategy was urgently needed: 'The progress that we’ve made over the last two or three years, both in the layout of our stores but also in the timing and approach of our picking operations, means that we remain confident we’ve got capacity growth there. The key balance in an in-store pick is that you don’t want it to interfere with the in-store experience for real customers in the store.'
He continued: 'Our first focus is to invest on productivity in our existing operations, and we continue to exceed our own expectations of what’s possible from a store pick operation, both in terms of the productivity of that operation, but also in terms of the capacity.'
The Bromley-By-Bow warehouse will employ 375 people when it opens.
Monday, 14 October 2013
Morrisons Online Trial Moves Closer As It Begins Hiring Drivers
A trial of Morrisons' online delivery service is expected to begin as early as next month after its partner on the project Ocado began recruiting drivers.
The drivers have been told by Ocado on details release in its website that they will make up to 28 deliveries a day - up to 1,000 kg of shopping. Basic pay is £7.71 an hour and they have been offered a 15 per cent discount on groceries.
A first wave is being recruited to start next month for two weeks training ahead of the limited trial in the Midlands before Christmas. The main push will begin in January.
Birmingham is about 18 miles from the delivery centre in Dordon. Warwickshire - about half an hour in heavy traffic - and likely to be the main focus for the trial. Other urban centres like Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield are within easy striking distance.
Coventry is around the same distance as Birmingham, but less accessible from Dordon, and Burton-on-Trent is a similar distance in the opposite direction. Leicester and
Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips and Ocado boss Tim Steiner unveiled the £216 million deal with Ocado in May. Morrisons will lease Ocado's Dordon centre and Ocado will provide technology, staff and other services as part of the partnership that Philips has said would propel Morrisons from a 'standing start straight into the fast lane.'
The online delivery market is worth about £6 billion and Morrisons is playing catch up with rivals including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose - and Ocado.
Ocado's boss Tim Steiner has stated that he did not feel the customer bases of the two firms crossed over sufficiently to cause concern.
The drivers have been told by Ocado on details release in its website that they will make up to 28 deliveries a day - up to 1,000 kg of shopping. Basic pay is £7.71 an hour and they have been offered a 15 per cent discount on groceries.
A first wave is being recruited to start next month for two weeks training ahead of the limited trial in the Midlands before Christmas. The main push will begin in January.
Birmingham is about 18 miles from the delivery centre in Dordon. Warwickshire - about half an hour in heavy traffic - and likely to be the main focus for the trial. Other urban centres like Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield are within easy striking distance.
Coventry is around the same distance as Birmingham, but less accessible from Dordon, and Burton-on-Trent is a similar distance in the opposite direction. Leicester and
Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips and Ocado boss Tim Steiner unveiled the £216 million deal with Ocado in May. Morrisons will lease Ocado's Dordon centre and Ocado will provide technology, staff and other services as part of the partnership that Philips has said would propel Morrisons from a 'standing start straight into the fast lane.'
The online delivery market is worth about £6 billion and Morrisons is playing catch up with rivals including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose - and Ocado.
Ocado's boss Tim Steiner has stated that he did not feel the customer bases of the two firms crossed over sufficiently to cause concern.
Sunday, 13 October 2013
HMV Prepares For Christmas Online Blitz
Music retailer HMV is preparing for a massive online push in time for the festive season beginning with its Irish web site in the next few days.
It is understood that will act as a precursor for a full relaunch of its UK site once tests on the Irish launch have been completed, according to an article in the Mail on Sunday's business section.
Both sites have been closed since HMV collapsed in January. The businesses were acquired in April by retail investor Hilco who has set about resurrecting the business.
Hilco, which also owns HMV Canada, plans to have around 10 Irish stores reopened by Christmas after they were all closed earlier this year. Several have already opened with more on the way.
It also operates about 140 UK sites and recently opened a second store on Oxford Street, formerly occupied by Footlocker and reputedly the site of HMV's first ever store.
It is understood that will act as a precursor for a full relaunch of its UK site once tests on the Irish launch have been completed, according to an article in the Mail on Sunday's business section.
Both sites have been closed since HMV collapsed in January. The businesses were acquired in April by retail investor Hilco who has set about resurrecting the business.
Hilco, which also owns HMV Canada, plans to have around 10 Irish stores reopened by Christmas after they were all closed earlier this year. Several have already opened with more on the way.
It also operates about 140 UK sites and recently opened a second store on Oxford Street, formerly occupied by Footlocker and reputedly the site of HMV's first ever store.
Saturday, 12 October 2013
New Look Beats Asos And Next As Most Visited Fashion Website
Fashion retailer New Look may have been late to the online game but its website is proving popular with shoppers.
The retailer attracted 1,447,000 unique visitors in August - the most of any pureplay or multiple retailer selling fashion, according to Kantar Media data published in Drapers magazine. That compared with 1,388,000 unique visitors at Asos and 1,372,000 at Next.
The survey confirms our suspicions that New Look has hit a sweet spot with shoppers - and particularly online shoppers - after years of struggling.
We were told by someone senior at the chain a few months ago that returns are very low compared to industry peers at around 25 per cent. This is because of the close attention buyers pay to getting consistency in sizes so shoppers can order fewer sizes to fit and, therefore, need to return less.
Mostly we hear of return rates in fashion between 30 per cent and 45 per cent, making it potentially costly and with huge advantages for those that can tackle the issue head on.
New Look only launched in 2007. After a slow start, it's internet sales have grown rapidly in the past two years and increased 50.1 per cent in the year to March helping the retailer back into profit. They now account for 7.5 per cent of sales.
The August figures were relatively weak compared to previous months and compares to about 1,800,000 unique visitors to New Look in July.
Interestingly, of the pureplay retailers, Boohoo.com was the second most popular site after Asos, with 680,000 visitors. The figures suggest that it has recently overtaken Very (645,000), a close third, Ebay (630,000) and Littlewoods (512,000).
Of the multiples, Debenhams was third behind New Look and Next with 1,274,000 visitors followed by Matalan (1,204,000) and Marks & Spencer (1,101,000).
John Lewis was way down the rankings after the likes of River Island and Topshop - perhaps suggesting that, while it only had 467,000 unique visitors, it’s 800 million or so turnover comes from a smaller number of shoppers who each spend a considerable amount with the company.
The retailer attracted 1,447,000 unique visitors in August - the most of any pureplay or multiple retailer selling fashion, according to Kantar Media data published in Drapers magazine. That compared with 1,388,000 unique visitors at Asos and 1,372,000 at Next.
The survey confirms our suspicions that New Look has hit a sweet spot with shoppers - and particularly online shoppers - after years of struggling.
We were told by someone senior at the chain a few months ago that returns are very low compared to industry peers at around 25 per cent. This is because of the close attention buyers pay to getting consistency in sizes so shoppers can order fewer sizes to fit and, therefore, need to return less.
Mostly we hear of return rates in fashion between 30 per cent and 45 per cent, making it potentially costly and with huge advantages for those that can tackle the issue head on.
New Look only launched in 2007. After a slow start, it's internet sales have grown rapidly in the past two years and increased 50.1 per cent in the year to March helping the retailer back into profit. They now account for 7.5 per cent of sales.
The August figures were relatively weak compared to previous months and compares to about 1,800,000 unique visitors to New Look in July.
Interestingly, of the pureplay retailers, Boohoo.com was the second most popular site after Asos, with 680,000 visitors. The figures suggest that it has recently overtaken Very (645,000), a close third, Ebay (630,000) and Littlewoods (512,000).
Of the multiples, Debenhams was third behind New Look and Next with 1,274,000 visitors followed by Matalan (1,204,000) and Marks & Spencer (1,101,000).
John Lewis was way down the rankings after the likes of River Island and Topshop - perhaps suggesting that, while it only had 467,000 unique visitors, it’s 800 million or so turnover comes from a smaller number of shoppers who each spend a considerable amount with the company.
Friday, 11 October 2013
Yoox Held Talks To Merge With Net-A-Porter, Reports Say
Italian e-commerce hub Yoox has reportedly held talks to buy or merge with Net-A-Porter, currently owned by Swiss group Richemont.
Yoox, which was forced to put out a statement on the subject, was in discussions but the talks stalled, according to sources including Il Sole 24 Ore, an Italian daily business newspaper. The reasons talks failed remains unclear.
In a statement, which did little to deny the story, Yoox said ‘no discussions are underway with Richemont to assess a potential merger with Net-a-Porter Ltd. Therefore, the Company cannot comment further on the rumour.'
Federico Marchetti, chief executive at Yoox, which increased sales by 26.6 per cent to €375.9 million last year, told Bloomberg: ‘There are no talks underway with Richemont.' Asked whether there had been talks he said: 'We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't look at certain acquisitions in a selective manner and we will continue to do so.’
Marchetti also said it would never do anything to compromise the independence of the 30-or-so branded fashion websites it manages in the country, including Diesel, Dolce & Gabbana and Emporio Armani.
But the speculation that Net-A-Porter is up for sale would almost certainly draw other potential investors out. Richemont apparently would not comment on the rumours this week but it said earlier this year that it would consider hiving off acquisitions that had not worked or which were not profitable enough.
Observers - including the FT - took this to mean it had concerns about some of its fashion businesses rather than its jewellery and watches businesses which have long been its mainstay. But, although the timing of the rumoured talks makes it tempting to draw a link, there is no suggestion yet that Richemont includes Net-a-Porter among its regrets.
Net-A-Porter was acquired by Richemont in 2010. It had been profitable for 7 years before loosing £27.2 million on rising sales of £368 million in 2012 as it moved to broaden its products into health and beauty and opened more international markets.
Richemont said in its most recent annual report that Net-A-Porter managed to reduce losses in the 12 months to the end of March, without specifying what the losses were.
Yoox, which was forced to put out a statement on the subject, was in discussions but the talks stalled, according to sources including Il Sole 24 Ore, an Italian daily business newspaper. The reasons talks failed remains unclear.
In a statement, which did little to deny the story, Yoox said ‘no discussions are underway with Richemont to assess a potential merger with Net-a-Porter Ltd. Therefore, the Company cannot comment further on the rumour.'
Federico Marchetti, chief executive at Yoox, which increased sales by 26.6 per cent to €375.9 million last year, told Bloomberg: ‘There are no talks underway with Richemont.' Asked whether there had been talks he said: 'We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't look at certain acquisitions in a selective manner and we will continue to do so.’
Marchetti also said it would never do anything to compromise the independence of the 30-or-so branded fashion websites it manages in the country, including Diesel, Dolce & Gabbana and Emporio Armani.
But the speculation that Net-A-Porter is up for sale would almost certainly draw other potential investors out. Richemont apparently would not comment on the rumours this week but it said earlier this year that it would consider hiving off acquisitions that had not worked or which were not profitable enough.
Observers - including the FT - took this to mean it had concerns about some of its fashion businesses rather than its jewellery and watches businesses which have long been its mainstay. But, although the timing of the rumoured talks makes it tempting to draw a link, there is no suggestion yet that Richemont includes Net-a-Porter among its regrets.
Net-A-Porter was acquired by Richemont in 2010. It had been profitable for 7 years before loosing £27.2 million on rising sales of £368 million in 2012 as it moved to broaden its products into health and beauty and opened more international markets.
Richemont said in its most recent annual report that Net-A-Porter managed to reduce losses in the 12 months to the end of March, without specifying what the losses were.
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