Matches Fashion acquired by Frasers Group

Luxury online fashion retailer Matches Fashion has been acquired by Frasers Group. The deal was worth around 60 million euros. With this acquisition, the Group wants to strengthen its luxury offering.

In October, the Frasers Group announced that it had sold Missguided to Shein. Frasers said that it wanted to focus on fewer brands. It seems that, instead, it is focusing on more luxury brands.

Matches Fashion was loss making

Matches Fashion is an online platform for luxury brands for men and women. It sells products from over 450 designers in 150 countries, outside the United Kingdom. The platform has been loss making, recently. At the end of its last financial year, in January 2023, its adjusted LBITDA was a loss of 38.6 million euros (33.5 million British pounds).

‘The deal is worth around 60 million euros.’

Matches was bought by private equity firm Apax Partners in 2017. Frasers is now paying around 60 million euros (approximately 52 million British pounds) for the platform. Matches’ current CEO, Nick Beighton, will continue working with the company, to build a strategy to successfully develop the brand further.

Strengthening luxury offering

At the same time, Frasers wants to strengthen its own luxury offering through this acquisition. It already has its own luxury brand, called Flannels. According to the company, the brand has already generated a strong presence in the luxury market.

‘By leveraging our ecosystem, we will drive profitable growth for Matches.’

“This acquisition will strengthen Frasers’ luxury offering, further deepening our relationships and accelerating our mission to provide consumers with access to the world’s best brands. 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”, said Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers.