- Richemont received approval from the Italian authorities to take full control of online platform Yoox Net-a-Porter.
- The deal is valued at €2.69 billion.
- The transaction should worry Amazon, who is struggling to break into the luxury market.
Richemont on Thursday announced that it received approval from the Italian market authorities to take full control of Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) in a €2.69 billion deal.
Yoox Net-a-Porter is an internet retailer that sells luxury goods online.
Richemont, owned by South Africa’s Johann Rupert, already owns 49% of the company, but wants to take full control.
YNAP was established after Net-a-Porter, a UK-based designer fashion site, merged with Yoox, an Italian fashion and tech company. The company has seen strong sales growth in recent years, and sees itself as the world's biggest luxury fashion store. On the Yoox site you can buy Dolce & Gabanna sneakers for a cool $1,950.
Rupert has been smart about keeping retail giant Amazon out of the luxury market. He offered other luxury groups like LVMH stakes in the YNAP platform in exchange for a commitment that they would sell their brands on the site.
Amazon has tried to get into luxury – but the luxury brands are not keen to get into Amazon.
In 2016, LVMH said there was “no way” it would do business with Amazon. “We believe the business of Amazon does not fit with LVMH full stop and it does not fit with our brands,” LVMH Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony told investors in 2016.
Richemont’s share price gained 0.6% to R105.08 in opening trading on Thursday.
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