Mytheresa acquired Yoox Net-A-Porter

That luxury is in crisis is no secret – but lately, several analysts predict that by the middle of next year, the great sales engine could restart. Optimism for a sales recovery also emerged from the recent acquisition of Yoox Net-a-Porter by Mytheresa from the Richemont group, a move that will alter the corporate geography of luxury e-commerce. Mytheresa acquires Yoox with a solid cash position of 555 million euros, free of financial debt, and will have access to a revolving credit line of 100 million euros, provided by Richemont to fund general corporate operations. Additionally, Richemont will have a 33% stake in Mytheresa’s capital with a one-year holding obligation. Michael Kliger, CEO of Mytheresa, stated that this acquisition represents a significant step in creating a multi-brand digital luxury group, reinforced by the scalable technology recently launched by Mytheresa. According to Kliger, the luxury e-commerce sector is expected to grow over the next few years, with a projection to double digital luxury sales within the next five years – the acquisition, in this sense, demonstrates that there is still enough optimism in the market regarding the future performance of the luxury sector.

Mytheresa’s strategy will focus on developing Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter. Yoox, part of the YNAP group, will be separated from the main assets and developed independently to bring it back to growth. Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter, two companies that have historically faced operational issues, will benefit from Mytheresa's technological infrastructure and marketing expertise to reposition themselves in the market. In addition to the separation of Yoox and The Outnet, which are the group’s two off-price segments, the YNAP white label division will be closed to concentrate solely on luxury brand curation, focusing on service quality and customer care. And there are many customers: the combined portfolio of all the group's various e-commerce brands boasts over 1.3 million high-end consumers across Mytheresa, Net-a-Porter, and Mr Porter. With this maneuver, the former owner Richemont, which also owns Cartier and Alaïa among others, will remain a shareholder in Mytheresa but will reduce its direct exposure to the risks of digital retail. The idea, essentially, has been to unite forces to face the challenges posed by a sector with great growth potential but very competitive, where recent years have also seen some significant failures.