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Amazon said to be in talks to acquire Net-a-Porter

By Vivian Hendriksz

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Online retailer giant Amazon is said to have engaged in "ongoing" discussions to purchase luxury fashion e-tailer Net-a-Porter, which is believed to be as much as 2 billion euros, close to 1.5 billion pounds. According to WWD, Amazon is interested in making it mark on the fashion industry and purchasing a luxury e-commerce brand, following the launch of an online store front on Chinese giant Tmall.com, owed by Alibaba as the American e-tailer aims to expands in China.

Details surrounding the talks are unclear and both parties have declined to commented on the speculation, but it would not be the first time the London-based Net-a-Porter's parent company, Compagnie Financière Richemont is said to be seeking a potential buyer for the e-tailer. In 2013, various media sources reported that Italian online retailer Yoox was interested in acquiring the luxury online retailer, although Yoox later stepped forward and firmly denied that there were any 'discussions underway with Compagnie Financière Richemont to asses a potential merger with Net-a-Porter.'

Richemont, which currently owns luxury labels such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Azzedine Alaïa, was previously believed to be considering a initial public offering of Net-a-Porter, as one of its of options for the future luxury e-tailer, which is not a core part of its hard luxury business. But the Swiss-based holding company continues to deny claims that they are looking to sell off Net-a-Porter, with the group's chief financial officer Gary Saage stating during a conference call last November: "We love all our 20 ‘children,’ and none of the companies are for sale."

In spite of the rumors, Amazon has made it no secret that they are keen to increase their share in the fashion e-tail market. The online retailer giant will be sponsoring the inaugural men's fashion week in New York this July and is busy revamping it's platform into a more fashionable shopping location, with its new 46,000 square foot fashion photography studio in Shoreditch set to open this summer.

Amazon
FASHION
Luxury
Net-a-Porter
Richemont
Yoox