Unwrapping in 2025 – Fashion giants tackle a challenging market: Acquisition and bankruptcy aftermath

From blocked merger attempts to widescale bankruptcies, 2024 has been somewhat of a rollercoaster for brands across all subcategories. FashionUnited takes a look at what is on the horizon as the biggest stories of this year continue to unfold into 2025.

Head-to-head: Fashion giants tackle turbulent market

A major merger at Saks and Neiman Marcus

In the wake of waning luxury demand, the coming together of industry giants is unsurprising, yet has likely helped to accelerate the long-discussed process of the merger between Neiman Marcus and Saks. The latter confirmed its plans for a 2.56 billion dollar takeover of the US department store chain in summer, outlining an intention to create a new real estate-focused business unit housing a portfolio of luxury retailers, dubbed ‘Saks Global’. Headway was made earlier in December, when it was reported that Hudson’s Bay Company, Saks’ Canadian parent, launched a five-year bond to help fund the acquisition, and later on Christmas Eve, it was announced that Saks Global had officially finalised the acquisition.

What is yet to be seen is how Saks Global is to ultimately be received. At the crux is a mission to provide luxury consumers with a more advanced shopping experience, with access to a wider assortment, personalised transactions and support for both established and emerging brands cited to be at the forefront. The role of investors tied to the merger is also unclear. While it has been confirmed that Amazon is to work on innovating on the behalf of customers and brand partners, major players like Authentic Brands Group, G-III Apparel Group and Salesforce were also named as equity contributors.

The aftermath of the Tapestry, Capri fallout

One development from this year that did cast doubt over the merger between the two retail giants was the result of a similar attempt by luxury conglomerates, Tapestry and Capri Holdings. The duo set out to initiate an 8.5 billion dollar merger earlier this year, but were stopped in their tracks by a US watchdog lawsuit that raised concerns over market competition. Despite arguing “competitive pressures” and “brand fatigue”, the acquisition was blocked on the grounds that their coming together could “lessen competition” or “create a monopoly”.

Following the denial of the proposed merger, industry experts anticipated a wider setback in future deals of a similar nature. For the two companies in question, however, the blockade has forced a reassessment. At Capri, this has already taken shape in new leadership for Michael Kors, while its brands Versace and Jimmy Choo are reportedly on the chopping block. Tapestry, meanwhile, has continued to “outperform” in the way of financials, so any setback is yet to be seen.

Boohoo and Frasers battle for dominance

While already battling for board representation at Hugo Boss and Mulberry, it was Frasers Group’s pursuit of a seat at the Boohoo Group that ensnared industry discussion towards the latter half of the year. This was largely in part due to the very public spat between the two parties, which took to issuing open letters to one another in order to apply pressure on the other half.

The result of the draw, however, was that Boohoo shareholders declined seats for the director candidates proposed by Frasers, including the group’s founder Mike Ashley. In the latest development, Frasers said it would continue pursuing representation, and put forth an appropriate candidate in order to do so, hinting that there is still more to come from this saga.

In the shadow of bankruptcy, what the future looks like for…

Ted Baker

The year started off on an admittedly rough note for British retailer Ted Baker, as it plunged into bankruptcy and ultimately disappeared from high streets across the world. It was the result of an amalgamation of issues spanning many years, from mismanagement to waning demand. However, by August, its parent company, Authentic Brands Group, seemed to have regained somewhat of its grandeur and began securing new agreements to retain a presence in key markets. PDS Group then took over Ted Baker’s wholesale rights, relaunching this segment of the business in the UK and Europe. What is to come of physical retail is yet to be seen.

Scotch & Soda

While 2023 seemingly appeared to ring in a new start for Dutch brand Scotch & Soda following widespread bankruptcy, by mid-2024, things began to take a turn. The retailer’s North European retail organisation declared bankruptcy, throwing into doubt the leadership of its current owner, US firm Bluestar Alliance. It was somewhat of a balancing act, however, as around the same period, the brand returned to physical retail in the UK. Some international agencies also stepped in to take control of specific subsidiaries to the retailer, meaning that its return to some regions had been panned out. Where the brand will go next is still to be determined.

Esprit

If any brand was seen to have had a truly turbulent year, it was none other than Esprit. What started out in profit warnings soon turned into bankruptcy filings at one subsidiary, then another, then another. A widespread restructuring and a switch to a licensing model followed, before the rights to the brand were eventually sold to British investor Alteri. With this, a relaunch was underway, yet what exactly this will look like has not yet publicly taken shape. And while positivity seemed to sprout from this news, in October, Esprit’s US subsidiaries for wholesale and retail ultimately took a fall, filing for bankruptcy. The future of its US textile business remains uncertain.

Farfetch’s New Guards Group

Early 2024, the future of the once struggling luxury retailer Farfetch had been secured, as its new owner, South Korea’s Coupang, finalised its acquisition. The firm later set out its intention for the British e-tailer, a one that revolved around–eventually–putting Farfetch’s luxury e-commerce business to the forefront. While a positive outlook for Farfetch, the future of its subsidiaries was uncertain.

Concern particularly fell onto New Guards Group (NGG), the Farfetch-owned parent company of Palm Angels and Ambush. And it seemed such concern was valid. The group filed for bankruptcy in November and while this allows NGG to remain active, it has persuaded partners to cut ties. Authentic Brands Group, for example, ceased a distribution agreement with NGG for Reebok, claiming that the company owed it around 300 million dollars in royalty payments.

A suitor for NGG’s takeover, Style Capital, was said to be mulling an acquisition of the group, however, such a deal has not yet materialised. Other interested parties have not made themselves known.