Media giant Condé Nast has allegedly pulled out of its $293 million-stake in London-based luxury fashion platform, Farfetch, according to The Fashion Law.
The Sunday Times, a London media outlet, reported that “Condé Nast has dumped its £234m stake in Farfetch amid concerns over how the luxury marketplace is managed. The publisher of Vogue is said to have had concerns about the amount of money Farfetch, led by José Neves, was spending on marketing.”
According to a press release from February, Farfetch generated a record gross merchandise value of $1.4 billion in 2018 and $466 million in Q4 2018.
“By all measures, 2018 was a blockbuster year for Farfetch,” said José Neves, Farfetch founder, CEO and co-chair in the February release. “We continued to lead the online personal luxury goods market, growing GMV 55% for the year – more than twice as fast as the industry. We also exited our first decade as a company with an incredible foundation for realizing our platform vision globally, including in China, with the announced acquisition of Toplife solidifying Farfetch as the Premier Luxury Gateway to China.”
Despite the blockbuster success of 2018, the Fashion Law reported that, while Farfetch “brought in £475 million in sales, up 56% from the year prior, its losses widened to £122.7 million.”
The two partnered just over two years ago with the intention of merging Condé Nast’s premium editorial content and Farfetch’s global e-commerce platform to create a seamless editorial shopping experience.
“As an early investor in Farfetch, this partnership is the next step in our evolving business relationship,” Jonathan Newhouse, the then-CEO of Condé Nast International said in a June 2017 press release. Roger Lynch was appointed CEO in April of this year, while Newhouse became chairman of the board of directors and relinquished his position to Lynch.
“It further unites two leaders in their respective sectors, combining best-in-class content with the world’s leading online luxury shopping destination,” Newhouse also said in the June 2017 release. “This is an industry defining collaboration, and I am very pleased to be joining the board of Farfetch.”
Newhouse stepped down from the Farfetch board in March of this year.
