Net-A-Porter In Deal Talks With Online Retailer Yoox

Amazon’s foray into the luxury apparel business may be over before it even began. Just a week after reports surfaced that the company was in talks to buy high-end retailer Net-a-Porter for $2 billion, the smaller company confirmed it’s seeking a possible deal with someone else.

BBC News reports that Net-a-Porter and Italian-based online retailer Yoox are discussing a “potential business combination” that could create a mega luxury retailer worth more than $2.5 billion.

Both Yoox and Net-a-Porter – which is owned by Swiss company Richemont – launched in 2000 as a way to provide more upscale brands in one place. However, the two companies took a decidedly different approach to doing so.

London-based Net-a-Porter showcases its products much like one might see while thumbing through a fashion magazine, while Yoox focuses on buying overstocked or unsold items from previous seasons from high-profile fashion designers and then selling those apparel products for a discounted price.

According to BBC News, the company also operates some full-priced online store for big fashion house. Called monobrand e-shops, they are described as “powered by Yoox.”

Reports of a merger between the two companies first surfaced last year, but those were never confirmed.

Yoox and Net-a-Porter in merger talks [BBC News]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist