Two months after Fraser Group, a British retail, sport, and intellectual property group, acquired Matchesfashion.com for 52 million pounds, reports have surfaced that the iconic luxury e-tailer will be closing down.
Founded in 1987, Matchesfashion has 3 brick and mortar locations around London, but its business is primarily online, boasting a top-tier luxury offering of over 650 brands.
Nearly 300 employees were let go Friday, Soft Ricky 33 Cotton & Calfskin Bag reported, while the company enters administration. Still, its profitability remains bleak as the slowdown of luxury goods continues.
Fraser Reports Financial Loss
A statement from Frasers released to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday explained the terrible decision to shut down Matchesfashion after such a short amount of time post-acquisition, stating its instability. The release explained that Matchesfashion continually missed planned targets despite attempts to make the business profitable.
While said profitability was the goal for Frasers, who acquired Matchesfashion back in December, it has struggled to find its footing, and it quickly became clear that the business would require too much change and continued excess funding to stabilize it.
Vogue Business reported the administration process does not exactly mean Frasers will shutter the Matches umbrella entirely; the group declined to comment. The news is significant for the online luxury retail industry, which continues to see a decline admist the overall industry slowdown.
