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Tag: Mike Ashley

  • Mike Ashley in talks to sell Missguided to Shein

    Mike Ashley in talks to sell Missguided to Shein

    Chinese fashion giant Shein has reportedly been in talks with Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group to acquire the UK-based fashion platform Missguided.

    Sky News said the two companies have been negotiating for several weeks. The move came about a year after Missguided was brought out of administration by Frasers Group for £20 million. The deal, if it happens, will mark Shein’s first acquisition of a UK label.

    The source said the acquisition will likely include Missguided’s brand and its intellectual property, while Frasers Group will retain its head office.

    Missguided was founded in 2009 by Nitin Passi, the daughter of an Indian immigrant who set up the high street supplier By Design in the 1960s. The company grew its presence in the UK and overseas markets, including the Middle East and Asia. Investment company Alteri acquired a 50 percent stake in Missguided in 2021 before the fashion company went into administration last year as it failed to pay its debts.

    Shein has recently announced it will bring the company’s ESG roadmap pledge to $155 million, following the $70 million committed last April.

  • Stephen Marks mulls French Connection sale

    Stephen Marks mulls French Connection sale

    French Connection founder and CEO Stephen Marks plans to sell his remaining cornerstone stake in the fashion label.

    Sky News UK has reported Marks has engaged Numis Securities to approach prospective buyers for the 42 per cent stake in French Connection which he still holds. He founded the brand back in 1969.

    UK media is reporting that should a buyer be found for the stake, it would almost certainly trigger a takeover bid for the entire company. A formal stock exchange announcement is pending.

    French Connection is emerging from a challenging period in its history after its hugely successful FCUK era brand positioning fell from favour in the late 2000s. In recent months, it has built strong sales online via Asos and it raised £23.3 million from the sale of 75 per cent of its Toast label in April to Danish retailer Bestseller United, parent of Selected, Vera Moda and Jack & Jones, among others.

    But the parent brand, now down to a store network of only about 30, recorded a like-for-like sales decline of 7 per cent in the half year to July 31 and a loss of £5.5 million. Marks, however, anticipates the business will be profitable by January with licensing income on the rise, reaching £2.6 million for the period, and wholesale revenues up 6.2 per cent.

    Any deal for Marks’ stake will be heavily influenced by the second largest shareholder in French Connection, Mike Ashley, who holds 27 per cent of the stock. Ashley recently bought out troubled House of Fraser and is CEO of Sports Direct.

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