Yoox-Net-a-Porter (Ynap) breaks its relationship with Alibaba. The ecommerce company, owned by Richemont, will soon dissolve Fengamo, the joint venture with the Chinese Alibaba and with which it operated in the Asian country. The company’s objective is to focus its business on the most profitable markets, according to Yating Wu, CEO of the company. joint venture to its employees this Thursday and has advanced WWD.
Ynap It had been operating in China for eleven years after landing last 2013. In 2018, Richemont signed the joint venture with Alibaba to strengthen its e-commerce in the Asian market, a wise decision also for the Chinese giant that was seeking credibility among luxury operators in Europe.
Richemont’s intention to completely sell off Ynap could have accelerated this decision, with the aim of eliminating any long-term agreement and cleaning up the company’s business before its sale. Last August, Richemont tried to sell 47.5% of Ynap shares to the American company Farfetch, although that same company’s financial problems thwarted the acquisition.
Yoox-Net-a-Porter had been operating in China for eleven years after landing in 2013
Richemont began exploring the sale of Ynap in October last year and, even then, Farfetch was the buyer with the most votes. The American e-commerce company, Ynap’s main competitor, is seven years younger than Net-à-Porter and in recent years has surpassed it in market share and profitability. Ynap, for its part, does not communicate its results, so their magnitudes are not known, although Analyst estimates have placed it in losses for years.
However, and given the impossibility of Farfetch keeping the business, other buyers have come out: Mytheresa or venture funds such as Bain Capital and Permira are also considering buying the company, in an operation mediated by Goldman Sachs. At the moment, it is unknown if the negotiations have progressed and who is the main operator in the bid.
Richemont closed the last financial year with a turnover 3% higher than in 2022, up to 20,616 million euros. The group’s turnover was weighed down by the slowdown in the fourth quarter, in which sales grew by only 1%. For its part, the company’s net profit did skyrocket. The company posted profits of 355 million euros, almost eight times more than in 2022. The group’s sales grew in all markets, except in the online channel. Growth was led by Asia Pacific, with an increase of 4% and Japan, with 8%.
