Boohoo.com has spent £3.3m to buy PrettyLittleThing as it looks to expand at home and abroad.
Boohoo, an IRUK Top100 retailer, has bought 66% of Top250 retailer PrettyLittleThing in a deal that will close on January 3. Its management team, including chief executive Umar Kamani, will retain the remaining 34% as they stay with and grow the business. boohoo has the option to buy the remaining stake in February 2022.
Boohoo chairman Peter Williams, said: “PrettyLittleThing was always going to be a natural fit with boohoo. Umar and his team are to be congratulated for creating a fantastic brand, which complements boohoo’s own inclusive and innovative brand, and we are delighted to add this fast growing, international business to the group.
“We believe this is an excellent opportunity to extend the Group’s overall customer appeal through two distinct, complementary brands while further enhancing the Group’s strong growth trajectory. We look forward to building on PrettyLittleThing’s success and we welcome Umar and his team to the group.”
Kamani said: “PrettyLittleThing has been a great success story over the last couple of years. Our youthful management team enables us to engage directly with our target market, pushing the boundaries of innovation in the celebrity led world of fast fashion. As part of the boohoo Group, we will continue to build on our strong brand positioning and we are excited by the prospect of continuing to anticipate and set trends.”
The deal came as boohoo.com said it expected sales to grow by between 38% and 42% in the current full year, before growth from the acquisition is taken into account. PrettyLittleThing expects its sales to grow by 150% in its current financial year, to the end of February 2017.
It said Black Friday trading was strong and that “peak season trading continues to be encouraging”.
