- Shein in Negotiations to Acquire Missguided in a Major Deal
- Potential Acquisition Marks Shein’s First foray into a British Fashion Brand
- Frasers Group Considers Selling Missguided to Shein in Strategic Move
After Frasers Group saved Missguided from bankruptcy 18 months ago, Shein, worth $66 billion (£53 billion), is in talks to buy it.
Mike Ashley, a billionaire in the retail industry, is in negotiations to sell the online clothing brand Missguided to Shein, a Chinese-founded online fashion behemoth.
Shein is in talks to buy its first British fashion company.
City insiders were wondering when or if Shein and Frasers would announce a transaction after weeks of consideration.
One source added that the transaction was likely to include Missguided’s trademark and other intellectual property, with Mr. Ashley’s company retaining the company’s headquarters.
Shein, created in China and valued at over $100 billion (£81 billion) until recently, would benefit if finished.
At that time, it was more valuable than Inditex, the parent company of H&M and Zara, combined.
A recent funding round valued Shein at $66bn (£53bn) earlier this year.
Now headquartered in Singapore, the company is lining up investment banks to manage an initial public offering in the United States within the next 12 months.
Shein, a company founded in 2012, is now active in over 150 countries.
Shein reached an agreement with SPARC Group, a joint venture between ABG, the owner of Ted Baker, and Simon Property Group, an American retail mall operator, last month.
SPARC’s Forever 21 fashion brand was distributed on Shein, which has 150 million users, under this agreement.
Shein acquired a third of SPARC Group, while SPARC Group acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Shein.
A source said Shein and Frasers Group may form a similar relationship, although details are still being worked out.
Nitin Passi founded Missguided in 2008, and the company became known for extraordinary and occasionally controversial antics, such as a £1 bikini offer.
Late in 2021, it attracted investment from Alteri Investors but collapsed in the spring of 2022 due to accumulating losses.
Other interested parties included Boohoo Group before Frasers bought Missguided out of bankruptcy.
Frasers has sought to reengineer its merchandising strategy under the leadership of Michael Murray, its new CEO and Mr Ashley’s son-in-law.
The group possesses a wide variety of brands, including Evans Cycles, GAME, Gieves & Hawkes, House of Fraser, Jack Wills, and Sports Direct, among others.
According to a source, Frasers’ ownership of Missy Empire and ISawItFirst, two other female-centric, digitally-driven fashion brands, has led it to conclude that Missguided is not fundamental to its clothing market ambitions.
