British icon Selfridges becomes Thai: Weston family agrees £4bn sale December 2, 2021 Selfridges’ owner the Weston family has agreed to sell the iconic high-end department store chain to Thai private conglomerate Central Group for £4bn. The Canadian billionaires have reached an agreement with Central Group in the last few days, hoping to close the deal by the end of the month, the Times reported. Founded by American [...]
Luxury group Richemont in talks with Farfetch to shed stake in lossmaking Net-a-Porter November 12, 2021 Swiss luxury goods group Richemont is in “advanced talks” with the UK’s Farfetch over a deal to sell on its minority stake in the lossmaking Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) online luxury retailer. It’s a move that is likely to butter up investors that have long been critical of its stake in YNAP, which has lost its [...]
Global luxury market on track to beat pre-Covid sales this year – but Europe lags behind November 11, 2021 The global luxury goods sector is set for a powerful rebound and will outperform pre-pandemic levels this year, but Europe lags behind in the absence of tourists’ purses, consultancy Bain has said. Global sales of personal luxury goods – which include fashion, cosmetics, perfumes, watches, handbags and jewellery – are set to reach €283bn (£242bn) this [...]
Superyacht sales return as more billionaires splash out November 9, 2021 Superyacht sales are on the rise, coinciding with a growing number of billionaires able to splash out on the luxury cruisers, according to reports. The superyacht industry has this year significantly outperformed “any of the last 12,” superyacht brokers Fraser Yachts told The Times, which first reported the news. One possible reason for the rebound [...]
Taking a walk on the wild side of Sardinia October 9, 2021 Flying into Sardinia’s Cagliari, the ancient city spreads out below you, and then gives way to the packed beach resorts of Costa Smeralda. Cagliari’s rich in history and culture, and the resorts’ nightlife is amongst the most vibrant in the Med, but the last thing I wanted was to be surrounded by other holidaymakers. I’d [...]
Selfridges on sale as owners launch auction starting at £4bn July 26, 2021 Selfridges’ owners, the billionaire Weston family, has launched a formal auction to sell its chain of department stores. Advisers at Credit Suisse are starting to look for a buyer and will send out information to target potential bidders and kick off the process. The company is valued at around £4bn. Potential suitors are said to [...]
Mulberry returns to profit despite store closures July 21, 2021 Fashion house Mulberry returned to a profit of £5.9m after suffering a £14.2m loss last year, as online sales growth and a “strong recovery” in the UK helped compensate for pandemic store closures. Digital sales rose to £56.4m in the full year to 27 March – up 55 per cent from £36.3m in 2020, the [...]
Brexit no obstacle for Watches of Switzerland as it eyes expansion into Europe July 8, 2021 Europe is firmly on the radar of luxury retailer Watches of Switzerland. Under a new five-year plan, the group aims to enter the European luxury watch market through acquisitions and new boutiques in a shift away from its previous focus on the UK and US. Britain’s biggest retailer of Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Tag Heuer and [...]
William Adoasi: From a south London council estate to high-end watch kingpin June 20, 2021 Born and raised on a south London council estate, British-Ghanaian William Adoasi, 31, founded high-end watch brand Vitae London in 2016 and recently saw the company surpass £1m in revenue. The oldest of seven, Adoasi earned a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school after having the importance of education instilled in him by his father. [...]
Watches of Switzerland eyes first £1bn year after pandemic fails to dampen desire for posh watches May 20, 2021 Appetite for posh watches and luxury jewellery has not waned during the pandemic, as Watches of Switzerland reported a group revenue increase of 18 per cent in its 2021 financial year. Luxury watches at the company – the UK’s biggest Rolex retailer – were responsible for £788.4m in revenue, while luxury jewellery pulled in £60.8m. [...]