Richemont Has No Plan to Invest in Luxury Brand Farfetch

Cartier owner Richemont reportedly has no intention of investing in luxury retailer Farfetch.

The company made that announcement Wednesday (Nov. 29) following the news that Farfetch could be considering becoming a private company, Reuters reported.

Those reports said Farfetch founder Jose Neves was weighing the move following a rocky listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Richemont would like to remind its shareholders that it has no financial obligations towards Farfetch and notes that it does not envisage lending or investing into Farfetch,” Richemont said in a statement, per Reuters.

Richemont, which struck a deal to sell its Yoox Net-A-Porter online fashion and accessories business to Farfetch last year, said it was “carefully monitoring the situation.”

Earlier reports had said that Richemont — along with another major backer, the Chinese eCommerce firm Alibaba, had given their tentative backing to Neves’ move.

As noted here on Tuesday (Nov. 28), Neves — who owns a 15% stake in Farfetch and 77% of voting rights in the company — is reportedly working with advisers at JPMorgan to take the company private. A Farfetch spokesperson declined to comment when reached by PYMNTS.

The retailer had announced in a Tuesday press release that it had no plans to announce its third quarter 2023 financial results and will not conduct a previously scheduled conference call to discuss said results. 

“The company expects to provide a market update in due course,” Farfetch said in the release. “The company will not be providing any forecasts or guidance at this time, and any prior forecasts or guidance should no longer be relied upon.” 

Farfetch’s stock has dropped 64% this year but jumped 20% after news of Neves’ efforts became public, the report said. 

In May, Farfetch reported a turnaround after two consecutive quarters of declining sales. The retailer exceeded analysts’ expectations by achieving 8% year-over-year revenue growth, which it attributed to an improved inventory management strategy, strategic partnerships and strong in-store sales.

In September, PYMNTS used Farfetch’s AI efforts to illustrate a desire among luxury shoppers for greater digital integration, something valued by 67% of these consumers.