Boohoo confirms offer for Karen Millen and Coast
Online retailer Boohoo has confirmed it has made an offer to acquire the online business of British brands Karen Millen and Coast, together with all associated intellectual property rights.
The group believes that the online business of these brands would represent “highly complementary” additions to its scalable multi-brand platform and extend the group’s offer as part of its vision to “lead” the fashion e-commerce market globally.
A statement from Boohoo read: “These discussions may or may not result in agreement of a transaction. A further announcement will be made when appropriate.”
However, a report by The Guardian said that the move could leave more than 1,100 staff at Karen Millen and Coast at risk of losing their jobs, as both brands operate out of a combined 32 stores and 177 concessions across the UK – of which the offer does not include.
Earlier this year Karen Millen agreed to buy certain parts of the Coast’s UK business out of administration. Coast was owned by Aurora Fashions, which also owns retailers Oasis and Warehouse. The retailer had numerous concessions in House of Fraser and was owed millions after the department store chain itself collapsed earlier this year.
