Matches (Fashion) sold to Frasers Group.

[MistletoeRegrets]

https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/fashion/matchesfashion-sells-to-frasers-group-for-pound52-million

I missed this in the run up to Christmas and am only seeing it now via an FT newsletter. Don’t know if there’s been a recent thread? It’s surely very bad news indeed.

What on earth will happen to Raey?

Well Raey, with their shitty, nasty, overpriced cashmere can go to the wall as far as I'm concerned.

Do a search, i called this in a thread a couple of weeks ago.

Thread is “are luxury brands losing popularity “

Aha! Yes, I missed that thread.

Glad it did actually receive attention here.

Sorry you had a bad experience with Matches, @ConstitutionHill! They’ve brightened my life (and wardrobe) for years and years. But as I don’t want to dress from Sports Direct I guess I’ll gain a couple of hours scrolling time every week …

Oh, I thought it was me who called it and also shared the news -

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/4965809-are-luxury-brands-losing-popularity?reply=131589485&utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share&utm_source=copylink

Raey is the only profitable part of the business, apparently.

What's really interesting (to me at least) is how little Matches was sold for this time round when its original founders sold it for £400 million*. That in itself is telling, more so about how much money the private equity group who bought it took out of the business.

I do think many of its customers won't shop there any more given the Ashely connection. Also, the customer service is now nonexistent. I do wonder if Raey will become a brand in its own right inasmuch as it will become a wholesale brand and stocked by other platforms. That's a potentially interesting idea.

*Vogue article starts £1 billion.

Oh well … <Sigh> Nothing lasts forever.

It’s the wrong week (🎄) for me to imagine how Raey might survive independently whilst maintaining the level of quality it had at its best. I wouldn’t be at all interested in continuing to buy the ‘label’ if it’s just more mass produced, indistinguishable greige.

Ho hum.

Depends what you called,?
You said it was up for sale, but that was common knowledge , and I said on page 2 Mr Ashley was looking to purchase? Do we each get a prize?

@WowIlikereallyhateyou

Have said repeatedly in a few threads over the past year that Matches would be the next to be sold. But yes, not a competition so no prizes here most least for Mike Ashely. Matches isn't the prize it once was.

It is sad but I generally buy more from netaporter as prefer their loyalty programme.

The luxury thread was interesting. I have in the past bought a lot of luxury bags but literally laughed in Chanel when I was all set to buy a bag and they told me the price - more than I paid for a Birkin in Hermes on a small flap bag.

A rather depressing (and inevitable) update to say that in the two months since Matches has been acquired by Frasers Group, it has been announced that Matches will be closed for good.

Raey has not been mentioned, and given the collection has increased in size coupled with it being the only profitable part of the business, I am still hopeful it will continue.

How did it go wrong so quickly for matches? Presumably the Chapman's made £££ when they sold it and within a few years it is in administration.

No wonder the Raey models look so sad

Im more surprised people actually bought Raey ! Overpriced high street quality.

It’s no surprise really , terrible selection for the last few years and a lot of their stock is online only which made going to their branches pointless,

Plus Multi brand E commerce is dead and over. More people are buying in person .
luxury shopping online for everything is utterly depressing and joyless .

I've had no issues with the quality. However, I do buy in the sales as everything I like ends up there.

Well another unsurprising ending for a once-successful business sold to private equity… at some point the financial system will run out of village idiots who decide to use investors money to ‘disrupt’ a part of an industry successful veterans who understand that sector know cannot be disrupted, especially after it has been crippled with debt. My all-time favourite has to be Cazoo ‘we’ll disrupt the used car retailing sector’ who took billions of £’s in funding and turned it into… much less. A cursory chat to Motor industry veterans by anyone doing due-diligence would’ve revealed actually no you can’t - if you could, the industry would’ve done it already. Still, financial institutions queued up to give a man with zero experience in the sector even more £. A bit like WeWork (great dramatisation of this on Apple TV if anyone hasn’t seen it)

Matches was never going to be successful for two main reasons:1. PE had previously been involved (see above) so the business will have been loaded with unsustainable levels of debt and 2, I assume Frasers thought it would be a repeat of their Flannels operation (which I used to buy from until they got involved and very few of the brands offer current season inventory plus why would I pay postage on an order over £100) - however, ‘Serious’ brands are very sniffy about Mike Ashley which if you put aside the fact it is a bit snobby, is a fact nevertheless and without current season goods to retail it was never going to survive. I feel incredibly sorry for the Matches staff who are the real losers here through no fault of their own. I would imagine Raey will end up being flogged on the flannels site.

Mike Ashley has his place in the retail sector and he has been incredibly successful in building his original business empire. Yes he is a bit of an oaf but he doesn’t deserve the city snobbery (his latest court battle with Morgan Stanley about his stake in Hugo Boss is a case in point) but he does use his own money at least..outside of Sports Direct he does seem to have deployed a scattergun approach to acquiring a raft of labels/retailers - and as a strategy it is somewhat unfathomable, but the question is, who else would’ve bought Matches?

I agree with the pp about in-person buying experience though as they way forward (if you exclude Chanel who have disappeared up their own arse, closely followed by Hermes and Goyard IME who seem to deliberately under-staff their concessions/ stores or staff them exclusively with people who have a genuine dislike of customers disturbing their day). Gucci in particular here is the absolute stand/out for excellence in service in their shops and also concessions. It is a real pleasure.

Businesses have to be adaptable as customers requirements change. I used to love Netaporter for its speedy delivery which has slowly become meh over time. However, it is unbeatable for discovering new designers and offering a huge choice… which is a conflict.

Matches has been going seriously down hill in recent years. I was previously in the top tier of their loyalty programme and it was a frankly horrible experience. Had my own personal shopper who harassed me constantly and got annoyed with me if I had the temerity to actually buy something without putting it “through her”.

@Netaporter agree with you about Hermes. Popped in to buy my daughter a bracelet as a graduation present and the assistant was just so unbelievably rude to me. Aggressively explained she was in the middle of something (folding a stack of scarves) and so was unable to help. This attitude will bite them on the bum in the long term.

Matches used to be propped up with VC money and the owners made a huge amount when the deal went through. I don’t think they were natural business people so it doesn’t surprise me.

I used to shop there years ago at various branches when I had money. I mean they were ok but I just saw it for what it was, a shop that sold designer items. As a pp said, they’ve been going downhill for ages.

It must’ve been good when the Chapmans started it and it’s a pity it’s gone.

Anyway, hope they have a lovely big sale!

I actually agree with this.

In 2000 I was living in rural Ireland and Massenet starting Net was revolutionary for me as someone who had to travel to buy the clothes I wanted.

BUT

Over the years the availability of designer/luxury fashion whilst brilliant in many ways, has cheapened it really.

In the 80's as a young woman I used to buy Vogue and Elle. My mother was really into fashion she had Biba, Quant, YSL, Ozzy Clark my sister and I nicked all her clothes.

We lived in a northern city. There were a few boutiques and independents but to buy the the things I lusted after in Vogue entailed a trip to London.

I remember my first trip to buy something I really desired. It was 1990 and was a pair of Gucci clogs. Jesus I wanted them. I had to save up, got the train to London, and took myself to the Gucci shop and fell in love with high fashion. I was treated so well. And felt I should be there. I always felt happy in and that I belonged with people that loved clothes.

And then life took me to rural Cork and Net happened, which was brilliant.

Because I could get what I wanted in an unlikely setting.

That felt cool.

And then I moved around, and high end fashion suddenly became always available.

Which was good. For a bit.

And then, and then, availability loses its lustre.

I realised my wardrobe was worth about 300k and I could have anything I wanted. It wasn't difficult to buy anything anymore.

It stopped being fun.

I do think availability did kill my joy.

I've not bought clothes for a year now.

I'm getting rid of clothes.

I still enjoy clothes but clothes maths tells me I've got over a billion combinations. I've got some excellent stuff in my wardrobe.

I think I'm just going to play with it.

In terms of 'in person' shopping in the last year Dolce & Gabanna & Loewe stand out as fantastic customer experiences.

I’m trying to also not buy any new clothes. When I get that momentary flutter at seeing something beautiful I just think about yet another dress in my crammed wardrobe and overflowing drawers and go right off it. I’ve been enjoying buying from sites such as Vestiaire Collective, particularly as my style doesn’t really change much and designer prices are now so crazy.