E-tailer Boohoo Group is set to launch an online marketplace as it prepares for talks with lenders on renegotiating its debt.
The new marketplace, slated to be up and running on Aug. 31, is call Boohoo Brands. The platform will feature at least 150 brands across fashion, accessories, and beauty. According to Boohoo’s chief product officer James Blacklock, the aim is to partner with different brands and create a platform for a shopping experience that’s “all in one convenient place.”
Some of the fashion and accessories brands cited include Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs and Ray-Ban. Using Boohoo’s technology, the new marketplace concept easily enables the e-tailer to onboard new brands onto the platform.
Earlier this month, the British fast-fashion firm unveiled its social commerce initiative called Boohoo Collective, which integrates thousands of social media influencers onto its website. The social influencers create curated pages that include shoppable TikTok and Instagram content. They also can share discount codes to earn commissions.
The fast-fashion firm’s hoping that both Boohoo Collective and Boohoo Brands will bring in more revenue for the global e-tailer.
Boohoo, like its U.K. e-tail competitor Asos, has been struggling financially. The two have had difficulties adjusting to a changing post-COVID marketplace that saw consumers heading back to brick-and-mortar stores after months of surfing online during the pandemic. Not helping has been the rise of Chinese e-tail rivals Shein and Temu.
Bloomberg reported that Boohoo’s lenders hired advisors to help it negotiate a refinancing deal with the fast-fashion e-tailer. The sticking point centers on a debt payment of 75 million pounds ($96.5 million) that’s due early next year.
This past February, Boohoo lenders were said to be giving it a hard time when it tried to extend its repayment deadline beyond March 2025. That’s when 75 million pounds is due. It is part of a revolving credit facility totaling 325 million pounds ($418.3 million). Boohoo already received approval from six banks for a one-year extension for the balance of 250 million pounds ($321.8 million), which is now due in 2026. As for the 75 million pounds, Boohoo was said in February to have borrowed the entire amount.
As talks proceed, it could be interesting to see what Mike Ashley’s plans might be for Boohoo. Ashley’s listed as the “ultimate controlling person” on regulatory filings since his company Frasers Group began a buying spree snapping up Boohoo shares. Frasers’ initial “strategic investment” began June 2023. Frasers is currently Boohoo’s largest stakeholder.
Frasers has a history of investment stakes across fashion and retail. But some also wonder if a possible Boohoo takeover down the road could be a possibility. The company in October 2023 sold its Missguided brand to Shein, giving the Chinese firm an inroad into the British fashion scene while Frasers kept the real estate and staff. At the time, Frasers CEO Michael Murray seemingly hinted that a future collaboration with Shein was a possibility, although what or how wasn’t clear.
Meanwhile, Retail Week reported earlier this month that Frasers reached out to investment bank Goldman Sachs in connection to a possible bid for Yoox Net-a-Porter. Whether that’s really feasible remains to be seen.
Frasers is known for value hunting as many of its acquisitions—Missguided is one example—are either distressed or already in administration, the U.K. equivalent of a bankruptcy proceeding. And its history in luxury so far isn’t that great. Fraser’s first foray into luxury was the acquisition of Matches at the end of 2023, but it ended up putting the luxury retailer into administration three months later.