Boohoo considers selling Karen Millen and Debenhams

October 18

Boohoo is planning a major restructure which could see the struggling online fashion firm sell-off its brands which include Debenhams, Karen Millen and PrettyLittleThing.

The company said it was reviewing its options after concluding that its business remains “fundamentally undervalued”.

While Boohoo benefitted from the surge to online shopping during the pandemic, it has subsequently struggled against the likes of China’s Shein and Temu.

Analysts said Boohoo was likely to focus on offloading Debenhams and Karen Millen to allow it to focus on a younger target market.

“The starting gun has been fired on the break-up of Boohoo”, said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Selling Karen Millen and Debenhams is the obvious starting point, leaving Boohoo with a sharper focus on a younger target market”.

Retail analyst Catherine Shuttleworth added that fast-fashion firms are “under pressure” as shoppers think more sustainably and are “making different choices”.

Boohoo bought Karen Millen for £18.2m in 2019 and three years ago it took on department store brand Debenhams for £55m.

“Acquired brands like Debenhams and Karen Millen, now purely online players, haven’t had the impact on shoppers that the business might have liked”, said Ms Shuttleworth.

Boohoo admitted on Friday that its youth brands were struggling, including boohoo.com, boohooMAN and PrettyLittleThing but said it expected that to improve in the second half of its financial year.

Meanwhile, the company announced that its chief executive John Lyttle would be leaving. He joined the company six years ago from Primark.

Under Mr Lyttle, the company has attempted to shift its image away from fast fashion. In 2021, he told the BBC that Boohoo was not a “throwaway fashion brand” and the firm was aiming to be more sustainable.

The company also reported that its sales had fallen by 15% to £620m for the six months to the end of August. Trade tumbled across the UK, the US and internationally.

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