Boohoo makes play for Nasty Gal
British young fashion etailer Boohoo has made a play to buy US site Nasty Gal which entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month.
Manchester-based Boohoo has filed a certificate of incorporation of a private limited company for Nasty Gal, Inc with Companies House, according to the Business of Fashion. Boohoo’s secretary Alan Pollitt is listed as secretary of the entity.
BoF claims that Boohoo, which refused to comment on the filing, is positioning itself as a “stalking horse” bidder in a move to put itself in a prime position in advance of a court auction of Nasty Gal's assets. Other bidders may yet enter the race but typically the “stalking horse” is considered to be the favourite to win.
Boohoo has achieved significant growth since it was established in 2006 and in the year ending February 2016 it achieved revenues of £196m and it recently opened a dedicated menswear site.
It is one of a number of online fast-fashion specialists in the UK and is positioned price-wise underneath the undisputed market leader ASOS.COM. Missguided, which also operates in this space, opened its first standalone store in Westfield Stratford last week marking the start of am ambitious retail roll-out targeting the trend and social media-obsessed millennial customer.
Nasty Gal was founded in Los Angeles in 2002 by entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso, who at that time was just 22. Amoruso stood down from the business when it entered Chapter 11 and previously ceded her role as CEO when the business hit trouble earlier this year.
The business made its name producing cheaper versions of celebrity and catwalk looks and Amoruso became something of a poster girl for young entrepreneurs. Last year she wrote a best-selling book called #GirlBoss and has long been a regular speaker on the conference circuit.
Nasty Gal continues to trade as normal while in Chapter 11 and sought the protection in order to give the business the opportunity to restructure financially and find new backers.
