Farfetch founder José Neves stands down

Farfetch founder José Neves has stood down from the business he founded in 2007 amid a shake-up by its new owner, South Korean retail giant Coupang.

It is understood that Neves intends to consult for the global fashion platform as it beds in under its new owner, but Coupang founder Bom Kim and his executive team will take over the day to day running of the business.

Farfetch was rescued by Coupang in a deal which saw it inject $500 million of emergency capital into the business. It is understood Neves himself had landed Coupang as a potential buyer for the business after other potential buyers walked away.

In a statement issued to WWD, a Farfetch spokesperson said: “As we assessed key priorities and resources across the business, we made the difficult, but necessary, decision to reduce global headcount and redundant roles.

“This decision secures the future of the business and as a result, Farfetch can now operate from a position of strength and focus on what we do best: deliver exceptional experiences for brands, boutiques and customers.”

The departure of Neves comes alongside that of chief fashion and merchandising officer Elizabeth Von Der Goltz and Kelly Kowal, head of Farfetch Platform Solutions.

Coupang's acquisition of Farfetch has not been without controversy. The sale wiped out the stakes of a number of shareholders who initially sought to block the deal saying the business had not been marketed for sale widely enough and that Farfetch could have met its financial obligations by selling off non-core businesses, such as brand group New Guards and fashion boutique Browns, before resorting to a fire sale.

Creditors owed $400 million then hit Farfetch with a winding up petition, which accused José Neves of 'striking a bargain' to offload it to Coupang at the expense of shareholders and of destroying value in the business.

It subsequently emerged that Kering had pulled its brands, which include Gucci and Saint Laurent, from direct sale on the Farfetch platform, while US department store group Neiman Marcus said it would no longer be migrating its e-commerce business onto the Farfetch platform. A proposed merger of Farfetch with rival YOOX Net-A-Porter was also canned as part of the rescue deal.

Coupang has said that it will take Farfetch on a journey of "steady and thoughtful" growth following the acquisition and is believed to be taking the business back to its core marketplace proposition with New Guards (owner of Off-White and Palm Angels among others) and London-based boutique Browns, set to be offloaded.

Founded in London in 2007, Farfetch was floated on the NYSE in 2018 to much fanfare and at the time it was valued at $6.3 billion. In the five years that followed, it lost 95% of its value. At one stage it was valued at $23 billion, but by 13 December 2023, it had a market value of just $221 million.

One of the first signs that shareholders were not happy with the strategy Neves was taking was the $675 million acquisition of brand house New Guards Group, which took place shortly after the Farfetch IPO in 2019. Shareholders argued that they had bought into a company that operated an inventory light model, based on a marketplace that connected brands and boutiques to global shoppers, not a business that owned and developed brands.

Last autumn Farfetch announced that it would not be reporting its quarterly results as planned amid rumours that Neves was seeking to take the business private. Talks with investors, such as Apollo, stalled but Coupang stepped in at the last minute with a rescue deal at the end of last year. The deal was completed at the end of January.