Federico Marchetti says he's ready to step aside as YNAP CEO

Federico Marchetti has revealed that he is ready to step aside as CEO of online luxury empire YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP (YNAP) and will do so when a suitable successor is found. Marchetti has said he will remain in post as chairman for ease the transition.

The e-commerce entrepreneur founded off-price luxury site YOOX 20 years ago and floated it in Milan in 2009. In 2015 YOOX was merged with British luxury group Net-A-Porter to create the YNAP group and Marchetti was appointed CEO of the enlarged entity.

His appointment as CEO led to the departure of Net-A-Porter founder Natalie Massenet who went on to become non-executive co-chair of rival Farfetch and to establish her own fashion investment business, Imaginary Ventures.

YNAP is now owned by Swiss-based luxury group Richemont, having been delisted in 2018 in a deal that valued it at €5bn. Richemont had previously owned Net-A-Porter and had instigated its merger with YOOX.

In an Instagram post Marchetti said: "Right before the new millennium, I had a vision fashion would shift online. Against the odds, I followed my instincts and went live before Facebook, before Instagram and before the iPhone. Today mobile represents over 1 billion euros of our revenues and we receive 1 billion visits per year across our group’s destinations. If an online shopper is buying luxury right now, the chances are it’s coming from us.

"It’s been a ground-breaking ride over the past two decades...to be continued! I love YOOX NET-A-PORTER and will give everything I have to guiding our talented teams during this transition and ensuring our Group will thrive in the future. Thanks [Richemont chief] Johann Rupert and Richemont for your constant trust and support."

The post followed the circulation of an internal company memo in which Marchetti told staff: “As planned with Richemont, we are in the early stages of implementing a succession plan for the next CEO of YNAP. There will be no changes to the way we operate for the time being. It is very much business as usual for us all.”

Marchetti did not put a time-line on his departure date but his contract with the group expires in 2021.

The YNAP group includes Yoox, Net-A-Porter, Mr Porter and The Outnet and has more than 4.3 million customers worldwide.