Frasers Group buys fast fashion retailer I Saw It First

Frasers Group has acquired British fast fashion womenswear e-tailer I Saw It First for an undisclosed sum, adding yet another brand to its fast-growing portfolio.

The group confirmed the acquisition on Thursday following weeks of media speculation over a potential deal.

In a short statement, Frasers Group said it “looks forward to integrating I Saw It First, which today has over 5 million consumers, having rapidly grown its digital presence since its launch in 2017”.

It added that I Saw It First will benefit from the “strength and scale of Frasers Group's platform and from the integration with Frasers' recently acquired business, Missguided”.

The deal comes just a month after acquisition-hungry Frasers Group bought I Saw It First rival Missguided out of administration for 20 million pounds.

I Saw It First, which targets fast-fashion shoppers under the age of 30, was founded in 2017 by Jalal Kamani, the brother of Boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani.

In its most recent trading update for the year to October 3 2021, the company reported a 70 percent year-on-year increase in turnover to 74.78 million pounds.

However, its loss before tax widened to 7.76 million pounds, up from a loss of 7.54 million pounds the previous year.

Acquisition spree

This is the latest in a long string of acquisitions made by Frasers Group as the dust settles from the pandemic.

In June, the group snapped up a 29 percent stake in Australian-based fashion marketplace MySale, while in February it bought British value retailer Studio Retail.

Frasers Group has also bought stakes in upmarket labels including Mulberry and Hugo Boss in recent years as part of its ongoing “elevation strategy”.

In a trading update last week, the group revealed it swung to a pre-tax profit of 344.8 million pounds in the year to April 24, compared to a loss of 39.9 million pounds a year earlier.

In that same period, group revenue excluding acquisitions increased 30.1 percent to 4.75 billion pounds as shoppers flocked back to physical stores following the end of lockdown restrictions.

Based on its results, Frasers Group upped its FY23 outlook, though it warned that the “significant increase in general running costs” it experienced during the year amid rising inflation and widespread supply chain challenges could persist.