Farfetch to acquire Violet Grey
Farfetch, the online luxury fashion marketplace, is to acquire the Violet Grey beauty retailer for an undisclosed sum.
The move comes ahead of Farfetch’s launch of a beauty proposition later this year.
In a statement, Farfetch said the purchase will bring beauty industry expertise to the company and allow it to offer a curated selection of products as it looks to extend its customer base.
Stephanie Phair, chief customer officer at Farfetch said: “The acquisition of Violet Grey is an important step ahead of the launch of Beauty on Farfetch later this year and will form part of our overall beauty strategy ‘palette’. It will enable us to offer our informed and engaged customers a curated selection of the industry’s most sought-after products on the Farfetch Marketplace, joining a world of beauty brands, from the iconic leading global brands, to smaller brands with a cult following.”
On completion of the acquisition, Violet Grey founder Cassandra Grey will become a global advisor for beauty on the Farfetch Marketplace and co-founder of NGG Beauty where she will work to incubate and accelerate new brands. She will also be chair of Violet Grey and provide overall strategic and creative direction for the business.
Meanwhile, Niten Kapadia, previously vice president of operations at Farfetch, will become Violet Grey’s managing director.
Phair added: “As a marketplace, we are uniquely positioned to be able to offer multiple points of view and voices in this important category, so customers can find the products and expertise that speak to them. The addition of Violet Grey and Cassandra Grey joining the team will form an important element of this overall strategy. Cassandra has built true authority in the beauty industry and has an incredible, intuitive understanding of where beauty is going and what customers want.”
