Fashion retailer Net-a-Porter has an undeniably valuable brand. It’s known as an e-commerce power player because of its clean design, glossy editorial content, and selection of some of the best high-end designer products on the market.
Even so, Net-a-Porter has been losing money for some time, but that may be about to change. Last year the company lost €2 million ($2.2 million) in the fiscal year ended in March 31, according to a newly released consolidated income statement (pdf) from parent company Richemont. And that’s actually a good thing. It was a marked improvement over the previous year, which saw a loss of €12 million ($13.2 million). If the trend holds, the company could see profits this year.
To that point, the report also noted that Net-a-Porter’s sales were up 22% at constant rates, and Net-a-Porter’s latest plays suggest it has good things to look forward to in the months ahead.
It just launched a glitzy social network that uses image-recognition software to let users shop any image uploaded, and in March it announced that it will merge with retail powerhouse Yoox, which has its own site selling off-season designer fashion and also manages the technology platform for the websites of several designer labels. Richemont will get 50% of the new entity’s shares, but Yoox will run it.
It all looks quite promising for Net-a-Porter.