SecretSales in MBO

The founders of SecretSales.com have partnered with Big Ideas Group to acquire the flash sales fashion e-tailer from Excalibur Group in a management-led buyout.

The online fashion retailer was sold to Excalibur, a growing e-commerce business which operates in the discount deals and flash sales sector, in Febuary 2017 for an undisclosed sum.

The platform sells out-of-season stock from over 1,500 designer brands at discounts ranging from 30% to 70%. It has a membership base of over 5.5 million registered users in the UK.

The Excalibur acquisition was expected to help the business move into its next phase of growth, with Excalibur investing heavily into the platform over the next two to three years, however the move led to the departure of four company directors including its chairman Sergio Diaz.

Now, co-founders Nish and Sach Kukadia, who remained as chief executive and buying director during this period, have regained control of the company, according to Internet Retailing.

They plan to narrow the platform’s focus on the premium and luxury market, supported by the financial investment and marketing expertise of the Big Ideas Group. The partnership will also see SecretSales host invite-only designer sales in the offline world.

“We are delighted to have the control to now focus on growing our customer base, and to build on the work done in 2017 to improve service levels and delivery times” said Sach Kukadia in a statement.

Roland Bryan, chief executive of Excalibur, added: “We wish Nish and Sach the very best in this exciting new phase for their business.”

SecretSales was founded in 2007 and posted revenues of £29.3 million in the year to December 31, 2015.

SecretSales in MBO

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