Farfetch has signed a deal with publishing giant Condé Nast that will see the London-based ecommerce retailer replace Style.com less than a year after it was launched.
The publisher of Vogue and GQ magazines decided to discontinue operations at Style.com — which it launched as a fashion ecommerce site in September last year — because it had “fallen very far short” of its forecasts.
The new partnership will merge Condé Nast’s editorial content with Farfetch‘s global ecommerce platform.
Farfetch has also acquired the Style.com trademark, its inventory and customer database.
The partnership also means Condé Nast’s international chairman and chief executive Jonathan Newhouse will join the Farfetch board.
READ MORE: Net-a-Porter founder joins Farfetch
“This partnership is the next step in our evolving business relationship,” Newhouse said.
“It further unites two leaders in their respective sectors, combining best-in-class content with the world‘s leading online luxury shopping destination.”
Details of the new partnership have not been revealed and the fate of Style.com‘s 75 employees is not yet known.
While Newhouse said the company expects to redeploy some staff within Condé Nast, it is not yet clear how many people are affected and if anyone would lose their jobs.
The news comes after speculation that Farfetch was preparing for an IPO as soon as this year.
According to Sky News, the ecommerce platform was currently in the process of appointing bankers to manage a listing.
If it were to go ahead, it could value Farfetch at up to $5 billion (£3.92 billion).
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
