Online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch saw losses widen by 27 per cent during 2016, despite revenues nearly doubling.
Last year Farfetch’s revenues rose from 73 per cent to £151.3 million, while its gross merchandise value hit £548 million, rising from £302 million a year prior.
Operating losses rose to £26.5 million in 2016 reportedly due to heavy investment in technology and people.
READ MORE:
Speculation has grown over a potential public offering from Farfetch after its chief executive José Neves revealed an IPO was his long-term ambition.
The news came in June, alongside JD.com’s purchase of a £314 million stake in the retailer, but analysts predict the move could be imminent.
“Our programme of investment is designed to support the company’s ambitious growth plans, and over the year we focused our investments on technology, as well as customer acquisition and hiring to support our growth,” Neves said.
“We have very strong foundations in place and will continue to invest and grow our business as we build the definitive technology platform for the luxury industry.”
These investments include the $12 million acquisition of ecommerce platform Style.com, previously owned by Vogue publisher Conde Nast.
The year also saw a raft of investments in the company including a round of Series F funding from new investors Temasek and IDG Capital Partners.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
