The first company with Portuguese DNA to achieve unicorn status – when it reached a valuation of more than $1 billion – has suffered a stunning fall. Rumors that it was considering delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, a last-minute cancellation of its third-quarter accounts offering, and more than two weeks of silence that followed, made it look as if Farfetch could be in trouble. The rescue of Jose Neves' luxury fashion platform came at the hands of South Korea's Coupang (and the $500 million it said it intended to pump).

The Farfetch series, which has been unveiled over the past few weeks, is not much different from the chapters of other global companies that were previously considered unicorns. Outside the fashion industry and in areas such as the construction of prefabricated homes or the rental of co-working spaces, there are also companies that have lost their wings and their status as a mythical animal, as well as the reputation they were able to achieve.

WeWork is one of the Start-ups Most valuable in the United States. Last November, he declared bankruptcy in that country and in Canada. Eric Gordon, a professor of management at the University of Michigan (USA), who uses this coworking rental company as a case study in his classes, believes that “former unicorns that are closing their doors or filing for bankruptcy protection around the world have some characteristics.” , Like being evaluated as unicorns based on illusions – not reality..

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