Hey On Thursday, Portuguese Jose Neves announced his departure from Farfetch, to be replaced by Bom Kim, from Coupang Group, who completed the acquisition of the group last January. In a letter addressed to the workers, the businessman left a message of confidence and admitted that the decision was complex.
“After 15 years of dreaming, creating and developing Farfetch, this is it It was a difficult decision, but I believe the company is in good hands“, José Neves said in an email quoted by several media outlets. “Coupang has a proven track record and deep experience in the trade sector,” he added.
However, as the newspaper points out World Water Day, José Neves will remain with the company as an advisor.
Layoffs will (even) progress
As expected, the South Korean online sales company that bought Farfetch, Coupang, has confirmed that the layoffs will continue, with… Notification of Portuguese workers who will be affected will begin on Friday.
“As we assessed key business priorities and resources, we made the difficult but necessary decision to do so Reducing the total number of employees globally and redundant positionsA WWD spokesperson said.
The same source explained that this decisionSecures the future of the companyFarfetch will be able to “operate from a position of strength and focus on what we do best: delivering exceptional experiences for brands, stores and customers.”
Coupang, originally from South Korea, completed the purchase of Farfetch's assets in January, allowing it to “reach $500 million”. [466 milhões de euros] In the capital” of the group founded by José Neves, according to a statement issued at the time.
Farfetch – the luxury brand sales platform founded by José Neves in 2008, with its tax headquarters in London and which was the first Portuguese “unicorn” (a startup valued at over a billion euros) – has begun to show losses and has recently suffered significant stock market losses, after… Two years of profits in 2021 and 2022, in which it benefited from the boom in online commerce.
In the second quarter of last year, Farfetch announced losses of 258 million euros ($281.3 million), compared to profits of 62 million euros ($67.6 million) in the same period last year, with revenues declining to 526 million euros ($572 million). ). million, compared to 579 million in the same period last year) and the group's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) worsened to negative 28 million euros (negative 30.5 million dollars).
Farfetch's Q3 2023 results were scheduled to be presented on November 29, when news related to strategy and management were also expected, but were canceled by the company.
Even before the agreement was announced, it had already been reported that the company could implement a restructuring with layoffs that initially targeted 800 workers, but could be extended to 1,700 or 2,000 people. However, plans may change after the agreement with Coupang.
In Portugal, there were concerns that the company's status could threaten the completion of the Fuse Valley real estate project, in Leça do Balio, in the municipality of Matosinhos, a €200 million investment shared with construction company Braga Castro Group.
Read also: Portuguese outgoing. José Neves resigns from leadership of Farfetch
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