One is famed for nostalgia, the other for bringing high fashion to the web. Now Cath Kidston and Natalie Massenet have both sold their firms for huge sums.
One began by selling a few posh frocks in cyberspace. The other flogged retro crocks from a second-floor shop in west London. But whatever their differing retail origins, Natalie Massenet and Cath Kidston were yesterday united by cashing in – just a little – on their status as the originators of two of Britain's most successful recession-busting brands.
Net-a-Porter, the web-based designer fashion retailer set up a decade ago by Ms Massenet, and Cath Kidston, the eponymous purveyor of floral rain coats and polka-dotted cereal bowls, were yesterday captured by big business in the shape of a Swiss-based luxury goods conglomerate and an American private equity firm for a combined total of up to £450m.
The separate deals were hailed by both retailers as allowing them to expand abroad, in particular into Asia, as well as consolidating their core markets in Britain. They also had the side effect of making Ms Massenet, 44, and Ms Kidston, 50, into rather wealthy women.
Labels: one £450m British success story, two fashion businesses, Two women
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