Dive Brief:
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Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet abruptly resigned as executive chairman of the company and won’t become chairman of the merged Net-a-Porter/Yoox company as previously planned, the company confirmed Thursday morning.
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Massenet is often described as a “fashion visionary” and was to lead the merged company’s famous content strategy.
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But she reportedly didn’t get along with Yoox founder Federico Marchetti, who is to be the new Yoox Net-a-Porter group's CEO, and many observers were left unsurprised by her move.
Dive Insight:
With this latest development, the combined Yoox Net-a-Porter group, which has also received the final go-ahead on its merger, is just the latest retailer to have founders depart in recent months.
Asos chief Nick Robertson also announced this week that he’ll step down as CEO after 15 years at the helm of the retailer he founded. That shift, which has COO Nick Beighton stepping in, is also not much of a surprise; observers noted it was “well planned” and shares rose as investors seemed to like the idea.
And of course Dov Charney, founder of American Apparel, was ousted from his position as CEO. That has included drama and legal tussles that have dragged on for more than a year, and has helped push the retailer to the brink of bankruptcy.
Unlike Massenet and Charney, Robertson remains as a non-executive director. And while it can be natural, if sometimes painful, for a retailer to reach a moment when it’s time for its founder to hand over the reins, it can also be helpful to have him or her around to ensure that the vision that brought the company its success is still there.
In fact, last week Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn announced he was returning as CEO, replacing former Coach retail chief Francine Della Badia after less than three months at the job.
Massenet’s departure, meanwhile, was apparently driven by her lack of rapport with Marchetti, rather than any sound strategic reason. The new company may really miss her expertise, her savvy, and her intuition, and especially her relationships with luxury brands, which encouraged many to sell online through Net-a-Porter, the New York Time's Vanessa Friedman points out. With Massenet's departure, the company will lose one of its most valuable spokespersons, with eyes on Marchetti to see if he will step in and fill the roll.
But Massenet said in a statement that "the business I started in 2000 could not be in better shape today."
"Having joined forces with Yoox Group, the company will be bigger, stronger and superbly well positioned under Federico’s leadership to lead the industry and create the future of fashion," she said. "As a continuing loyal customer I will be excited to see the next chapters for this amazing business."
And she'll likely be taking her vision and innovative business sense to new projects that will no doubt be eagerly anticipated by the fashion world.
“As for my own future, my entrepreneurial drive is as strong today as it always has been, and my passion for innovation will continue to be my greatest guide in business," Massenet said. "The incredible experiences and memories of the past decade and a half and the people I have had the honour to work alongside will always be an inspiration to me."