Mytheresa on Wednesday reported another quarter of standout growth in an otherwise dreary luxury e-commerce sector.

The Munich-based luxury e-tailer’s net sales jumped 18 percent to €234 million ($253 million) in its fiscal third quarter that ended in March. It expects net sales for the year to grow as much as 13 percent to €869 million. As well, its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation nearly tripled to €9 million, driven by a reduced reliance on discounting thanks to lower inventory levels.

Mytheresa’s steady rise in sales has been attributed to the retailer’s ability to differentiate its offering from competitors. In the third quarter, it released exclusive capsule collections with Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Loewe and Brunello Cucinelli. The company also focuses on wooing its top spending clients with special events — a recent example is a three-day event with Paris-based label Courrèges in Shanghai for top clients that included a brand exhibition, a meeting with the brand’s creative director Nicolas Di Felice and a private dinner.

But all eyes are on Mytheresa for more than its consistent growth. In April, the Financial Times reported that the company is among the suitors looking to acquire Yoox-Net-a-Porter, which continues to rack up losses for its parent company Richemont. Mytheresa also reportedly hired a separate banker to consider going private, according to a recent report in Women’s Wear Daily, which could be part of its acquisition strategy. Consolidation has already swept the sector: Farfetch was sold to South Korean retail giant Coupang in December, and Matches was bought by Frasers Group and subsequently put into administration in March.

“As we feel the company is undervalued, it’s clearly the task of management, and also supervisory board, to find ways to create the value that is in the business,” chief executive Michael Kliger told The Business of Fashion. “That there is speculation about going private is not totally unreasonable. That’s what companies sometimes do in these situations.”

Kliger added that he “cannot confirm at all the rumors out there.”

While Mytheresa has fared better than many of its rivals, investors have been slow to reward the company. Mytheresa’s share price has risen about 50 percent this year, but is down more than 80 percent since its January 2021 initial public offering. The stock fell as much as 6 percent on Wednesday.

“We still need to clearly tell the story of a differently positioned business model that is creating profit,” Kliger said. “While the numbers again show that there is no question about it, we still haven’t got all the attention of the investors.”

There are other challenges ahead. The company’s focus on top clients, who typically spend more with each purchase, helped drive customer acquisition costs down 2.8 percent as well as a 10 percent decrease in overall marketing expenses in its fiscal third quarter. But in an April note, TD Cowen analysts said Mytheresa won’t be immune to the rising costs to acquire customers online for long as luxury brands invest more in their direct-to-consumer channels and potentially target the high-net-worth customers that Mytheresa banks on.

With that, Mytheresa is exercising caution. The e-tailer expects its adjusted EBITDA profit margins to only grow by as much as 5 percent for its fiscal year that ends in June.

“The approach Mytheresa has followed works better than most: stand out as a go-to destination on the back of original curation and high service levels, as well as a focus on serving high lifetime value customers, with no ambition to become a ‘winner takes all,’ but rather a profitable niche player,” said Luca Solca, Bernstein’s head of luxury goods research, in an email.

US retail sales were unexpectedly flat in April as higher gasoline prices pulled spending away from other goods, indicating that consumer spending was losing momentum.

The unchanged reading in retail sales last month followed a slightly downwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in March, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Wednesday. Retail sales were previously reported to have risen 0.7 percent in March.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, gaining 0.4 percent in April. Sales rose 3.0 percent year-on-year in April.

Consumers are focussing spending on essentials and cutting back on luxuries amid higher prices. But sales have held up as a strong labour market helped households navigate the high inflation environment.

A report from the Bank of America Institute last week found lower-income spending growth remaining above that of higher-income households in April, but cautioned that “the apparent cooling in the labour market warrants close watching from here.” It also flagged rising property insurance costs as a “significant headwind for consumers.”

Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services fell 0.3 percent last month after a downwardly revised 1.0 percent increase in March. These so-called retail sales were previously reported to have advanced 1.1 percent in March. Core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product.

Consumer spending increased at a 2.5 percent annualised rate in the first quarter, contributing to the economy’s 1.6 percent growth pace.

By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci

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Anglo American is exploring an initial public offering of its diamond business De Beers, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, with one flagging London as the preferred venue.

The potential listing was the default option, the second person said, although the process is at an early stage. Both were speaking on condition of anonymity because the plans are private.

The London-listed miner set out on Tuesday its plans for a potential break-up via a demerger or sale of some of its assets, as it fights off a $43 billion takeover bid from BHP Group.

CEO Duncan Wanblad said the plan was to spin out or sell De Beers, without giving further details. Anglo holds 85 percent of De Beers, while the government of Botswana, the location of its biggest mines, owns the remainder.

Anglo declined to comment. Botswana’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“De Beers is a great set of assets and it’s a great business,” Wanblad told a media call earlier on Tuesday. “It is sitting at the bottom of a cycle. That cycle is more macroeconomic than fundamental.”

De Beers could fetch a valuation of 8 to 10 times core earnings, one of the people said.

Although he supports the growth strategy Anglo has developed for De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer by value, Wanblad said Anglo believes it is “better executed by different owners and in a different structure” from today’s.

Like other luxury goods, diamonds have suffered a fall in global demand. De Beers, which both mines diamonds and produces synthetic gems via its Lightbox Jewellery unit, has been limiting supply and offering flexibility to contracted customers.

In February, Anglo announced a $1.6 billion impairment charge on the division. It acquired De Beers in 2011, buying the Oppenheimer family’s 40 percent stake for $5.1 billion.

A London listing would be a boost for the UK stock market, which as of last month had attracted only 2 percent of European IPO volumes this year, according to Dealogic Data, reflecting a sluggish economy and a perception the market is undervalued.

By Anousha Sakoui and Clara Denina; Editing by Veronica Brown, Catherine Evans and Jan Harvey

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On, the Zurich-based running sneaker brand reported net sales of CHF 508.2 million ($560.9 million) for the quarter ended March 31, up 21 percent year-over-year.

The bulk of this growth was driven by the expansion of its direct-to-consumer business, which generated revenue of CHF 190.5 million, up 39 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, net income increased by 106 percent to CHF 91.4 million ($100.1 million), up from CHF 44.4 million.

The brand’s shares were up over 14 percent in early trading Tuesday.

On’s first quarter — its most successful in terms of revenue recorded — comes as the company plots the next phases of its ongoing expansion into categories beyond running, trail and tennis footwear.

In March, it launched its tennis apparel category, and the following month it announced a partnership with British singer FKA Twigs, who will oversee the design and marketing of the company’s new training apparel and footwear vertical.

For the full year, the company reaffirmed its expectations for net sales to reach “at least” CHF 2.25 billion ($2.48 billion), a 30 percent increase from its annual revenue of CHF 1.79 billion in 2023.

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Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is reaching out to potential buyers of the £7 billion ($8.8 billion) Boots drugstore chain in the UK, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Deerfield, Illinois-based company is working with advisers to hold early-stage discussions with would-be bidders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. No formal sale process has begun, they said.

A Walgreens representative declined to comment. The stock jumped 7.2 percent to $18.43 at 10:38 AM in New York after Bloomberg News reported that the company was contacting possible buyers.

The company last year revived discussions on a potential exit from the UK chain, almost 18 months after scrapping a planned sale, Bloomberg reported in December. Boots could be valued at about £7 billion in an exit, with one possibility being an initial public offering in London, Bloomberg reported at the time.

Walgreens shares have plunged 42 percent in the past year as the company struggled to restore growth. This year Walgreens cut its dividend by half and lowered its profit outlook, citing reduced consumer spending on non-essential items.

A sale would undo a blockbuster trans-Atlantic merger that took place in stages beginning more than a decade ago.

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