Yoox and Net-A-Porter merger effective 5 October

The merger between Italian e-tailer Yoox and Britain's Net-A-Porter, owned by Swiss group Richemont, was finalised Monday and will be effective as of 5 October, the two entities announced in a joint press release.

The two companies have signed the agreement first announced in the spring. At the beginning of September, the competition authorities gave their approval for the merger, while the founder and CEO of Net-A-Porter, Natalie Massenet, handed in her resignation.

The two groups announced their plan in March to merge the two to become "Yoox Net-à-Porter", with Switzerland's Richemont group as its main shareholder.

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The head of the management team of the new entity was to be Federico Marchetti, founder of Yoox, and Natalie Massenet. Having resigned though, Nassanet "will not be a board member" of the new group, specified Yoox in a press release.

The markets welcomed this news, since it meant the risks of friction between the strong-willed executives would be avoided.

Number two in the luxury world, the Richemont group, which owns brands like Cartier, Piaget, IWC and Jaeger LeCoultre, will hold a 50% stake in the new entity.

Launched in 2000, Net-à-Porter, which offers 300 luxury brands on its site, ranging from clothing to bags to shoes, quickly became a leader in the e-commerce arena, notably thanks to the guarantee that all of its products are 100% authentic.