Coupang closes Ngg++

There is no good news for New Guards Group (NGG), the Milan-based company located in Via Turati, which manages Farfetch's fashion activities. As reported by Mff, the company will soon lose a new element, following the sale of the Palm Angels, Off-White, Alanui and Ambush brands. On April 30, Ngg++, the division created in 2023 to manage the distribution licence for Reebok clothing and footwear in Europe and the UK, will officially close. This is a consequence of the termination of the agreement with Authentic Brands, which owns the American sportswear brand. A redundancy and voluntary redundancy incentive scheme is planned for a total of 60 employees.

According to the Milanese newspaper, the transition period between the management of Ngg++ and that of Galaxy Universal will conclude at the end of the month. Galaxy Universal is already active on the brand's operations in the US. At the beginning of the year, it signed a joint venture with Batra Group to take care of Reebok's activities in Europe.

On Friday, it was reported that the founders of the Japanese brand Ambush, Yoon Ahn and Verbal, had repurchased full ownership of the brand from the Italian fashion group New Guards Group, as reported by Wwd.

NGG had acquired a majority stake in Ambush in 2020. According to reports from Wwd, the founders regained control from Friday.

The e-commerce group Coupang Inc recorded a sharp increase in turnover in the financial year 2024, largely due to the acquisition of the online fashion platform Farfetch, completed at the end of January last year. However, the heavy losses of the new acquisition and further extraordinary charges reduced the group's profit.

According to a press release published at the end of February, Coupang's turnover in the last year amounted to almost 30.29 billion dollars, an increase of 24 percent (plus 29 percent at constant exchange rates) compared to 2023.

Since its integration, Farfetch has contributed almost 1.66 billion dollars to total turnover. Excluding this factor, the group's revenues increased by 17 percent (plus 23 percent at constant exchange rates).

Coupang's profit, however, decreased considerably, as Farfetch recorded a net loss of 352 million dollars over the year. Due to further negative extraordinary factors that weighed on the result, the net profit attributable to the group's shareholders decreased by 89 percent compared to the previous year, amounting to 156 million dollars. Net of extraordinary items and the Farfetch loss, profit decreased by 12 percent, reaching 407 million dollars.