Designer labels owed millions after collapse of Matches
Designer brands including Gucci and Anya Hindmarch have been left millions of pounds out of pocket and some customers will not get refunds after online fashion site Matchesfashion collapsed owing more than £210m last month.
Customers who bought designer items prior to the administration cannot return items or get a refund, according to a report by administrators published yesterday.
Matches, founded in 1987 as a boutique in the London suburb of Wimbledon by husband and wife Tom and Ruth Chapman, collapsed on 8 March after it was hit by widespread discounting and softening demand for luxury fashion.
Matches was acquired by Mike Ashley’s Frasers in late 2023 for £52m in cash from the private equity firm Apax Partners, and Frasers put in £33m to keep it trading.
However, after a difficult Christmas, Frasers said it was unwilling to provide further funds for the business and called in administrators from Teneo.
Administrators said the retailer’s 541 known unsecured creditors, including customers, landlords and designer clothing suppliers, are owed at least £35.6m, and potentially as much as £100m, but are unlikely to collectively receive more than £800,000, or “less than a penny in the pound”.
One Matches customer told the Guardian that she had returned products worth more than £500 in January but, after the administration, was finally told she would not be refunded.
“I have been a very loyal customer to Matchesfashion since it started online, and bought regularly,” she said. “I feel abused. This is not acceptable,” she said.
Some suppliers – such as landlords, logistics companies security and IT providers – have been paid to ensure the retailer can continue to trade while administrators attempt to sell off the business.
Administrators also expected to pay almost £300,000 owed to employees and £1.2m to tax authorities. Swedish label Toteme is the brand owed the most by Matches, according to the administrators’ report, with a debt of almost £1m. Burberry, Gucci and Max Mara are each owed about £500,000.
Well-known British labels are also on the hook – Paul Smith and Samantha Cameron’s Cefinn are both owed more than £100,000 while Anya Hindmarch and Joseph are owed more than £200,000 each.