Secret Sales have announced that they are to acquire Afound, H&M’s marketplace. It’s no real surprise that an acquisition has taken place as H&M previously announced that they would shutter their Afound platform citing lack of demand from brands who they say were increasingly choose to use their own channels for sales.
And it looks like Afound will have a good home with Secret Sales as they already have a roster of fashion brands already keenly selling non full price inventory on the marketplace.
Afound puts Secret Sales in 10 territories across Europe and further accelerates their mission to be the partner of choice for fashion brands, with their stated strategy to turn non full price fashion in to a sustainable, strategy enhancing profit centre. Their proposition is a solution to protect brand equity while still making strong margins through retailing their non full price inventory.
It is expected that Afound will be relaunched, rather than being rebranded as Secret Sales, so the name will live on… and who knows, H&M could be the first brand customer signing up to sell on their own former marketplace.
In today’s challenging retail environment, we’re proud to be setting a new standard for brands and retailers to manage discount inventory in a way that enhances their brand and drives long-term profitability.
Bringing Afound into the Secret Sales family reinforces our commitment to growing our premium off-price solution across Europe. By expanding into the Nordics, brands now have an even greater opportunity to reach new customers in multiple regions while maintaining control over their positioning.
– Chris Griffin, CEO, Secret Sales
Afound has always been about delivering exceptional value to brands and customers. I am confident that Secret Sales will continue on that journey with quality and care. We are happy that the brand and the value created can continue to live and we are grateful to everyone who has contributed to the journey
– Ville Klemming, MD, Afound
