Here’s How BooHoo Has Been Hoovering up High Street Brands and Investing in Ecommerce Tech

It’s a time ripe for disruption, of that there is little doubt. Brands which have dominated the retail space since time immemorial are now finding their positions challenged by a new generation of tech-savvy ecommerce players which aren’t messing around.

One such player is online fashion retailer, BooHoo, which has been making waves in the ecommerce clothing space ever since it first burst onto the scene. Only founded in 2006, the Manchester based retailer’s 2019 figures saw it generate sales of £856.9 million – and that’s before the COVID-19 crisis drove even more shoppers to online shopping platforms.

Not interested in resting on its laurels, BooHoo has been aggressively expanding its offering and is taking several other brands along for the ride, while simultaneously making intelligent partnerships to augment its already considerable presence.

BooHoo

The collapse of veteran high street department store, Debenhams sent shockwaves through the world of retail last year. However, BooHoo has since acquired the brand and has some interesting plans for the future of its ecommerce platform.

Much in the same way Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have opened up their online platforms to third-party retailers, BooHoo has announced plans to transform the Debenhams ecommerce portal into a digital marketplace where a range of third-party brands can sell their wares.

The new platform will also provide a location where BooHoo can sell products from its own portfolio of brands including boohoo, Nasty Gal, Karen Millen, Coast, Oasis, and Warehouse, as well as the existing Debenhams ranges which have now been absorbed into its own. The revamped marketplace will give a suit of brands a new route to market, operating with the draw of the Debenhams brand.

"Our acquisition of the Debenhams brand is strategically significant as it represents a huge step which accelerates our ambition to be a leader, not just in fashion ecommerce, but in new categories including beauty, sport and homeware," said Boohoo Group Cofounder and Executive Chairman, Mahmud Kamani.

Geoff Rowley, FRP Advisory partner and Joint Debenhams Administrator, added, "We are pleased to have secured the future for this great brand, and to have created the opportunity for a new Debenhams-branded business to emerge in a different shape beyond the pandemic."

BooHoo hasn’t stopped with Debenhams either and in a slew of acquisitions has also seized the reigns of several other big names from the UK high street. Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, and menswear retailer, Burton are among the household names which have now been absorbed into the BooHoo family of brands

Since then, in partnership with Astound Commerce, BooHoo has launched all new ecommerce platform for these three brands and is pouring considerable time and resources into making them successful once again.

"Our business requires us to adapt to the constantly shifting needs of its customers whilst staying competitive in a growing market," said Head of Technology – Digital, Online Innovation & Marketing at BooHoo, Laura McKellar. "All too often technology can be the main bottleneck to growth. Our partnership with Astound has been crucial to our ability to achieve the pace required to keep up with its ever-evolving business needs, as evidenced by the speed and agility with which we have collaboratively launched these three new sites."

Technology Partners

BooHoo has also been partnering with some fellow disrupters – albeit in different spaces – to help make its ecommerce operation a more effective machine.

It has joined forces with product Experience Management (PXM) solutions provider, Akeneo to help improve product data quality and further propel the brand forwards. Through the Akeneo platform, BooHoo is hoping to centralize product information and quickly measure product data quality and consistency, while driving improvements in product information to deliver compelling, consistent, and personalized product experiences across its sales channels.

Perhaps more interestingly, BooHoo has also signed up to work with mobile commerce platform, OOOOO Entertainment. Through this partnership BooHoo is hoping to penetrate the lucrative and rapidly growing live stream economy and bring interactive video commerce to its audience – empowering customers to make purchase while consuming streamed content.

"Interactive video commerce continues to explode as a mega-trend in China, estimated to reach $305 billion this year," according to a press release. "OOOOO are focused on delivering a technology platform and app to enable brands, retailers, and entrepreneurs to embrace the fast-growing live stream economy with its unique interactive video commerce application available for iOS and Android. The OOOOO platform has seen over +360,000 installs to date and successfully onboarded leading brands across the fashion, sport, beauty, and wellness industries."

Final Thoughts

BooHoo looks on course for another amazing year and its acquisition of these legendary brands is only going to benefit it moving forwards. That, combined with the interesting technology partnerships it is making, certainly make BooHoo stand out as one to watch for the coming years.

Retail disruption is set to be a hot topic at eTail Europe 2022, taking place in April at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK.

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