Karen Millen stores hang in the balance as Boohoo tables offer

The future of Karen Millen’s stores is uncertain, after fast fashion online retailer Boohoo confirmed it has acquired its online business for £18.2m. Boohoo has bought both Karen Millen, which has 32 standalone stores and 177 concessions in the UK, and Coast after both fell into administration today (6 August). The brands were put up for sale by Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Coast closed its stores after Karen Millen bought the business in October last year. It led to 20 store and outlet closures across the UK – 24, including Ireland – as well as international concessions. Boohoo said that the online businesses of both brands would represent “highly complementary additions to its scalable multi-brand platform”, and extend the group’s offer as “part of its vision to lead the fashion e-commerce market globally”. Unaudited management information shows that direct online sales from the websites of Karen Millen and Coast totalled £28.4m, during its most recent financial year ending February 2019. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette Photo: Photofusion/Shutterstock