Net-A-Porter just lost its influential founder: Natalie Massenet has resigned from the world's most renowned online-only luxury retailer. The departure apparently happened right after Massenet got back from a vacation, a source “with direct knowledge of the matter” told Bloomberg. She will reportedly take £100 million, or approximately $153 million, from selling her Net-A-Porter shares with her upon departing, says the publication. It sounds as if it's a clean break: “She is severing all ties with the company she founded,” according to WWD.
The departure comes just before discounted-luxury e-comm giant Yoox’s acquisition of Net-A-Porter is slated to close this month; the deal was struck in March. It’s possible that Massenet packed up and left largely because of a schism with Yoox’s founder, Federico Marchetti, who was named CEO of the merged mega-company, while Massenet would assume the role of chairwoman. (New York’s recent feature of the merger and how it would affect Massenet and the company she founded made it sound as if the relationship between the two execs was strained.) We’ve reached out to Net-A-Porter for comment on Massenet’s departure, and will update when we hear back.
So, what would you do with a cool $153 million?
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