Secret Sales acquires Germany’s Dress-For-Less

Secret Sales, the marketplace for off-price retail in fashion, sportswear and beauty, has continued its international expansion with the acquisition of German online retailer, dress-for-less for an undisclosed sum.

The “natural next step on an aggressive merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy”, Secret Sales said this deal solidifies it as “one of the most formidable discount retailers in Europe”, with presence across six European territories.

Dress-for-less, which specialises in discount fashion and beauty, boasted turnover of Є100m (£85.6m) in 2023 and counts brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Marc O’Polo as part of its product portfolio.

Acquiring the established brand will provide Secret Sales’ partner brands and retailers with access to a dramatically increased market share and millions of customers across Europe. Dress-for-less will be powered by Secret Sales’ backend technology platform, but keeps its brand name and with a significantly increased inventory of in excess of Є3bn made available to its customers.

The acquisition marks the sixth European territory Secret Sales counts in its European off-price retail portfolio, having already established itself in the UK and expanded into Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. Looking ahead, Secret Sales added it is “actively pursuing” other significant targets across Europe.

Secret Sales CEO Chris Griffin said: “Secret Sales is set to dominate off-price fashion and beauty, and more importantly give brands, through one partner of choice, a route to control and profit from their non full price strategies across Europe. We see it as our number one goal to protect a brand’s equity while driving increased profits to their P&L. By delivering these objectives and driving our growth strategy we are delivering our promise to our partners.

“The retail space hasn’t had it easy, but we’re continuing to see unprecedented growth in the off-price space. Dress-for-less is second-to-none in the space in Germany and forms a key part of our growth. For brands and retailers, the potential for pan-European control and expansion offers significant revenue opportunities. And, for Secret Sales and dress-for-less’ customers alike, there is now more choice than ever before.”