Fashion victim: Cettire may be growing too fast for luxury brands to ignore
It has become the biggest battleground stock on the ASX. But far away from the markets, there is a growing view in the fashion industry that Cettire could become a victim of its own success.
When online luxury goods retailer Cettire made its way towards the ASX boards in 2020, it knew that publicity around its business could be a double edged sword.
A greater profile would help grow the funnel of customers interested in the steeply discounted luxury fashion goods it sold. But it would also eventually draw unwanted attention to Cettire’s "grey market" business model and expose its supply chain to the powerful fashion houses it undercuts.
About halfway through its almost 180 page IPO prospectus the company acknowledged that its arrangements with suppliers were a risk to its business, and that its suppliers have their own relationships with fashion manufacturers which it could not control.
"It is possible that the manufacturers may change their arrangements with Cettire’s suppliers so as to limit the suppliers’ ability to sell to Cettire or to Cettire’s customers, either generally or in specific geographic locations" the prospectus reads.
