The Frasers Group, run by Mike Ashley, has repurchased the intellectual property rights of luxury fashion seller Matches following the announcement in March that Matches is to enter administration, cutting 273 jobs in the process.
Matchesfashion was bought by Frasers Group in December 2023 for £52m in cash and now Frasers have reached an agreement with Matches’ joint administrators to acquire “certain intellectual property assets only”, with the assets being non-tangibles such as the trademark, domain names and databases of the store. Frasers have said in a statement that the IP purchase was completed “following an extensive marketing process” and that “Brands and suppliers should be aware that all stock held by Matches does not form part of the transaction and the joint administrators continue to manage all operations of the business for the benefit of the administration.” Independent brands and suppliers are to lose out the most on this deal, with most of the stock being sold at a discounted price to other retailers in an attempt to recoup some of the money owed to Frasers.
Frasers have not commented on what they plan to do with the IP assets but there are several different options that they can take. One option for Frasers is to wait until the market for luxury fashion improves, and then sell the assets to a third party for a profit or keep the assets for themselves to relaunch the brand. Another option is to keep the assets to prevent a new company setting up a company in the name Matches and redirect searches for “Matches” to other Fraser Group companies like Flannels, a company in a similar market.
Frasers Group has a long history with acquiring other companies and their IP rights along with them. In 2004 Fraser Group acquired Dunlop Slazenger and subsequently made £10m from selling the intellectual property rights of Slazenger Golf to rival company JJB, with JJB eventually being bought by Frasers Group in 2012. The company now owns intellectual property rights to brands including Everlast, Lonsdale, Karrimor, and Missguided.
Acquiring IP rights to rival companies is a tactic used to promote and grow a brand, and Fraser Group have specialised in this. It is important to always protect IP rights and know when it is time to buy and sell them.
