Missguided

Missguided is a UK-based fast-fashion retailer selling clothes aimed at women aged 16-35 years old.[1]

Missguided's headquarters were in Stretford, Greater Manchester until 2015 when they moved to Trafford Park.[2][3] In May 2022 the company went into administration, with the assets subsequently bought by Frasers Group and some later sold to Shein.

History

Missguided was established in 2009 by Nitin Passi.[4] Since its launch, the online retailer has experienced rapid growth in the UK [5][6] and has expanded into the US, Australia, France and Germany.[7]

In March 2015, Missguided launched in US department store Nordstrom, followed by a concession at Selfridges Trafford Centre in June.[8] In November, the second UK bricks-and-mortar store was opened within Selfridges Manchester Exchange Square and the third was opened in Selfridges in Birmingham in March 2016.[9]

In September 2017, Missguided announced the launch of the menswear label Mennace.[10]

In December 2021, investment firm Alteri Investors acquired a 50% stake in Missguided.[11]

In May 2022 it was reported Missguided were on the 'brink of collapse' after being issued with a winding up petition by its suppliers who were owed millions of pounds.[12]

On 31 May 2022 Missguided went into administration after being unable to pay its debts.[13] The next day, on 1 June 2022, Frasers Group bought the intellectual property of Missguided and its sister brand Mennace for around £20 million.[14] It is estimated that 87 staff members will be made redundant and 147 will be moved to Frasers Group,[15] with the legal name changed to MGL Realisations (2022) Limited in July 2022.[16] Frasers Group later bought fashion company I Saw It First. Greg Pateras, former Matalan CEO, was appointed CEO of both companies in August 2022.

In March 2023, Missguided began to tease their rebranding on their Instagram page, revealing a brand new logo. On 14th March, Missguided revealed the date of their relaunch is 31 March 2023.

In 30 October 2023, Frasers Group sold the branding rights and intellectual property of Missguided to online marketplace Shein, while retaining the staff and real estate of the company.[17]

Products

In September 2015, the company introduced tall and petite lines which each featured around 70 pieces, following its plus-size collection in November 2014.[18] For Winter 2015, the company launched a range of collections including lingerie, nightwear, a denim collection as well as a premium collection called Peace & Love.[19]

In May 2016, Missguided launched a range of wedding dresses. The collection was made up of 19 pieces for brides and bridesmaids.[20]

Collaborations

In March 2014, Missguided marked its fifth birthday with a collaboration with singer Nicole Scherzinger. The 40-piece collection was designed by Scherzinger.[21] May 2015 saw a collaboration between Missguided and R&B singer Pia Mia.[22]

In March 2016, the womenswear label announced that Pamela Anderson would front their SS16 collection.[23] The campaign was shot by Swedish photographer Arvida Byström,[24] from a concept created by creative director and stylist Soki Mak.[25]

A Bikini A Day bloggers Tash Oakley and Devin Brugman collaborated with Missguided in May 2016 to launch a new swimwear line.[26]

In September 2016, the company announced a campaign collaboration with American model and singer Amber Rose.[27] The company also launched collections with bloggers including Carli Bybel,[28] Caroline Receveur,[29] Sarah Ashcroft[30] and Alexis Ren. November 2016 saw Missguided launch its first flagship store in Westfield Stratford, London.[31]

In 2017, Missguided launched a collection with British supermodel Jourdan Dunn. [32] In the same year Missguided was involved in a campaign by Lucozade Zero.

In 2019, Playboy x Missguided was re-launched, after first debuting in 2018. The collection was met with mixed reviews due to the ambiguous reputation of Playboy Magazine and the design choices made in the collaboration.[33]

In the same year, the collection 'SofiaRichie x Missguided', produced in collaboration with model Sofia Richie was also launched on the official Missguided website.[34] The model announced the collaboration across all of her social media accounts, in coordination with the brand's social channels.[35][36]

References

  1. Tara Hounslea. Missguided to Launch Lingerie, Petite, Tall and Premium Ranges Drapers Online, 25 August 2015^
  2. Alex Bell. Coolest office in the world? Mirror, 21 May 2015, retrieved 9 September 2015^
  3. Alex Bell. Missguided boss Nitin Passi, who started the brand in 2009, believes fashion firm's new Salford HQ is 'world's coolest office'. Manchester Evening News, 27 November 2015^
  4. About Missguided - Forward Thinking Online Fashion www.missguidedus.com, retrieved 2017-12-03^
  5. Missguided enjoys record revenue growth The Retail Bulletin, 9 April 2015, retrieved 16 March 2016^
  6. Graham Ruddick. Nicole Scherzinger helps fashion retailer Missguided grow sales 70pc Telegraph, 8 April 2015, retrieved 13 October 2015^
  7. Chloe Rigby. Missguided to sell in US stores after record year Internet Retailing, 9 April 2015, retrieved 14 October 2015^
  8. Caroline Baldwin. Missguided launches first UK physical presence with Selfridges concession Retail Week, retrieved 9 September 2015^
  9. Tara Hounslea. Missguided launches third Selfridges concession Drapers Online, 7 March 2016, retrieved 15 March 2016^
  10. Elias Jahshan. Missguided launches brother label Mennace with online & pop-up physical stores - Retail Gazette Retail Gazette, 2017-09-27, retrieved 2017-10-06^
  11. Danielle Wightman-Stone. Alteri announces "significant investment" in Missguided FashionUnited, 2021-12-20, retrieved 2022-06-01^
  12. Retailer Missguided on brink of calling in administrators Guardian, 2022-05-22, retrieved 2022-05-27^
  13. Missguided fast fashion brand collapses BBC News, 2022-05-30, retrieved 2022-05-31^
  14. Frasers buys online retailer Missguided for £20m 2022-06-01^
  15. Missguided: Sports Direct owner Frasers Group buys fashion retailer after collapse BBC News, June 2022, retrieved 2022-06-01^
  16. Jon Robinson. Missguided changes name after Frasers Group rescue Business Live, 2022-07-04, retrieved 2022-07-08^
  17. Eloise Hill. Shein snaps up Missguided from Frasers Group - Retail Gazette www.retailgazette.co.uk, 2023-10-30, retrieved 2023-10-30^
  18. Sarah Barns. Missguided launch plus-size range for fuller figured fashionistas Express, 18 November 2014, retrieved 11 March 2015^
  19. Tara Hounslea. Missguided to launch lingerie, petite, tall and premium Drapers, 26 August 2015, retrieved 6 October 2015^
  20. Rosy Cherrington. Missguided launch a budget wedding dress range Huffington Post, 3 May 2016, retrieved 14 July 2016^
  21. Shelina Begum. X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger teams up with fashion firm Missguided for new collection Manchester Evening News, 25 February 2014, retrieved 10 October 2015^
  22. Jess Wilson. Who is Pia Mia? 7 things we know about Kylie Jenner's best friend OK Magazine, 7 December 2015, retrieved 4 March 2016^
  23. Francesca Bacardi. Pamela Anderson makes a major nostalgia play in Missguided campaign E Online, 21 March 2016, retrieved 21 March 2016^
  24. Ted Stansfield. Pamela Anderson poses for Arvida Bystrom in new shoot Dazed Digital, 22 March 2016, retrieved 22 March 2016^
  25. Three Decades since Baywatch, Pamela Anderson revives iconic red swimsuit look for fashion brand Missguided News.com.au, 22 March 2016, retrieved 23 March 2016^
  26. The A Bikini a Day's High Street Swim Line is Here Look.co.uk, retrieved 14 July 2016^
  27. Martine Thompson. Amber Rose on using clothes as a tool of empowerment Dazed, 18 September 2016^
  28. Augusta Statz. When Will Carli Bybel x Missguided Be Available? Bustle, 23 June 2016^
  29. Gaeton Brasseur. Caroline Receveur has created a capsule collection for Missguided Influenth, 14 October 2016^
  30. Dusty Baxter-Wright. How Sarah Ashcroft turned her Instagram account into a money-making business Cosmopolitan, 26 May 2017^
  31. Lauretta Roberts. Missguided unveils first standalone store in Westfield Stratford The Industry, 23 November 2016^
  32. Alyssa Hardy. Jourdan Dunn's Take on Diversity in Fashion Is What We All Need to Hear Teen Vogue, retrieved 2017-03-24^
  33. The Missguided x Playboy collection has launched and people aren't happy The Independent, 2018-09-26, retrieved 2019-09-18^
  34. Sofia Richie Is Teaming Up With Missguided to Launch a Fashion Collection Us Weekly, 2019-09-05, retrieved 2019-09-18^
  35. Sofia Richie (@sofiarichie) • Instagram photos and videos www.instagram.com, retrieved 2019-09-18^
  36. MISSGUIDED (@missguided) • Instagram photos and videos www.instagram.com, retrieved 2019-09-18^