Shein, the China-founded fast-fashion retailer, has bought the Missguided brand from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, the e-commerce giant’s first purchase of a British brand.

Frasers said on Monday, Shein will acquire the intellectual property and trademarks of Missguided, while Frasers will retain its real estate and employees which have now been integrated into Frasers’ fashion division.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but Frasers said the transaction has enabled “exciting discussions” with Shein regarding opportunities for potential collaboration across its brand portfolio.

Frasers, formerly called Sports Direct, bought Missguided out of administration for £20 million ($24.2 million) in June 2022.

“This move is particularly noteworthy because it marks Shein’s first acquisition of a British brand, aligning well with its focus on the UK as one of its fastest-growing markets,” Shore Capital analyst Eleonora Dani said.

It will bring the Missguided label to Shein’s online platform, which serves about 150 million users.

Frasers also owns the “I Saw it First” and “Missy Empire” brands in women’s online fashion.

Frasers CEO Michael Murray said retaining the combined Frasers fashion teams while rationalising its portfolio in this space to focus on fewer brands made sense in the current climate.

“We are also excited about the ongoing discussions around further collaboration between Frasers Group and Shein,” he said.

Shares in Frasers were up 1.4 percent in early trading.

Shein has moved its headquarters to Singapore but manufactures most of its products in China.

Reuters reported in July that Shein was working on a potential US initial public offering and had been in talks with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

In August, Shein partnered with SPARC Group, a joint venture between Forever 21 owner Authentic Brands and mall operator Simon Property, as the online fashion retailer looked to expand its market reach in the United States.

By James Davey; Editors: Kate Holton and Barbara Lewis

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