Amazon is reportedly in negotiations to acquire online luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter.
Women’s Wear Daily first reported the potential deal, which is expected to be worth around $2.19bn. A person familiar with the development said the negotiations could still fall apart as they are in early stages.
Natalie Massenet launched Net-a-porter in London in June 2000. It has several fashion retailing sites and employs approximately 2,600 people in the UK, US and Hong Kong.
In 2010, Swiss designer goods holding firm Richemont acquired a majority stake in Net-a-Porter for £50m.
Net-a-Porter reported sales of around $835m for the 12 months ending on 29 March 2014 , an increase of 23% from the earlier year.
Forbes said Amazon has focused on the fashion retail sector for a long time and any agreement for Net-a-Porter would mean a new commitment in an area where the company does not have a strong presence.
Last year, several media reports said Amazon was in talks to acquire Indian fashion retailer Jabong.com for $1.2bn.
In August 2014, Amazon invested about $1.1bn on video game streaming firm Twitch. The company also spent $1.2bn in 2009 to buy online shoe retailer Zappos.
