City Chic has thrived this past year, with earnings predicted to be up 58% from last year, and that have no plans of stopping. In their latest move to have a stronger hold in the European plus-size market, it has just been announced that City Chic has bought Navabi for $9.6 million. Founded in 2009, Navabi is an online marketplace that brings together higher-end plus-size brands as well as their own exclusive to be shopped in one convenient place. While City Chic saw great success over the pandemic, Navabi struggled much more and traffic has been nearly cut in half.
City Chic Announcement
During the announcement City Chicโs CEO Phil Ryan said โNavabi is an exciting strategic opportunity, giving us a great foothold in the โฌ40 billion European plus-size market, which is the next key geography in driving towards our vision to lead a world of curves.โ
This is not the first acquisition of a major plus-size brand by City Chic. In 2019 they acquired Avenue and HipsandCurves.com for $16.5 million and $2 million, respectively. In 2020 they bought European plus-size brand Evans for $31 million.
In-store shopping experience
Across the now 5 brands that City Chic now owns and operates, its namesake brand is the only one that offers an in-store shopping experience. Over half of their income comes from e-commerce and all signs seem to signal that they have no interest in shrinking that number.
โOver the past decade we have followed Navabi as it has built a strong online marketplace for plus-size brands. The Navabi customer has the same emotional connection that has driven our success, and we are excited to introduce our brands to this European customer base.โ โ Phil Ryan, CEO of City Chic
For the Navabi fans, though, thereโs no need to worry. Navabi likely wonโt change much in terms of the shopping experience and brands offered, based on City Chicโs track record with other acquisitions. It is more likely that City Chic lines will just begin to appear more on the site, though that has not been confirmed. To see more of Navabiโs offerings, check out our articles on their collections in collaboration with Danielle Vanier and blogger Arched Eyebrow.
