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Bestseller CEO’s Klarna stake drives $1.7 billion investment comeback

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Bestseller CEO’s Klarna stake drives .7 billion investment comeback


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Bloomberg

Published



September 11, 2025

Anders Holch Povlsen has accumulated stakes in listed online retailers, banks, and other finance firms over the past two decades, while overseeing one of the world’s largest closely held fashion fortunes.

Anders Holch Povlsen – Photographer: Tariq Mikkel Khan/AFP

But it’s a lucrative bet on Klarna Group Plc that’s currently driving the 52-year-old billionaire’s wealth revamp.

Povlsen, chief executive officer of Danish clothing retailer Bestseller, is among the biggest winners from the initial public offering of the financial technology company, which began trading Wednesday in New York and closed almost 15% above its offering price of $40 per share.

He now owns a roughly $1.4 billion stake in the Swedish business, making it his largest holding in a publicly traded company, while also cashing in at least $250 million from the offering, which priced above the marketed ranges, according to Bloomberg calculations. Povlsen has overall gains of more than 600% from his investment in the provider of buy-now, pay-later financing, taking the value of his disclosed holdings in listed companies to about $2.5 billion, the calculations show.

A representative for Povlsen — who has a total net worth of $6.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Despite Klarna’s current valuation falling well below its 2021 peak of $45.6 billion, Povlsen’s investment underscores one of his most successful efforts to diversify a family fortune that began five decades ago, when his parents founded Bestseller as a women’s clothing store in a small Danish town.

Povlsen acquired a 10% stake in Klarna in mid-2017 through his family office, Heartland, just weeks before the fintech was valued at approximately $2.3 billion. He earlier used the investment firm to acquire holdings in e-commerce fashion sites Zalando SE and ASOS Plc. Heartland’s other listed assets include Funding Circle Holdings Plc, a London-based lending platform that has struggled since its initial public offering in 2018.

While also a major landowner in Scotland, most of Povlsen’s fortune remains tied up in Bestseller, where he first began working as a teenager before taking over from his parents as owner and managing director in 2001.

In a rare interview this year to mark Bestseller’s 50th anniversary, Povlsen said he originally wanted to start an e-commerce firm before deciding to work in the family business, underscoring his long-standing interest in the sector that Klarna has helped transform since its own creation in 2005.

“My parents did everything they could to dissuade me from following in their footsteps,” he told the Spin Off fashion magazine. “The more they tried, the more my interest in Bestseller grew.”

Other winners in Klarna’s IPO include the founders Victor Jacobsson, Niklas Adalberth, and Sebastian Siemiatkowski, who’s also its CEO. They cashed in at least $50 million of their combined holdings in the oversubscribed IPO, which valued the company at approximately $15 billion, according to filings.

The three now control overall stakes worth more than $2 billion in Klarna, a company that has evolved from a European clone of PayPal Holdings Inc. to one of the world’s biggest providers of short-term consumer loans as it seeks to disrupt the banking sector.

“You have to be willing to push the envelope,” Siemiatkowski said in an interview Tuesday with Bloomberg News.



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Higher festive spend is due to inflation, clothing among first to be cut for budgeters – Deloitte survey

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Higher festive spend is due to inflation, clothing among first to be cut for budgeters – Deloitte survey


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December 15, 2025

On the face of it, around a third of UK consumers planning to spend more this Christmas can only be positive, right? Alas, many are blaming higher prices for the decision, according to new Deloitte research.

Image: Pixabay

If it’s any consolation, this is higher than the rest of Europe, where just 23% plan to spend more. And at least in the UK, consumers aged 18-34 are nearly twice as likely to spend more this Christmas compared with older age groups while almost half (44%)  agree they have enough money “to create a joyful Christmas for themselves and their family this year”. 

And while a third of those spending more are blaming higher prices, 23% say it’s a deliberate choice to allocate more budget to Christmas while 20% say they’re spending more because their financial situation has improved.

On the downside, 18% of UK consumers plan to spend less this Christmas compared with last year with around half (48%) blaming the cost of living, while 37% say it is because their financial situation has worsened.

Unfortunately, when asked about what they will cut back on if budgets becomes too constrained, the top things consumers stated were “experiences (restaurants or attending events)… and clothing. At least fewer are likely to cut back on gift vouchers, it noted.

Cande Cooper, retail partner at Deloitte UK, said: “While there is a strong desire among many UK consumers to create and spread joy this Christmas, shoppers are demonstrating a pragmatic approach, carefully balancing their budgets with their festive aspirations.

“High costs continue to squeeze many consumers’ spend, and so retailers will look to target consumers with promotions, whilst also catering to those looking for quality products and shopping experiences. Retailers should also take note of evolving consumer behaviours, particularly the increasing influence and adoption of GenAI in the shopping process.”

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Steady, slower growth in US transportation in 2026: S&P Global Ratings

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Steady, slower growth in US transportation in 2026: S&P Global Ratings



US transportation activity growth will be steady in 2026 and 2027, but slower than the post-pandemic recovery years, except for US port operators, which are expected to see volumes decline in 2026, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The rating agency believes US gross domestic product (GDP) growth, projected at 2 per cent for 2026 and 1.9 per cent for 2027, will provide a solid foundation for steady activity across most domestic transportation infrastructure asset classes, including maritime container volumes, tolled transactions, and mass transit ridership.

US transportation activity growth will be steady in 2026 and 2027, but slower than the post-pandemic recovery years, except for US port operators, which are expected to see volumes decline in 2026, according to S&P Global Ratings.
Port container volumes are likely to decline slightly in 2025 and 2026, based on data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, before resuming a growth trend in 2027.

Mass transit ridership remains below pre-pandemic levels with a full recovery unlikely in the next two-to-three years, it noted.

It estimates average growth rates in 2026 and 2027 at 4.5 per cent for transit ridership, 2.4 per cent for port container traffic and 3 per cent for tolled transactions.

For its 2026 activity estimates, it assumes that toll roads will continue to attract and benefit from passenger and commercial vehicle growth trends.

Port container volumes, measured by twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), are likely to decline slightly in 2025 and 2026, based on data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, before resuming a growth trend in 2027.

US import duties are in place for the foreseeable future, but a series of lightweight trade deals based on tariff concessions in return for purchase and investment commitments will provide an offset.

Although port volumes generally move in line with the broader U.S. economy, tariffs on foreign goods are dampening demand. S&P Global Ratings’ economists forecast slower, but still positive, consumer spending growth over the near term. It expects this will lead to spillover in the form of reduced throughput at US container ports.

Ports could be stressed on both sides, as US consumers reduce demand for imports and as other countries implement retaliatory trade policies in response to higher US tariffs.

However, if the administration’s tariff policies are overturned by the US Supreme Court, another period of front-running ahead of changing trade policy and an associated uptick in port container volumes could be witnessed.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)



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JW Anderson opens new London store on Pimlico Road

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JW Anderson opens new London store on Pimlico Road


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December 15, 2025

If anyone thought the JW Anderson label would take something of back seat after Jonathan Anderson landed the creative chief’s role at Dior, they couldn’t have been more wrong. And the latest development at the weekend showed JWA is still very much front of mind for Anderson.

JW Anderson

The company opened a Pimlico Road store, in a part of London known for its antique stores, design boutiques and homewares specialists. It said the new store “naturally aligns with the brand’s growing Home and Garden collection”.

Each of the label’s locations “absorbs and reflects its surroundings” and for this one, “within an environment of timeless design, Home and Garden sits at the heart of the store, accompanied by a selection of Ready to Wear, Shoes and Accessories”. 

There’s also an emphasis on art. The inaugural art installation presents six sculptural sconces by British artist Kira Freije. Drawing from welding, glassblowing and other craft processes. The works will be available exclusively in-store until February. Meanwhile ready-to-Wear from the latest collection “including pieces rooted in local craftsmanship, are shown alongside collaborative objects by international artisans”.

JW Anderson

We’re told that “curating is an utterly personal passion, which Jonathan Anderson now channels into a re-articulated JW Anderson”.

As with the brand’s Soho and Milan flagships, the store concept has been developed by architects Sanchez Benton. Spanning two floors, its layout is “shaped by velvet panelling that creates intimate, distinct rooms”. And as well as the main retail area, the lower ground floor houses a dedicated Press and VIP Salon, “offering a private environment”.

The opening comes hot on the heels of the brand’s Miami pop-up that opened during the city’s Art Week in partnership with luxury retailer The Webster, running until 15 December.

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