15 August 2019: The Financial Times (FT) and The Business of Fashion (BoF) have announced a collaborative partnership, bringing together two global media companies with leading positions in the fast-growing fashion and luxury industries.

The FT is leading a new Series B investment round in BoF, investing alongside Index Ventures and Felix Capital, who led the Seed and Series A rounds, respectively. Other existing investors in BoF from the worlds of fashion, media and technology are also participating in the new round.

BoF plans to accelerate the growth of its community of five million people around the world, including more than 35,000 paying members and more than 500 corporate partners in 125 countries. FT Strategies, the consulting arm of the FT, will support this goal by providing industry-leading expertise in subscription technology to BoF. The FT and BoF will explore additional areas of collaboration in the future.

Imran Amed, BoF Founder, Editor-in-Chief and CEO, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Financial Times at this important juncture in the growth and development of our business. As a team, we have always admired the FT’s commitment to quality and integrity, its global perspective and its pioneering business model focused on digital subscriptions. This partnership will enable us to learn from the FT’s expertise and to find creative ways to work together in fulfilling BoF’s mission of bringing together the world’s largest community of fashion professionals.”

John Ridding, FT Group CEO, said: “The FT has long had a leading position in coverage of the luxury consumer sector, notably through the award-winning How to Spend It, and this investment will give us greater presence in the B2B and industry agenda. We are really impressed by the quality and dynamism of The Business of Fashion. There is a natural alignment between our global mindset and our focus on reader revenue to support quality journalism. We are excited to partner with Imran and his team to explore those synergies further.” 

The Business of Fashion retains complete editorial independence from its investors.

-ENDS-

For more information please contact:
Financial Times: Finola McDonnell | finola.mcdonnell@ft.com
The Business of Fashion: Max Tobias | max.tobias@camronpr.com

Note to editors
The FT has a long history in covering the fashion and luxury consumer sectors. The award-winning How to Spend It magazine, which celebrates 25 years and welcomes Jo Ellison as editor, is the only colour supplement to have won all three major industry awards (the British Press Awards, the British Society of Magazine Editors and the News Awards) in a single year, while the annual FT Business of Luxury Summit brings together some of the biggest names in the global luxury and fashion industry.

Founded as a humble blog in 2007, The Business of Fashion filled a void for an informed, analytical point of view on the global fashion business. This pioneering approach has made BoF the leading source of intelligence for the industry, and one of its most respected and influential voices, simply because you won’t find BoF’s original reporting and analysis anywhere else. BoF’s talented team of reporters, editors, analysts, engineers, designers, marketers, brand strategists now numbers more than 100 people in London, New York, Paris and Shanghai, creating world-class content, products, services and experiences including BoF Professional (exclusive insight, analysis and opinion), BoF Careers (the global marketplace for fashion talent), VOICES (an annual invitation-only event for leading thinkers and innovators), BoF China (a Chinese language edition), BoF Education (fashion’s platform for online learning) and the BoF 500 (the people shaping the global fashion industry).

ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF FASHION:
The Business of Fashion is recognised around the world for its authoritative, analytical point of view on the $2.5 trillion global fashion industry. Serving a community of members in more than 125 countries, BoF combines independent, agenda-setting analysis with practical business advice, online learning, career-building tools and immersive events and experiences, powering positive change in fashion and the wider world. www.businessoffashion.com

ABOUT THE FINANCIAL TIMES:
The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The FT has a record paying readership of one million, three-quarters of which are digital subscriptions. It is part of Nikkei Inc., which provides a broad range of information, news and services for the global business community.