# Federico Marchetti (businessman)
**Federico Marchetti** (born 1969 in Ravenna, Italy) is an Italian e-commerce entrepreneur best known as the founder of Yoox, the online off-price fashion retailer, and as the chief executive of the YOOX Net-A-Porter Group (YNAP) from its 2015 creation until he stepped down as CEO at the end of 2020; he remained chairman during the transition and left the company in July 2021.[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) • [2](https://forbes.it/2024/04/18/imprenditore-digitale-federico-marchetti-racconta/) He built Yoox around selling end-of-season luxury stock at a discount, merged it with Net-a-Porter in 2015, and sold the combined group to the Swiss luxury company [Richemont](https://www.edgepedia.org/richemont) in 2018 in a deal sources value at between €5.3 billion and about €6 billion.[3](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion) • [4](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/bio)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | Yoox, launched June 2000, selling end-of-season designer stock online; IPO on the Milan stock exchange on 3 December 2009, the first Italian listing in 17 months[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) |
| Seed funding | Three billion lira (£1.2m) for 33% from venture capitalist Elserino Piol, closed March 2000, a month before the tech crash[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) |
| 2015 merger | All-share Yoox–Net-a-Porter merger; Marchetti CEO of the combined group, with Natalie Massenet resigning as executive chairman of Net-a-Porter before the merger and not joining the new group's board; implied group valuation €3.4bn on sales of €1.3bn[5](https://www.richemont.com/media/os2oc4cz/2015-03-31.pdf) • [21](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/02/net-a-porter-founder-quits-in-surprise-move-ahead-of-takeover) |
| 2018 exit | Richemont took control of YNAP, delisting it at a valuation of about €6 billion (€5.3 billion by Vogue's account)[6](https://wwd.com/business-news/human-resources/feature/ynap-group-names-new-ceo-federico-marchetti-stays-on-as-chairman-1234665276/) • [3](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion) |
| Decline | €2.7 billion Richemont write-down in 2022; €1.46 billion YNAP loss in the year before the 2024 Mytheresa sale[7](https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/richemont-farfetch-and-ynap-understanding-a-transformational-e-commerce-deal/) • [8](https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/richemont-announces-deal-sell-online-retailer-yoox-net-a-porter-2024-10-07/) |
| Later roles | Chair of King Charles III's Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Task Force (since 2021); Giorgio Armani board; Bocconi professor from September 2021[4](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/bio) |
| Education | Economics degree at Bocconi University; MBA at Columbia Business School, class of 1999[9](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/federico-marchetti-yoox) • [10](https://www.magazine.columbia.edu/article/federico-marchetti-sustainable-fashion) |
## Early life and education
Marchetti grew up in Ravenna, where his father was a warehouse supervisor at Fiat and his mother worked for the phone company. He left at 19 to study economics and business at [Bocconi University](https://www.edgepedia.org/bocconi-university) in Milan.[9](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/federico-marchetti-yoox) He then took an MBA at [Columbia Business School](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-business-school), graduating in 1999, and has said he conceived Yoox while there, on the idea that fashion and the Internet, then "distant worlds", would converge.[11](https://fortune.com/2014/06/02/yoox-ceo-i-was-going-to-do-the-internet-in-a-beautiful-way/) [Giorgio Armani](https://www.edgepedia.org/giorgio-armani), for whom he had done consulting work, wrote one of his MBA recommendation letters.[10](https://www.magazine.columbia.edu/article/federico-marchetti-sustainable-fashion)
WIRED reports he worked as an analyst at [Goldman Sachs](https://www.edgepedia.org/goldman-sachs), first in London and then Milan, for three years, followed by three months at Bain & Co. before quitting in December 1999.[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) W Magazine instead says he joined [Lehman Brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/lehman-brothers) as a financial analyst after Bocconi, with a later stint at Bain.[9](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/federico-marchetti-yoox)
## Founding and building Yoox
Yoox launched in June 2000, weeks after Boo.com's collapse in May 2000 had killed off early fashion e-commerce. The name combines the Y and X chromosomes with the "00" of binary code, and the first business plan called the company "the global internet retailing partner for leading fashion and design brands".[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) Marchetti raised the seed money from Elserino Piol, the former Olivetti chief executive widely described as Italy's first venture capitalist: WIRED records three billion lira (£1.2m) for 33% of the business in a deal done in March 2000, while the [Financial Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/financial-times) interview gives €1.5m for 33% raised in 40 days.[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/)
**The off-price model.** Yoox bought up brands' end-of-season and overstock inventory and sold it at a discount through a single website, giving what Marchetti called "a second life to fashion items"; he began selling vintage pieces in 2001.[3](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion) In 2006 he pioneered the mono-brand online flagship, run by Yoox on brands' behalf, when designers were still skeptical of the Internet; Marni became the first luxury company to launch such a store with the group that year.[6](https://wwd.com/business-news/human-resources/feature/ynap-group-names-new-ceo-federico-marchetti-stays-on-as-chairman-1234665276/) • [1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) On mono-brand stores Yoox earned a little less than a third of the sale price on each item, so brands made more than at wholesale but a little less than at retail, without the associated costs.[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) By June 2014 the company designed and operated online stores for 37 luxury brands including Armani, Alexander McQueen, and [Brunello Cucinelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/brunello-cucinelli).[11](https://fortune.com/2014/06/02/yoox-ceo-i-was-going-to-do-the-internet-in-a-beautiful-way/)
**Logistics and pricing.** [Inventory](https://www.edgepedia.org/inventory) purchasing and trend prediction ran on an algorithm of roughly four hundred pages of code written by Alberto Grignolo, whom Marchetti called "the most important man in the organisation".[1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/) Yoox broke even in three years and listed on the Milan stock exchange on 3 December 2009, the first Italian IPO in 17 months, with Marchetti holding an 11% fully diluted stake.[9](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/federico-marchetti-yoox) • [1](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/)
## The Yoox–Net-a-Porter merger (2015)
On 31 March 2015 Richemont signed a binding, conditional all-share agreement to merge its subsidiary The Net-A-Porter Group with YOOX S.p.A., completing in September 2015. Natalie Massenet was to serve as executive chairman and Marchetti as CEO of the combined YOOX Net-A-Porter Group, listed in Milan; Richemont received 50% of the share capital on a fully diluted basis, with voting rights limited to 25% to preserve the group's independence.[5](https://www.richemont.com/media/os2oc4cz/2015-03-31.pdf) Marchetti later said the merger succeeded only on a third attempt after two failed efforts.[12](https://business.columbia.edu/insights/federico-marchetti-risk-reinvention-yoox-fashion)
The merger was contentious. W Magazine describes it as finalized "in a swirl of controversy", with Yoox purchasing Net-a-Porter for less than its estimated value and founder Natalie Massenet unceremoniously ousted; Marchetti's comment was "There can be only one boss."[9](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/federico-marchetti-yoox) Combining the two required building an entirely new platform able to sell both discounted goods and full-price luxury.[9](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/federico-marchetti-yoox)
## Richemont era and exit
Richemont took control of YNAP in 2018, delisting it from the Milan stock exchange and valuing the company at about €6 billion; Vogue gives the deal value as €5.3 billion, at which point Marchetti owned 4% of the business.[6](https://wwd.com/business-news/human-resources/feature/ynap-group-names-new-ceo-federico-marchetti-stays-on-as-chairman-1234665276/) • [3](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion) Ahead of the takeover the YNAP board appointed Marchetti as chairman and chief executive officer.[13](https://fashionunited.uk/news/people/federico-marchetti-to-lead-ynap-as-chairman-and-ceo/2018042429264)
The succession came quickly. In November 2020 YNAP named Geoffroy Lefebvre, then group digital distribution director at Richemont, as CEO effective 4 January 2021, with Marchetti remaining chairman for the transition; at that point YNAP had 4.3 million active customers.[6](https://wwd.com/business-news/human-resources/feature/ynap-group-names-new-ceo-federico-marchetti-stays-on-as-chairman-1234665276/) Marchetti had announced the succession plan at the start of 2020, ahead of his contract expiring in 2021, and left the company in July 2021.[4](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/bio)
The exit preceded the group's dismantling. On 24 August 2022 Richemont agreed to sell 47.5% of YNAP to Farfetch and 3.2% to [Mohamed Alabbar](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohamed-alabbar)'s entity, making YNAP a neutral platform with no controlling shareholder, with put and call options over the remainder; Richemont took a €2.7 billion write-down, and chairman [Johann Rupert](https://www.edgepedia.org/johann-rupert) said the valuation had been "adjusted... to bring it in line with today's market environment".[14](https://www.richemont.com/news-media/press-releases-news/partnership-to-advance-the-digitalisation-of-luxury-industry/) • [7](https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/richemont-farfetch-and-ynap-understanding-a-transformational-e-commerce-deal/) That plan collapsed when Farfetch itself failed in December 2023, and in October 2024 Richemont announced the sale of YNAP to Mytheresa, completed in 2025.[15](https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2024/10/08/richemont-lends-a-helping-hand-for--mytheresa-to-acquire-yoox-net-a-porter/) • [8](https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/richemont-announces-deal-sell-online-retailer-yoox-net-a-porter-2024-10-07/) • [16](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/english-media/ambassador-january-2026)
## By the numbers
The financial arc runs steeply downward from the 2018 peak. The 2018 sale valued the group at €5.3 billion to about €6 billion depending on the source, when YNAP reported sales of more than €2 billion.[3](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion) • [17](https://stag.vogue.com/article/richemont-sells-ynap-stake-to-farfetch-writes-down-27-billion-euros)
Under Richemont the group never turned sustainably profitable. The Online Distributors Division, including YNAP and Watchfinder&Co, made an operating loss of €210 million for the fiscal year ending March 2022 on sales of €2.8 billion, up 27% year-on-year.[7](https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/richemont-farfetch-and-ynap-understanding-a-transformational-e-commerce-deal/) Net-A-Porter delivered a low-single-digit adjusted EBITDA margin, while the off-price business of Yoox and The Outnet was unprofitable.[15](https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2024/10/08/richemont-lends-a-helping-hand-for--mytheresa-to-acquire-yoox-net-a-porter/) The 2022 Farfetch deal implied a valuation of about €1 billion by Business of Fashion's estimate; MilanoFinanza put the combined value at less than €800 million, and BNP Paribas Exane analysts valued the equity at $870 to $961 million.[7](https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/richemont-farfetch-and-ynap-understanding-a-transformational-e-commerce-deal/) • [18](https://www.milanofinanza.it/fashion/yoox-s-founder-federico-marchetti-discussed-the-future-of-the-luxury-e-commerce-in-an-interview-with-202310091038395755) • [17](https://stag.vogue.com/article/richemont-sells-ynap-stake-to-farfetch-writes-down-27-billion-euros) Revenues then fell 14%, from $2.8 billion (€2.5 billion) in 2023 to $2.4 billion (€2.2 billion) in 2024, Richemont wrote down a further $1.4 billion (€1.3 billion) in YNAP net assets, and YNAP posted a €1.46 billion loss in the year before the Mytheresa deal.[15](https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2024/10/08/richemont-lends-a-helping-hand-for--mytheresa-to-acquire-yoox-net-a-porter/) • [8](https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/richemont-announces-deal-sell-online-retailer-yoox-net-a-porter-2024-10-07/)
## After YNAP: sustainability, boards and AI advocacy
In 2021 the then [Prince of Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/prince-of-wales) invited Marchetti to chair the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Fashion Task Force, and he became a professor at Bocconi University in Milan from September 2021.[4](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/bio) The task force, which brings together roughly 15 CEOs including Burberry, Chloé, Selfridges, Stella McCartney, Zalando, and, from February 2024, Prada, works on a Digital Passport scheme using QR codes, NFC tags, and blockchain to give consumers production information; a collaboration with the Aura Blockchain Consortium produced a label with a unique code for garment traceability.[3](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion) • [18](https://www.milanofinanza.it/fashion/yoox-s-founder-federico-marchetti-discussed-the-future-of-the-luxury-e-commerce-in-an-interview-with-202310091038395755) • [10](https://www.magazine.columbia.edu/article/federico-marchetti-sustainable-fashion) • [2](https://forbes.it/2024/04/18/imprenditore-digitale-federico-marchetti-racconta/) The task force also develops regenerative agriculture schemes for cotton with Armani in Puglia and cashmere with Brunello Cucinelli in Mongolia.[3](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion)
His board roles include the Giorgio Armani S.p.A board, which he joined in 2020 as the first non-family member, as independent non-executive director; he denied rumors of becoming Armani CEO, saying he was "only an advisor to the Board".[4](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/bio) • [18](https://www.milanofinanza.it/fashion/yoox-s-founder-federico-marchetti-discussed-the-future-of-the-luxury-e-commerce-in-an-interview-with-202310091038395755) He was knighted as a Cavaliere by the Italian president in 2017, served on the GEDI board from 2021 to April 2024, and is a trustee of the King's Foundation.[4](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/bio) • [19](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/an-italian-geek-in-king-charles-court) He has said that in his last five years in e-commerce he worked on artificial intelligence, big data, and augmented reality.[20](https://the-talks.com/interview/federico-marchetti/) His memoirs are *Le Avventure di un Innovatore* (Longanesi, 2023, with Daniela Hamaui and a foreword by Giorgio Armani) and its English version, *The Geek of Chic: An American Dream Italian Style*, released in the United States in September 2025.[18](https://www.milanofinanza.it/fashion/yoox-s-founder-federico-marchetti-discussed-the-future-of-the-luxury-e-commerce-in-an-interview-with-202310091038395755) • [10](https://www.magazine.columbia.edu/article/federico-marchetti-sustainable-fashion)
## References
1. [How Yoox turned the luxury-goods industry onto digital, WIRED](https://www.wired.com/story/yoox/)
2. [Federico Marchetti si racconta, Forbes Italia (18 April 2024)](https://forbes.it/2024/04/18/imprenditore-digitale-federico-marchetti-racconta/)
3. [Federico Marchetti, the father of luxury e-commerce, on the future of fashion, Vogue (7 September 2023)](https://www.vogue.com/article/federico-marchetti-the-father-of-luxury-e-commerce-on-the-future-of-fashion)
4. [Biography, federicomarchetti.com (official site)](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/bio)
5. [Richemont Signs Agreement to Merge the Net-A-Porter Group with Yoox Group (31 March 2015)](https://www.richemont.com/media/os2oc4cz/2015-03-31.pdf)
6. [YNAP Group Names CEO; Federico Marchetti Stays on as Chairman, WWD (30 November 2020)](https://wwd.com/business-news/human-resources/feature/ynap-group-names-new-ceo-federico-marchetti-stays-on-as-chairman-1234665276/)
7. [Richemont, Farfetch and YNAP: Understanding a Transformational E-Commerce Deal, Business of Fashion](https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/richemont-farfetch-and-ynap-understanding-a-transformational-e-commerce-deal/)
8. [Richemont offloads online retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter to Mytheresa, Reuters (7 October 2024)](https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/richemont-announces-deal-sell-online-retailer-yoox-net-a-porter-2024-10-07/)
9. [How Italy's Fashion Tech Titan Built His Empire, W Magazine](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/federico-marchetti-yoox)
10. [A Retail Innovator Looks to a More Sustainable Future, Columbia Magazine (Winter 2025–26)](https://www.magazine.columbia.edu/article/federico-marchetti-sustainable-fashion)
11. [Yoox CEO: 'I was going to do the Internet in a beautiful way', Fortune (June 2014)](https://fortune.com/2014/06/02/yoox-ceo-i-was-going-to-do-the-internet-in-a-beautiful-way/)
12. [Federico Marchetti's '99 Playbook on Risk and Reinvention, Columbia Business School](https://business.columbia.edu/insights/federico-marchetti-risk-reinvention-yoox-fashion)
13. [Federico Marchetti to lead YNAP as Chairman and CEO, FashionUnited (24 April 2018)](https://fashionunited.uk/news/people/federico-marchetti-to-lead-ynap-as-chairman-and-ceo/2018042429264)
14. [Richemont, FARFETCH and Alabbar cement Partnership (24 August 2022)](https://www.richemont.com/news-media/press-releases-news/partnership-to-advance-the-digitalisation-of-luxury-industry/)
15. [Richemont Lends A Helping Hand For Mytheresa To Acquire Yoox Net-A-Porter, Forbes (8 October 2024)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2024/10/08/richemont-lends-a-helping-hand-for--mytheresa-to-acquire-yoox-net-a-porter/)
16. [Ambassador January 2026 interview, federicomarchetti.com](https://www.federicomarchetti.com/english-media/ambassador-january-2026)
17. [Richemont to sell YNAP stake to Farfetch, writes down €2.7 billion, Vogue Business](https://stag.vogue.com/article/richemont-sells-ynap-stake-to-farfetch-writes-down-27-billion-euros)
18. [Yoox's founder Federico Marchetti discussed the future of the luxury e-commerce, MilanoFinanza (9 October 2023)](https://www.milanofinanza.it/fashion/yoox-s-founder-federico-marchetti-discussed-the-future-of-the-luxury-e-commerce-in-an-interview-with-202310091038395755)
19. [An Italian Geek in King Charles's Court, The New Yorker (6 October 2025)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/an-italian-geek-in-king-charles-court)
20. [Federico Marchetti: 'You cannot be a follower', The Talks](https://the-talks.com/interview/federico-marchetti/)
21. [Net-a-Porter founder quits in surprise move ahead of takeover](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/02/net-a-porter-founder-quits-in-surprise-move-ahead-of-takeover)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Business and work › Business and work overview › Businesspeople and entrepreneurs › Corporate executives and managers › Retail, fashion, and luxury executives*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 10, 2026*
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