Today in retail: Boohoo toasts etail triumph Stateside

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Boohoo bosses Carol Kane and Mahmud Kamani will no doubt be popping corks today as their booming business doubled its full-year profits.

The fast-growing fashion retailer’s joint chief executives heralded the year as “momentous” and waxed lyrical about its acquisitions of Nasty Gal and Pretty Little Thing, which set the etailer up to drive sales as a multi-branded business.

The online retailer also looks set to succeed where Tesco and the Robbie Williams failed – it’s well on its way to cracking America, as sales in the country skyrocketed 140%.

Boohoo has made no secret of its long-term ambitions and boss Kane has said she wants the retailer to become the Inditex of etail.

If the business can maintain its momentum in the UK and overseas, it could well be on its way.

Boohoo wasn’t the only pureplay with big news today. Shop Direct owners the Barclay Brothers are understood to be seeking a cool £3bn for the business, with a clutch of private equity buyers expressing interest, while online mattress retailer Eve Sleep is pursuing a AIM listing.

Conversely, beleaguered employment agency Transline, whose retail clients have included Sports Direct, Asos and Amazon, is teetering on the brink of administration.

Quote of the day

“Perhaps, in the interests of transparency and bringing this episode to a close, you might publish the warning notice sent to you by the Pensions Regulator?”

Frank Field’s letter in response to Sir Philip Green’s claim that he had been used as a ‘political football’