The litigation focuses on the propriety of Farfetch’s statements about one of its most important metrics (gross merchandise value or “GMV”), which it says closely correlates with its revenue, the strength of its U.S. and China business, and the status of its touted partnership with Reebok.
The complaint alleges Farfetch made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (1) Farfetch was experiencing a significant slowdown in growth in the U.S. and China; (2) Farfetch also faced onboarding challenges impacting the launch of its Reebok partnership; (3) Farfetch downplayed challenges it faced with respect to, and/or overstated its ability to, manage its supply chain and inventory; (4) all the foregoing was having a significant negative impact on Farfetch’s revenue and GMV growth; and (5) accordingly, Farfetch was unlikely to meet market expectations for its Q2 2023 financial results and its FY 2023 revenue guidance.
Investors learned the truth on Aug. 17, 2023, when Farfetch reported dismal Q2 2023 financial results and slashed its FY 2023 revenue guidance. The company missed market revenue consensus estimates by about $78 million and slashed its FY revenue guidance by approximately $400 million. Farfetch attributed its disastrous performance to significant growth slowdowns in the U.S. and China, onboarding challenges affecting the launch of its Reebok partnership, and inventory and shipping issues.
In response, the price of Farfetch shares crashed about 45% lower on Aug. 18, 2023, wiping out over $700 million of shareholder value. In addition, the news prompted several analysts to downgrade the stock.
