Umar Kamani
Born
Umar Kamani

(1988-03-21) 21 March 1988
Manchester, England
Alma materManchester Metropolitan University
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • Fashion retailer, Restaurant partner
Known forCo-founder and CEO of PrettyLittleThing
ParentMahmud Kamani
RelativesAdam Kamani (brother)

Umar Kamani (born 21 March 1988) is an English fashion retailer and businessman. At 24, Kamani and his brother Adam co-founded a fashion firm and online retail company selling clothing, accessories and other items to women mainly aged between 12 and 25, "PrettyLittleThing.com."[1]

Career

Boohoo.com

In 2006, Kamani began working in the family business as a manager at Boohoo.com. In 2014, Boohoo debuted on the Alternative Investment Market with a market value of £560 million.[2] This float was a major contribution to the Kamani family's wealth.[3] In September 2016, analysts began speculating that Boohoo.com would acquire PrettyLittleThing after reviewing Boohoo's financials, which showed a 40% increase in turnover to £127.3 million for the half year which ended in August 2016.[4]

PrettyLittleThing.com

Brothers, Umar and Adam Kamani co-founded PrettyLittleThing.com in January 2012. By the middle of 2013, celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Michelle Keegan, Rita Ora, Jessie J, Ryan Thomas[5] and Nicki Minaj had been seen wearing clothing from their rapidly growing fashion retailer. 66% of the company was acquired by Boohoo for £3.3 million in December 2016. The PrettyLittleThing.com team grew from 65 to 300 employees from 2014 to the end of 2015. This increase was to accommodate the workload influx from fulfilling 20 orders a day in 2014 to shipping 20,000 parcels a day by the middle of 2015.[6] Additionally Umar reported a 500% increase in full-year sales to £30 million.[7] In 2016, PrettyLittleThing opened their flagship USA location in Los Angeles, California. The launch party was hosted by Kylie Jenner.[8]

In May 2020, Kamani sold his 34 per cent remaining stake in PrettyLittleThing.com to BooHoo for £330 million.[9] The deal gave him £161 million in cash and a stake worth roughly 2.6 per cent in Boohoo.[9]

In April 2023, Kamani announced he was stepping down as Chief Executive at PrettyLittleThing.com.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Brothers plan to grow PrettyLittle brand to big thing". Manchester Evening News. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Family behind Boohoo.com pocket £240m from sale of company shares". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Boohoo raises a smile for Manchester's Kamani family". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Boohoo.com mulls Pretty Little Thing acquisition". The Business Desk. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Panther, Lewis (9 July 2016). "Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas lands his first Hollywood role - but it's not in a film". Mirror. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Umar Kamani on making Pretty Little Thing the next big thing". Manchester Evening News. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Boohoo.com founder's son racks up sales of £30m with online fashion venture PrettyLittleThing". Retail Week. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Kylie Jenner Rocks Tamara Mellon Heels At Pretty Little Thing's U.S.A. Launch". Footwear News. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  9. 1 2 Editor, Ashley Armstrong, Retail. "Pretty Little Thing's Umar Kamani got £3.4m dividend before selling out to Boohoo, run by his father". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 April 2023. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Editor, Isabella Fish, Retail. "PrettyLittleThing co-founder Umar Kamani quits Boohoo Group". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 April 2023. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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