Yoox's CEO Boasts About the 'Perfect' Merger With Net-A-Porter

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Yoox CEO Federico Marchetti is very proud of the company's forthcoming merger with Net-A-Porter, as he told Financial Times reporter Jo Ellison. "We started talking about a merger in 2009 but it was too early," Marchetti explained. "It hasn't been done to please investors, or for stock price; it's a merger based on substance." He even boasted that, in his view, no merger has ever looked "so perfect" on paper (even though he was quick to make it clear that Net-A-Porter Executive Chairman Natalie Massenet would be working under him—not as an equal—in the new structure).

There are marked differences between the founders of the two companies, as Ellison points out. Massenet doesn't hesitate to dole out encouragements and positive affirmations as needed, while Marchetti likes to remain relatively anonymous with his staff. "There is no love," he explains. "I think they feel inspired. But they don't need to love me."

When pressed on how that will blend with Massenet's leadership style, Marchetti didn't seem worried. "We're different," he told Ellison. "But it's not bad. I don't need love. I need results."