Fashion Funding Tracker: Key Deals from 2024 to 2026

By Rebecca Stone

Sycamore Partners bought Walgreens Boots Alliance for $10 billion, the tracker’s largest acquisition, as Finnish smart-ring maker Oura’s $625 million Counsel Health deal led November 2026.

Which brands changed hands?

Oura will combine Counsel’s AI and on-demand physicians with continuous health data, offering medical advice, prescriptions, lab-result interpretation and chronic-care support through the Oura app.

CEO Tom Hale said: “Together, we can create a new model of care that extends the current healthcare paradigm by delivering an experience that’s more immediate, personalized, and proactive.”

The tracker disclosed the price, but not revenue, regulatory timing or data-governance terms. Those omissions matter because medical delivery, not ring hardware, would become the acquired operating model.

New York-based Authentic Brands Group acquired Lee from Kontoor Brands in November 2026. Lee generates about $1.5 billion in annual sales across 73 countries, with almost 40% outside the US and Canada. ABG will pursue activewear, workwear and lifestyle categories, but disclosed no price, factory commitments, capex or launch schedule.

Elevate raised a £2 million seed round from JamJar, Active Partners, Cassius and Soho House founder Nick Jones.

Its Glow collagen-and-hyaluronic-acid smoothie has grossed close to £500,000 since the Royal Exchange launch in June 2025, and Selfridges opened in April 2026.

Elevate expects more than £1 million in first-full-year sales and plans additional London sites in 2027.

Where did control move?\n

Frasers Group took Hugo Boss to 50.08% in October 2026, buying 198,666 shares for €7.63 million and turning the German label into a subsidiary. Hugo Boss had rejected Frasers’ June bid at €2 billion, or €38 per share.

Frasers also moved Burberry from 7.4% to 6% and disclosed an 8.78% Under Armour stake. The sequence shifts the debate from bids toward governance control, although minority investors still face valuation and exit questions.

In September, Medici Brands raised a $250 million Series B to scale David Protein, HallPass and Rowdy. Strathberry took an undisclosed minority round at an approximately £100 million valuation after reporting 2026 sales of $50.5 million, up 39%. Puig acquired CQFE’s 50% of ISDIN and moved to full ownership.

P&G signed a definitive agreement to buy Thorne from L Catterton, with closing due later in 2026 subject to regulatory approval.

Puig CEO Jose Manuel Albesa said: “Full ownership will give Puig the best platform to support its next phase of growth and continue investing behind the science and innovation that have made ISDIN successful.”

Where is supply-chain capital going?\n

Syntetica raised $30 million to build its first French commercial plant, designed to convert hundreds of tons of post-consumer textiles annually into recycled nylon. It already works with Victoria’s Secret and Etam, but gave no opening date, utilization target or offtake terms.

Sparxell raised $5 million to move plant-based colorants from pilot to commercial manufacturing after a €1.9 million European Innovation Council grant. Trove bought Reverse.supply, Eeden raised €18 million for industrial textile recycling, and Circ raised $25 million for its first blended-textile plant. Each requires feedstock contracts, quality tolerances and steady utilization before disposal costs fall.

Tapestry signed Gen Phoenix a $50 million, three-year material-supply agreement and increased its equity to 9.9% in a $15 million round. Gen Phoenix will expand UK production. Neither company disclosed order volume, reserve pricing or certification milestones.

How large did capital become?\n

Henkel’s $1.4 billion Olaplex purchase in March 2026 places a brand with slowing sales and legal scrutiny under a large German group. The price is confirmed, but no synergy, capacity or retention targets appear.

Danone agreed a €1 billion Huel purchase, while Quince raised $500 million at a $10.1 billion valuation to expand its manufacturer-to-consumer system. ELC bought Forest Essentials outright, with closure set for the second half of 2026, and invested in 111Skin and Xinú.

Anta Sports agreed to buy 29% of Puma from Groupe Artémis for about $1.8 billion in cash, becoming its largest shareholder; closing is expected by end-2026. Dick’s Sporting Goods bought Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, a retailer with 2,400 stores and $8 billion of 2024 sales.

The Walgreens transaction requires Sycamore to separate Boots from Walgreens. Prada bought Versace for €1.25 billion; e.l.f. bought Rhode for $1 billion after Rhode reported $212 million in sales through March 2025.

Earlier transactions included Kering’s €4 billion beauty-rights sale to L’Oréal, paired with 50-year fragrance and beauty licenses for Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Gucci.

What else changed across the tracker?\n

Across the record, 2026 included Revolve’s C$15 million in 437 and a £106.5 million Beauty Tech Group IPO; 2025 added Whatnot’s $225 million round at nearly $11.5 billion; 2024 included Saks Global’s $2.7 billion Neiman Marcus merger and Bic’s €200 million Tangle Teezer purchase.

What should buyers and suppliers watch?\n

Strategic buyers can place brands inside existing distribution, product development and back-office systems. Henkel, Danone, ELC and Frasers have scale, but the tracker often omits integration costs, channel inventory and factory commitments.

Venture funding remains more operational, backing plants, recycled inputs, clinical research and stores. Buyers should press for purchase-order visibility, certification, regulatory milestones and who bears the capital cost. The next test is whether announced 2026 and 2027 capacity produces compliant output and lower unit costs.