DOUBLE TAKE: Oki-ni.com has come full circle and now belongs to the owners who originally launched the company in 2001.
Four Holdings said Friday that it purchased the luxury men’s wear online platform from the French e-commerce and media group MenInvest.
Four Holdings, which is 25 percent owned by Sports Direct’s billionaire boss Mike Ashley, has been busy of late: Earlier this month, it purchased the ailing luxury brand Agent Provocateur. The move dovetails with Ashley’s ambitions to move upmarket.
Oki-ni was created by Four Marketing, a division of Four Holdings, as a concept store on Savile Row.
The store stocked a collection of collaborative pieces with brands including Adidas, Levi’s, Paul Smith and Porter. It was a pioneer in fusing bricks-and-clicks, allowing customers to order online and get home delivery, or buy online and pick up in store.
Now an online-only proposition, Oki-ni carries a selection of luxury and contemporary men’s wear brands, distributed to customers in more than 150 countries.
Four Marketing is an agency that represents 30-plus brands including Stone Island, CP Co., Paul & Shark and Velvet by Graham & Spencer.
The company owns the London flagship retail store for each of those brands and operates the relevant local e-commerce site.
Four Marketing is also the owner of 18montrose, a multibrand retailer with stores in Glasgow and Nottingham. It will shortly open a London space in Kings Cross.
Ben Banks, cofounder of Four Marketing, will work with the management team at Oki-ni going forward.
“Oki-ni returning to Four Marketing is a truly positive step for the brand. Since creating Oki-ni in 2001, we have substantially grown our digital retail business and are now in a great position to take Oki-ni forward into a new phase,” he said.