Next set to buy rival brand Fat Face in latest High Street buy

High Street giant Next is understood to be close to securing a deal to buy rival fashion chain Fat Face. If the purchase went ahead, it would mean Next - which has 500 High Street shops - owning Fat Face's 200 stores. The deal would mark the latest in a run of High Street buys for Next which has snapped up chains including Cath Kidston and Joules. Last year, Next bought furniture brand Made.com, and a minority stake in baby goods store chain JoJo Maman BéBé and more recently it increased its stake in fashion chain Reiss from 51% to 72%. Next has been using the purchases to beef up its so-called "Total Platform", a suite of online services for third party brands. Both Next and FatFace declined to comment on the deal.

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