Frasers Group: I Saw It First faces court battle with Turkish supplier after £1 deal

By Laura McGuire

I Saw It First, the British fast-fashion company backed by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, is being dragged to court over a legal battle with a Turkish textile firm.

Fabulous Textiles has instructed small UK law firm Blackstone Solicitors to file a claim against the online retailer which shot to stardom thanks to collaborations with Love Islands stars such as Danni Dyer and Molly Mae, City A.M can reveal.

It is still unsure what the court case will be about, but a filing in the High Court shows that the case is listed as a claim over the sale of goods.

Fabulous Textiles is a clothing manufacturer that works with several popular high street stores such as Zara and River Island and is based in Istanbul.

It comes as the relationship between retailers and their manufacturers has become fraught in recent months due to price inflation and a desire for retailers to keep prices low for consumers.

Jalal Kamani, founding director of UK online fashion retailer Boohoo.com, created I Saw It First in 2017.

It was bought for £1 by the retail behemoth Frasers Group last year and owed £13m to shareholders at the time of the acquisition.

Frasers’ swoop for the struggling retailer came not long after it rescued rival Missguided from collapse in a £20m deal.

However, last month Chinese commerce giant Shein took Missguided off its hands in an undisclosed deal.

City A.M. has contacted the mentioned parties for comment