Australian online fashion sales site MySale, which is quarter-owned by Arcadia owner Sir Philip Green, has bought flash sales site Cocosa.

MySale, an Australian etailer, acquired Cocosa and a database of more than 800,000 of its customers for an undisclosed sum.

MySale founder Jamie Jackson said: “The acquisition of Cocosa.com gives us a fabulous foundation to build on as we finalise our plans for our UK launch.”

Business tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed bought Cocosa in 2011 after selling Harrods to Qatar Holding for £1.5bn. It was expected to be the springboard for an online retail empire. But last October he announced the business was to be wound down after costs to build it into a brand leader were deemed too high. The retailer had had three bosses in since Al Fayed’s acquisition.  

A spokesman for Cocosa’s parent company added: “The online space is fast-paced and competition is increasing, so now is a great time to introduce Cocosa.com’s loyal customers to a wonderful opportunity to benefit from MySale’s global infrastructure and scale across all of markets.”

Arcadia owner Green bought a 25% stake in MySale earlier this month. He struck a merchandising agreement to supply the seven-year-old company with excess stock in fashion and homewares from his retail firms.

MySale Group had sales of £102m in the year to June 2013 and in the current year, sales growth is 40% higher than in the same period last time.

The Australian company, which has more than 10.5 million members in eight countries, plans to move its headquarters to the UK in order to expand its supply chain, and is also exploring a London listing.

MySale aims to create a global online business that can exploit counter-seasonal trends.The site holds up to 60 flash sales a day.

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