Thread, a fashion marketplace founded in 2012, underwent a pre-pack administration on November 30, 2022, resulting in layoffs for 30 employees who were not part of the acquisition deal. Marks & Spencer acquired Thread's intellectual property, including source codes and algorithms, to enhance personalization on its website. As part of the transaction, M&S hired 30 of Thread's former data scientists, software engineers, and creative teams, including the founders, to lead the integration. The layoffs affected the remaining staff immediately, as M&S focused on accelerating its personalization strategy in the retail industry, aiming to generate over £100 million in annual incremental revenue.
