Missguided

Missguided is a British fast-fashion retailer founded in 2009 by Nitin Passi in Greater Manchester, selling clothing aimed at women aged roughly 16 to 35 [3]. Although it is primarily a fashion label, the brand earned a foothold in beauty through a bestselling fragrance and, later, a full colour-cosmetics range, which is why Missguided products appear in beauty catalogues alongside its apparel. Wikipedia records the company's product line simply as clothing [3], whereas the trade press has covered its makeup and fragrance launches in detail.

The original Missguided company collapsed into administration in 2022 and the brand has since changed hands twice. As of late 2023 the name and intellectual property are owned by the online marketplace Shein [3], which operates Missguided as a relaunched fashion business; the brand's status is therefore best described as acquired rather than independent.

Missguided was established in 2009 by Nitin Passi as an online fast-fashion retailer targeting young women. It began in Stretford, Greater Manchester, and moved its headquarters to nearby Trafford Park in 2015. The company built its reputation on cheap, trend-led party wear and grew into international markets including the United States, Australia, France and Germany. Its public-facing voice leaned on the tagline "Style for the extraordinary," still carried on the current site.

Missguided's first significant move into beauty came in 2017 with a debut fragrance, Babe Power Eau de Parfum, developed with the licensee Per-Scent. The scent became an unexpected commercial hit: according to Cosmetics Business, it sold out in under three hours at launch, exceeded its sales projections by 500%, and outsold prestige rivals such as Hugo Boss, Dior and Paco Rabanne to become The Fragrance Shop's number-one seller [7]. The retailer's chief executive, Sanjay Vadera, described it at the time as having "shot to the top of our best selling luxury fragrances."

A full colour-cosmetics range followed in January 2021. Missguided Beauty launched with 148 products priced between £6 and £12, marketed as vegan and cruelty-free [4]. Hero items included the Meet Your Match Demi-Matte Foundation in 25 shades, the Gimme Lip Lipstick range, a multi-use Dew Gloss and a Freckle Pen aimed at a then-current makeup trend. The line secured its first on-shelf retail deal with Superdrug, stocking a selection of products across around 300 UK stores while the full range remained online. Reviewers noted the pared-back, "millennial pink" packaging and an inclusive shade campaign, with Get the Gloss comparing the aesthetic to Glossier.

Crucially, the beauty operation ran under a separate licensee. Cosmetics Business reported that Missguided Beauty should be seen as a distinct entity from the fashion brand because it was operated under licence by Per-Scent [5]. This contractual separation is why Missguided makeup and fragrance continued to circulate in retail even after the fashion company's collapse.

The brand positions itself as affordable, trend-driven fashion and beauty for young women, with budget or drugstore-level pricing. Founder Nitin Passi framed the move into cosmetics as a response to customer demand, telling the trade press in 2021: "We're all about our customer and she's telling us we can do more than just give her the apparel" [4]. Editorial coverage placed the makeup line firmly with a Gen Z audience already familiar with Missguided's party wear and Love Island collaborations.

Missguided's ownership has changed repeatedly since 2022. After a winding-up petition from the supplier JSK Fashions, the company went into administration on 31 May 2022, having been unable to pay its debts [9]. The following day, Frasers Group bought the brand's intellectual property out of administration for around £20 million, and founder Nitin Passi rejoined as chief executive of Missguided, a role he had stepped back from earlier that year [3].

The brand changed hands again in 2023. On 30 October 2023, Frasers Group sold the Missguided branding rights and intellectual property to Shein [3]. Shein now operates the brand through a joint venture with Sumwon Studios, a firm linked to Nitin Passi; the "Sumwon" name appears among the collaborations shown on the relaunched site.

The 2022 administration left Missguided's suppliers exposed. The insolvency was triggered by a winding-up petition from JSK Fashions, which said the retailer owed it substantial sums, and suppliers were reportedly owed significant amounts before the assets were sold to Frasers Group [9].

The Missguided name survives as a relaunched fashion e-commerce site under Shein-era ownership, carrying a 2026 copyright notice and the tagline "Style for the extraordinary" [1]. The current site is a fashion-only shop with no visible beauty, makeup or fragrance categories. There is a minor discrepancy in the brand's web address: Wikipedia's infobox lists missguided.co.uk [3], while the live relaunched store resolves to missguided.com [1].

The brand's beauty identity belongs almost entirely to the 2017–2022 era under the original company and the Per-Scent licence; the makeup and fragrance products that place Missguided in beauty catalogues date from that period rather than the current Shein-owned operation.