Yoox Net-a-Porter steps up efforts to woo Chinese online consumers
Luxury e-tailer – which has been looking for a mainland partnership – now under full control of Swiss conglomerate Richemont
This article was written by Ruonan Zheng and originally published in Jing Daily
Swiss luxury group Richemont officially took full control of luxury e-tailer Yoox Net-a-Porter on May 9 – building substantially on the 25 per cent of shares it bought in January.
The move was a stamp of approval from the luxury conglomerate and speaks volumes about the role of e-commerce for brands and retailers alike.
Our plan was to grow organically China and that is the strategy, but we are open to partnerships and this could be a huge upside
By far the biggest prize in the world of online sales comes from Chinese consumers, who in 2017 contributed US$1 trillion domestically – more than the United States and Britain combined.
According to the luxury e-tailer, China is also one of its best-performing markets.
Fashion Network claimed that the overall Asia market had been a growth engine for the online company.
Even though the speed of growth has slowed this year, it remains on a steady path, with revenue from Asia increasing 17.7 per cent to €356 million (US$416 million) thanks to increased demand from Hong Kong.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the e-tailer’s chief executive Federico Marchetti said: “Our plan was to grow organically within China, and that is the strategy, but we are open to partnerships, and this could be a huge upside.”
Yoox Net-a-Porter’s existing independent venture into China has had a bumpy ride.