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After a slow start shifting sales onto the web, wary that it
would dilute their brands' image, high-end fashion and jewelry
labels are piling resources into this channel and building up
their own tech teams.
Kering said it would end a joint venture dating back to 2013
with Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP), depriving the online retailer,
which also helps third party brands develop their sites, of one
of its big name clients.
Kering brands will still sell clothing and other items through
platforms like Net-A-Porter.
But YNAP, which Richemont took control of earlier this year, had
set up and managed e-commerce operations for seven Kering
brands, including Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta, with the
notable exception of Gucci which the French luxury group set up
itself.
Kering's decision to move more online activities in-house shows
how industry players with financial muscle are deciding to build
their own digital operations, giving them full access to
sensitive - and strategically useful - information such as
client data.
Kering's larger rival LVMH, owner of Louis Vuitton, last year
launched its own multi-brand website known as 24 Sevres and has
developed websites for its labels in-house.
Cartier-owner Richemont, meanwhile, took control of YNAP earlier
this year to boost its online presence, though the deal called
into question whether rival brands would want to keep up their
YNAP partnerships.
For now, YNAP will still manage online stores for over 20
clients, from Italy's independent Armani to puffer jacket maker
Moncler, in a business that made up 10 percent of its 2.1
billion euros ($2.39 billion) revenues in 2017.
"We believe that an increasing number of luxury brands may also
end their flagship partnerships with YNAP," analysts at
Berenberg said in a note.
A spokesman for Richemont declined to comment on Kering's
announcement.
Brands are still exploring partnerships with third parties in
specific areas or regions. Kering also said on Monday it was
working with Apple Inc. on applications for use by sales
assistants to scan inventories.
Rivals like France's Chanel and Britain's Burberry have
partnered with Farfetch on similar services.
Some Kering brands also work with JD.com and Alibaba in China.
Kering's online sales made up 6 percent of its 6.4 billion euro
turnover in the first half of 2018, and grew by 80 percent in
the third quarter, faster than revenue growth in department
stores or its own shops. ($1 = 0.8797 euros)
(Reporting by Sarah White, Pascale Denis and Sudip Kar-Gupta,
editing by Louise Heavens and Jane Merriman)
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