Alibaba partnership to provide online luxury goods to Chinese buyers
Chairman of Richemont Johann Rupert (left) Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang posed at the signing ceremony in Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou today.
Alibaba Group and Swiss luxury goods group Richemont announced a global strategic partnership and set up a joint venture to offer Chinese consumers luxury items online.
As part of the strategic partnership, the newly established joint venture will launch two mobile applications with YNAP’s Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter brands, which offers in-season merchandise to online Chinese shoppers.
"By integrating online and offline commerce through our new retail technologies, we will be able to deliver a seamless experience to consumers as well as better enable these leading brands to engage their customers in new and innovative ways," said Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang.
Alibaba will provide technology infrastructure, marketing, payments, logistics and other technological support to the joint venture. The partnership will also leverage YNAP’s strong relationship with leading luxury brands, some 950 of them being currently distributed through YNAP in China.
"Our digital offering in China is in its infancy and we believe that partnering with Alibaba will enable us to become a significant and sustainable online player in this market — we look forward to opening the important Chinese market to Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter and the luxury brands they offer their clientele," Chairman of Richemont Johann Rupert said in a statement.
Richemont's offerings incluede jewelries, watches and fashion apparels and accessories under brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef&Arpels and Chloé.
YOOX Net-a-Porter Group was established in 2015 after the merger of YOOX Group and has a presence in more than 180 countries worldwide.
The joint venture will focus on serving consumers in China and will extend to Chinese consumers travelling abroad.
McKinsey Co said in its China Luxury Goods Report that Chinese consumers account for nearly a third of the global luxury market, a proportion that's set to rise to 44 percent by 2025.
Online luxury shoppers are growing across all generations but represent a higher share among younger age groups, according to a separate survey earlier this year by consultancy OC&C Strategy.
