Farfetch is launching a Tmall Luxury Pavilion flagship store to enable thousands of luxury brands to reach Chinese consumers as part of its localization strategy in the region.
The integration of Farfetch on Tmall means that Alibaba Group’s 779 million consumers will have access to products from more than 3,500 luxury brands, 90 percent of which did not previously have a presence on Tmall.
Judy Liu, managing director of Farfetch Greater China, said in a statement: “This is an important and exciting milestone in our partnership with Alibaba and creates an incredible opportunity for luxury brands to expand into the China market at a time when international travel has been curtailed and luxury customers are unable to travel to their most loved brands’ boutiques in Europe.
“This launch is just the beginning in our partnership as we work together to help brands and retailers fully digitize their businesses online and offline through our Luxury New Retail strategy, both in China and globally.”
The new storefront occupies a premier position on the Tmall Luxury Pavilion’s homepage with one of the five main navigation buttons and a premium permanent banner, explained Alibaba.
To celebrate the launch, Farfetch has partnered with well-known celebrities and influencers in China to promote the storefront. There will also be social engagement campaigns and an advertising campaign across key social media platforms.
Janet Wang, general manager of Tmall Luxury, added: “The launch of the Farfetch Tmall flagship is a very exciting moment for China’s booming online luxury market. Underpinned by Alibaba’s digital ecosystem, the Farfetch flagship store is greatly expanding the luxury product offerings to more than 779 million Chinese consumers on our platform.
“In partnership with Farfetch, we will continually enhance our product selection, marketing strategies, and membership services for our consumers. We aim to set the standard in the industry and lead the digitization of luxury shopping.”
The launch follows the strategic partnership between Alibaba Group, Farfetch, and Richemont announced in November 2020 to accelerate the digitization of the luxury fashion industry. The Luxury New Retail initiative aims to leverage Farfetch’s and Alibaba’s state-of-the-art omnichannel retail technologies, including a full suite of enterprise solutions powered by the two companies, to serve the needs of luxury businesses.
These solutions will serve both mono-brand and multi-brand distribution strategies for luxury brands, including fully-connected e-commerce websites and apps, omnichannel retail technology, and access to the Farfetch and Tmall Luxury Pavilion marketplaces via a single integration.