Kering, to keep up with the competition, has just announced that it will be taking complete authority over its e-commerce come 2020. Consequently, the conglomerate group, which owns brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen and Saint Laurent will terminate its partnerships with online platforms such as Yoox Net-a-Porter. The pulling out will be done gradually, which means that there is still some time to shop items from the brands, save for Gucci, on the online fashion retailer. But the move is considered to be timely, even expected, with the more profitable landscape and brands catching on.
Kering has long relied on the technology of Yoox for its online operations, initiating the partnership in 2013. Back then, most high fashion fashion houses were hesitant to take their businesses online, fearing that doing so and the increased availability it will cause will not bode well for the reputation of the brands. The luxury groups were also largely uninformed on the ins and outs of e-commerce, leaving services such as reservation, appointment setting, and picking up schedules on the hands of Yoox. Yoox eventually became YNAP, when it merged with Net-a-Porter in the succeeding years.
Much has changed since then, with companies becoming more open-minded on the possibilities that e-commerce can bring. The numbers are enough to make the change, and the changing behaviors of consumers are also hard to ignore. Of the three major luxury holdings groups, Kering is the last to assume full control over its online business. LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Celine, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs and Dior, among others, founded 24 Sèvres together with upscale French department store Le Bon Marché as a new shopping experience for its customers this year. Meanwhile, Richemont, which has Alaïa, Chloé. Piaget, Cartier and Vacheron Constantin under its wing, has purchased YNAP, a development that has also led to the Kering decision to pull its brands off the site. The move was anticipated, especially since Kering would probably not want rivals to profit off its labels. The acquisition sees the possibility of other companies following in the steps of Kering.
What we know about the undertaking remains meager so far, except that Kering sees itself fully utilizing e-commerce for its brands’ benefits. Grégory Boutté, Kering’s chief digital officer, says “Digital can be many different things at once: a distribution channel, a platform for offering seamless omni-channel services to clients, a driver of brand image and visibility, and a tool for engaging with customers in a personalized way. Digital technology, data science and innovation provide a way of offering our customers the best possible experience, at every touchpoint.” It wants to have the complete picture of its online channels, which is another major reason for its termination of the partnership formed with YNAP. So far, there have been reports of creating a team dedicated to data science as well as one especially formed for China, which is a base everyone wants to tap into for its growing luxury market. An app native to iOS is also being developed for use of Kering staff, especially those working on its labels’ stores. Most Kering brands have already adopted the app, but it has yet to spread to other houses. But even with these in set, Kering does not want to cancel out completely the possibility of working with online retailers in the future in case it is necessary.
Image credits: Jacky Naegelen / Reuters, Yoox Net-a-Porter, The Fashion Law, Gucci, Balenciaga / François Halard, Reuters, Le Bon Marché, Gerry Oleary, LVMH, Richemont
