The Partnership Creates an Opportunity for Luxury Brands to Speed Up Digitization and Combine Offline and Online Strategies

Farfetch officially debuted its digital store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion on Monday – a move that drastically expands the range of products available to millions of shoppers on the Alibaba-owned platform for luxury and designer brands.

Chinese consumers can now access the Farfetch store via a dedicated banner and navigation button, placed in premier positions on the Pavilion’s homepage. The Farfetch store offers items from more than 3,500 of the world’s leading luxury brands – about 90% of which did not previously have a presence on the site. 

Farfetch said its store on the Pavilion, the second official online destination for its customers globally, also helps advance the company’s integration into China’s unique retail environment, furthering its localization strategies.

“Tmall’s customers are now able to shop the broadest selection of their favorite luxury brands and boutiques, and find inspiration and incredible curation from all corners of the globe,” said Judy Liu, managing director of Farfetch Greater China. 

“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,” she said. 

Liu added the launch marks only the beginning of the partnership to help brands and retailers fully digitize their businesses online and offline through their combined strategy, dubbed “Luxury New Retail.”

In November, Farfetch first revealed a strategic partnership with Alibaba Group and Richemont, including integrating the companies’ retail platforms and technologies to serve the needs of luxury brands and transform the shopping experience for a new generation of shoppers. Once in place, through a single integration, luxury companies will be able to pursue their own single brand or multi-brand distribution strategy through e-commerce websites and apps, omnichannel retail technology and access to Farfetch and the Tmall Luxury Pavilion.

“The launch of the Farfetch Tmall flagship is a very exciting moment for China’s booming online luxury market,” said General Manager of Tmall Luxury Janet Wang. “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.”

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