Net-a-Porter opens flagship on Tmall Luxury Pavilion

"Net-a-Porter's store will offer more than 130 luxury and designer brands at launch, then continue to expand over the coming months. Tmall's luxury shoppers will be able to find products from brands such as Balmain, Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford, Brunello Cucinelli, Isabel Marant and The Row, as well as many Richemont maisons, including Chloe´, Cartier, Piaget, Montblanc and Van Cleef & Arpels," said Richemont and Alibaba in a join press release.

The store launch marks the start of operations of Feng Mao, the joint venture that Alibaba and Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) announced last October. As a part of the partnership, the e-commerce giant will lend its resources and expertise in marketing, payments and technology infrastructure to the JV, while Richemont leverages its strong relationships with leading luxury brands through its subsidiary, Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, the online luxury retailer that operates Net-a-Porter and Mr. Porter. The JV is 51 per cent owned by YNAP and 49 per cent owned by Alibaba.

"The unveiling of the Net-a-Porter flagship store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion is an important first step in the development of our long-term partnership with Alibaba," said Je´ro^me Lambert, chief executive officer of Richemont. "Together, we seek to address the sophisticated needs of the Chinese luxury clientele and capture this unique growth opportunity."

"This partnership will set new standards for the future of luxury online," added Lambert.

"Net-a-Porter’s flagship store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion will become the online destination where luxury brands want to be in China, leveraging Net-a-Porter and Mr. Porter's two decades of expertise and pioneering innovation," said YNAP Chairman Federico Marchetti. "Chinese shoppers can explore a unique selection of the world's most desirable brands carefully curated just for them, enhanced by an unmatched personalised experience and exclusive products that cannot be found elsewhere."

"The Alibaba and Richemont partnership would deliver an elevated, seamless, and rich luxury experience for Chinese consumers," said Jiang Fan, president of Taobao and Tmall. "We are confident this flagship store opening is just the beginning of a long-term partnership that will benefit China's luxury consumers and the world's luxury brands who want to reach them."

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)