Kering has announced that it will scrap its partnerships with third party online sellers as it seeks to bring ecommerce entirely in house by 2020.
The luxury fashion house, which owns brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Bottega Venetta, is planning to develop its own online shopping websites over the next year.
This will mean that partnerships with retailers like Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP), with which it entered a joint venture in 2013, will be scrapped.
Under the joint venture, YNAP set up and managed e-commerce operations for seven Kering brands.
Although Kering said it would continue to sell via platforms like YNAP, it would now take full control of its own online operations.
Kering’s online sales grew 80 per cent in its third quarter, and now represents six per cent of its total turnover.
The move marks a notable shift in the luxury industry, which was once cautious of the moving online for fear of diluting their brands, with rival LVMH opening its own digital platform 24 Sevres last year.
YNAP, which earnt 10 per cent of its total revenues last year managing other brands online stores, was recently bought by another luxury conglomerate Richemont in an effort to boost its own online presence last year.
According to analysts at Berenberg, this could mean “an increasing number of luxury brands may also end their flagship partnerships with YNAP.”
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