BEIJING, June 22, 2017 /CNW/ -
JD invests $397 million in
Farfetch, leaps further into luxury sector
Partnership allows
Chinese consumers to access Farfetch's unique
curation of the best luxury brands online
E-commerce giant, JD.com (Nasdaq: JD), China's largest retailer and Farfetch, the
leading global e-commerce platform for the fashion industry, today
announced a strategic partnership that will create the premier
platform for luxury e-commerce across China, opening a gateway to an
$80 billion market.
(Photo:
http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/526473/Jose_Neves_Farfetch.jpg
)
(Photo:
http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/526472/Richard_Liu_JD_com.jpg )
The strategic partnership between JD.com and Farfetch leverages
JD's unparalleled logistics, Internet finance and technology
capabilities and social media resources, including its WeChat
partnership, with Farfetch's leadership in global luxury, to create
a frictionless and seamless brand experience. Farfetch has
well-established operations in China and is already the partner of choice for
200 luxury brands and more than 500 multi-brand retailers. JD will
help drive further brand awareness, traffic and sales for Farfetch
in the market.
As part of this partnership, JD.com will become one of the
largest shareholders of Farfetch, investing $397 million, and Richard
Liu, JD.com's founder and CEO, will join the Farfetch board.
JD and Farfetch will partner on marketing, logistics and technology
solutions to build the brand in China, while Farfetch will continue to be the
customer-facing brand.
The combined strength of the Farfetch-JD partnership will
benefit all 700 brands and boutiques that are part of the Farfetch
community, enabling them to take advantage of the vast resources of
this new gateway to China's luxury
market.
Leveraging JD Luxury Express, JD's recently launched white glove
service, Farfetch will be able to offer customers a premium level
of service befitting the world-class brands sold on the site. For
Chinese consumers, this combination of Farfetch's luxury know-how,
and JD's blazing same-day delivery speeds and highly professional
service, will provide an unparalleled luxury proposition.
Farfetch partner brands with a local retail presence, will also
have access to world-class omni-channel capabilities, including
click & collect and in-store returns, connecting the brands'
physical retail stores in China to
consumers.
The joint efforts between the two companies will also include
leveraging BlackDragon, a digital marketing technology platform
powering entities across retail, e-commerce, tech, finance, travel,
education and auto. BlackDragon will enable Farfetch to activate
the vast resources of JD's treasure trove of big data and help it
market and build automated marketing pipelines to spur Farfetch's
name recognition and market position in China.
In addition, through the partnership, Farfetch users in
China will also gain access to a
variety of services from JD Finance. These will include JD Pay,
which will be a preferred payments partner, and Baitiao, JD
Finance's popular consumer microcredit channel.
The announcement comes as JD is placing a greater focus on
high-end luxury and fashion to match the huge demand among its
upwardly mobile customers. Over the last two years, JD has hosted
fashion shows in New York,
Milan, London, Beijing and Shanghai. Since the beginning of the year, the
company has hired Winston Cheng as
President of International to lead its international business
development with global partners and overseas investments, and
separated JD Fashion into a new business unit under the e-commerce
business and named Xia Ding as the
president, giving the vertical greater priority. In 2017, JD
Fashion has made a major push in the luxury and fashion areas,
launching several key international brands on the site, including
Armani, Swarovski and Zenith.
"As part of our major luxury push, we could not have found a
stronger online partner than Farfetch," said Richard Liu, Chairman and CEO of JD.com. "We
have always believed that the long-term trend of Chinese e-commerce
is towards quality over price and this partnership with Farfetch
further extends our lead in the battle for the future of
China's upwardly mobile consumers.
We look forward to deepening our relationships with Farfetch and
luxury brands in the months and years ahead."
"We are deeply honoured and excited to be announcing this
partnership with Richard Liu and
JD.com," José Neves, Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO of Farfetch.
"China is the world's second
largest luxury market, and we are delighted to have such a
respected partner, known for its strict protection of IP, with whom
to address Chinese luxury consumers. This partnership addresses the
market's challenges by combining the Farfetch brand and curation
with the scale and influence of the foremost Chinese e-commerce
giant. This strategic partnership will provide brands a seamless,
immediate access to the luxury consumer and Chinese luxury shoppers
with access to the greatest selection of luxury in the omni-channel
way of life they have already fully embraced."
Regarding the addition of Mr. Liu to Farfetch's board, Mr. Neves
added, "I am humbled and honoured to have one of the Internet's
most legendary entrepreneurs - Richard
Liu - join our board, alongside Dame Natalie Massenet and Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive
of Condé Nast International. We are honoured to have the advice and
guidance of China's premier
e-commerce guru as part of our highly experienced team, sitting
around the same table as the world's luxury online pioneer and one
of the world's pre-eminent publishers."
Note To Editors
The reference to the $80 billion market refers to both
domestic and travel-related purchases using figures sourced from a
report by Bain & Company entitled 'Luxury Goods Worldwide
Market Study, Fall-Winter 2016'.
About JD.com, Inc.
JD.com is both the largest e-commerce company
in China, and the largest Chinese retailer, by revenue.
The company strives to offer consumers the best online shopping
experience. Through its user-friendly website, native mobile apps,
and WeChat and Mobile QQ entry points, JD offers consumers a
superior shopping experience. The company has the largest
fulfillment infrastructure of any e-commerce company in China.
As of March 31, 2017, JD.com operated 7 fulfillment
centers and 263 warehouses covering 2,672 counties and districts
across China, staffed by its own
employees. JD.com is a member of the NASDAQ100 and a
Fortune Global 500 company.
About Farfetch Group
Farfetch is the global platform for luxury. Farfetch.com
partners with over 700 of the world's best luxury boutiques and
brands, located from Tokyo to
Toronto and from Milan to Miami. This unique business model guarantees
an unparalleled range of luxury fashion from established brands to
the most interesting new designers and one-of-a-kind styles.
The Farfetch Group consists of Farfetch.com, the e-commerce
marketplace for luxury; Farfetch Black & White; a white label
e-commerce solution for luxury retailers and Store of The Future; a
suite of retail solutions to enhance the customer journey by
connecting the online and offline worlds. The brand also added
renowned London boutique Browns to
its portfolio in 2015, which serves as an incubator for new retail
technology ideas.
The Farfetch website and apps serve customers in 10 languages
with offices in 11 cities globally. Farfetch express ships
from over 700 partners in 40 countries to 190 countries worldwide
with same day delivery in 10 cities.
In April 2017, Farfetch launched
Store to Door in 90 Minutes, in exclusive partnership with Gucci
available in 10 cities across 4 continents.
In June 2017, the company
announced a global content and commerce partnership with
Condé Nast, the preeminent content provider, to create a
seamless editorial shopping experience from inspiration to shopping
gratification.
Farfetch is backed by world-renowned tech and luxury investors,
IDG Capital Partners, Temasek, Eurazeo, DST Global, Index Ventures,
Vitruvian Partners and Condé Nast International.
http://www.farfetch.com @Farfetch
SOURCE Farfetch Group and JD.com, Inc.