Compagnie Financière Richemont SA's online fashion platform Net-A-Porter opened a flagship store on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Tmall Luxury Pavilion, according to a Sept. 30 release.
The launch marks the beginning of operations of the Fengmao joint venture between Richemont-owned YOOX Net-A-Porter Group SpA, or YNAP, and the Chinese e-commerce giant. Alibaba and the Swiss luxury watchmaker formed the strategic partnership in October 2018 to bring YNAP products to Chinese customers.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.The venture, which will be headed by Yating Wu, is 51% owned by YNAP and 49% owned by Alibaba.
The Net-A-Porter store will feature more than 130 luxury brands, including Balmain, Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford, Brunello Cucinelli, Isabel Marant and The Row. It will also carry Richemont maisons such as Chloé, Cartier, Piaget, Montblanc and Van Cleef & Arpels.
In addition, the online store will feature exclusive capsule collections from Net-A-Porter and its menswear counterpart, Mr. Porter. It will also have customized brand pages, recommendations and exclusive rewards to shoppers.
Richemont CEO Jérôme Lambert said the move is an important first step in developing its long-term partnership with Alibaba. "Together, we seek to address the sophisticated needs of the Chinese luxury clientele and capture this unique growth opportunity," he said.
Richemont and Alibaba expect to begin the store's grand launch campaign in the second week of October, following China's Golden Week.
