This is stated by Luxury Society, which following the announcement of a global partnership between Alibaba, Richemont and Farfetch dating back to November last year, luxury retailer Farfetch officially began operations on Tmall Luxury on March 1. Users can now access its official shop directly from the Tmall Luxury homepage.

For the online specialist magazine, Farfetch is not the first global luxury retailer to have a presence on Tmall, Net-a-Porter and Monnier Frères had already done so, but its timing may prove the most accurate to date.

Chinese consumers have always been avid digital shoppers, but not necessarily for luxury products. With the impact of the pandemic on overseas shopping and international luxury sales, Chinese consumers have had little choice but to turn to domestic consumption.

In addition to offline retail, online luxury sales in China have also started to see an increase in demand largely due to consumer demand in non-first-tier cities and the sluggish domestic travel market.

Why Farfetch?

Also, according to this online publication, José Neves, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Farfetch, reveals that what most “excites” him is the presence of 3,500 designers, “95% of which did not have a shop on Tmall, a very similar percentage did not have any e-commerce operation in China”.

For Luxury Society, the launch of Farfetch on Tmall will help “expand Tmall Luxury’s brand portfolio and allow more niche brands to grow their business in the Chinese market”.

Farfetch acts as a giant hub that distributes fashion pieces from over 50 countries to consumers around the world. Unlike other luxury retailers such as Net-a-Porter and Matches Fashion that stick to the wholesale model inherited from traditional retailers, Farfetch operates as a marketplace of sorts, listing products available from branded or multi-label shops in cities around the world.