E-Commerce CEO: Luxury And Amazon Are ‘Oil And Water’

E-commerce for high-end goods is ramping up substantially, but there may be a limit to its growth. Online sales for luxury retail jumped 24% in 2017, making up 9% of the space overall, according to the latest Bain Luxury Study. “Fashion cannot be digitized like media, music or video,” said José Neves, founder and CEO of Farfetch, an online platform that sells products from 800 boutiques around the world. “I believe the physical experience is here to stay, whether it makes up two-thirds or three-quarters of it, we’re really passionate about the physical store experience that’s at the core of our DNA.” Unlike other luxury fashion sites like Net-a-Porter, Yoox and Matches Fashion, Farfetch is entirely dependent on brick-and-mortar retailers for its inventory. “What makes us unique is that on Farfetch, you will find that tiny little boutique in Tokyo or Capri, Italy that you would never be able to find and we bring that to you in an easy way. What that means for the consumer is they really have access to fashion they cannot find anywhere else,” said Neves. Read more at Yahoo Finance.