Looks like Net-A-Porter will compete soon with LVMH’s multi-brand e-commerce site covering all 70 brands.

The site will be one of the luxury group’s most powerful investments and will be part of the Parisian luxury department store, Le Bon Marché.  Recently hired Chief Digital Officer at LVMH, Ian Rogers, describes today’s luxury business as a “mass (market) niche”. “The luxury business is in a great position relative where the world is going”, he claims. LVMH enters the e-world relatively late. A reason could be that e-commerce only accounts for a small percentage of the overall luxury goods sales. However, between 2009 and 2014, online sales increased four times faster than offline. By 2025, online sales are predicted to grow to €70 billion according to McKinsey & Company. 18 % of that amount will make up for luxury sales. As demand from China has fallen since 2015, the luxury market will only grow around 0.5 % to 1 % this year.

Lately, LVMH and other luxury groups such as Kering as well as Richemont, feel threatened by Amazon which sets its sights high on dominating the luxury market in the future. By the end of 2017, Amazon will become the largest apparel retailer in the US. However, LVMH believes that the giant retailer does not fit with its brands.

Read the whole article on Business Of Fashion.

What does LVMH’s entrance into multi-brand e-commerce mean for luxury consumers? Many tend to have less time for shopping due to long working hours and will appreciate LVMH’s e-commerce operations of multiple brands. Thus, they do not need to access several own-operated luxury brand websites anymore. It is time-saving and more convenient since they can order from wherever they are currently located.

Luxury consumers expect beautiful high-quality packaging. Therefore, LVMH should think about unique packaging for shipments as well as hand-written cards in order to stand out from competition. Also, 24/7 customer service should be offered as well as virtual try-ons. (ML, 2:45 PM)