Luxury shoppers, online again

Iria · Dec 15, 2005, 11:36 PM

The failure of online luxury shopping five years ago was so drastic that it was easy to deny its potential, which was a little like condemning the history of aviation to 12 seconds at Kitty Hawk.

The amount of money spent on Web sites, and the fact that it was spent by public companies, compounded the suspicion that people would not buy luxury goods online. Boo.com's creators dumped a reported $150 million into their site before closing it down in 2001, and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton spent even more to introduce eLuxury.com.

Last year, though, a little-known English company called Net-a-Porter.com turned a profit selling things like $1,500 Chloé bags and $2,000 Marc Jacobs dresses.

Started in 2000 by Natalie Massenet, a former fashion editor, with $1.3 million, Net-a-Porter.com had sales in the first half of this year of $16 million, an increase of 71 percent from the first half of 2004. It sells the top designer brands at full price, chosen by Massenet and her buyers, who include a former Chanel executive. If you live in London, you can get your clothes - pressed and wrapped - the same day. If you live in New York or Singapore, you generally have to wait 48 hours.

Forrester, an Internet research company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a report last month that Net-a-Porter had helped people overcome initial skepticism about selling luxury goods online. It added that the retail climate in Europe is changing so rapidly that the percentage of online consumers for apparel and accessories has increased to 16 percent, or 40 million Europeans, from 5 percent in the past 18 months. It predicts that the number there will increase to 73 million people in 2009.

This pattern is also reflected at Net-a-Porter, which does 60 percent of its business outside Britain and gets 2,500 new customers each month.

"Our biggest growth area is in the Middle East," Massenet said. Significantly, Net-a-Porter, unlike Neiman Marcus and other brick-and-mortar stores, is not restricted by distribution agreements with fashion houses. It can sell anywhere in the world.
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Read More / Source: International Herald Tribune

Dec 15, 2005, 11:36 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 87	Luxury shoppers, online again The failure of online luxury shopping five years ago was so drastic that it was easy to deny its potential, which was a little like condemning the history of aviation to 12 seconds at Kitty Hawk. The amount of money spent on Web sites, and the fact that it was spent by public companies, compounded the suspicion that people would not buy luxury goods online. Boo.com's creators dumped a reported $150 million into their site before closing it down in 2001, and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton spent even more to introduce eLuxury.com. Last year, though, a little-known English company called Net-a-Porter.com turned a profit selling things like $1,500 Chloé bags and $2,000 Marc Jacobs dresses. Started in 2000 by Natalie Massenet, a former fashion editor, with $1.3 million, Net-a-Porter.com had sales in the first half of this year of $16 million, an increase of 71 percent from the first half of 2004. It sells the top designer brands at full price, chosen by Massenet and her buyers, who include a former Chanel executive. If you live in London, you can get your clothes - pressed and wrapped - the same day. If you live in New York or Singapore, you generally have to wait 48 hours. Forrester, an Internet research company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a report last month that Net-a-Porter had helped people overcome initial skepticism about selling luxury goods online. It added that the retail climate in Europe is changing so rapidly that the percentage of online consumers for apparel and accessories has increased to 16 percent, or 40 million Europeans, from 5 percent in the past 18 months. It predicts that the number there will increase to 73 million people in 2009. This pattern is also reflected at Net-a-Porter, which does 60 percent of its business outside Britain and gets 2,500 new customers each month. "Our biggest growth area is in the Middle East," Massenet said. Significantly, Net-a-Porter, unlike Neiman Marcus and other brick-and-mortar stores, is not restricted by distribution agreements with fashion houses. It can sell anywhere in the world. __________ Read More / Source: International Herald Tribune