Kering is the first to jump ship from Farfetch

Kering pulls its brands from Farfetch, which was recently purchased by Coupang for $500 million in a rescue deal, after the luxury giant claimed the e-tailer was a "small player" in the Kering universe.

Going forward, the Kering brands - including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and YSL - will only be available via third-party retailers selling on the site, according to WWD.

Jean-Marc Duplaix, Kering Deputy Chief Executive Officer, told reporters yesterday: "Today our brands are present only through e-concessions, which had been negotiated in recent years. E-commerce at Kering accounted for around 12% of revenues in 2023, which is less than previously, since the pressure on aspirational consumers impacted e-commerce more than physical distribution."

Within that 12%, "Farfetch has always been a small player for us, one partner among many. So our exposure to Farfetch is already extremely limited, in fact, since it is a percentage of 12%."

This follows the news that The Neiman Marcus Group ended its working partnership with Farfetch. What's more, just days earlier, Fartfetch was hit by a winding up petition, which accused its founder José Neves of 'striking a bargain' to offload the retailer to South Korean retail giant Coupang at the expense of shareholders.

Bom Kim, Coupang's founder and CEO, said it was time to "move forward and work together to redefine the customer experience for luxury clients everywhere."

"We're confident Farfetch will make significant strides towards delivering impeccable experiences for luxury customers globally and, in turn, drive great results for our partners and the Farfetch business alike."