Saint Laurent partners with Farfetch on omnichannel deal for China

Saint Laurent will be the first brand to take advantage of Farfetch's enhanced e-commerce platform in Greater China following its newly signed deal with China's JD.com.

Collections from Kering-owned luxury house's stores in China will be integrated into the Farfetch platform, starting with those in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

In addition to same-day delivery, in October Saint Laurent will be the first luxury brand to offer 90-minute delivery in China, via Farfetch, to customers in Shanghai and Beijing, followed by Hong Kong. Chinese customers will also have access to the greatest selection of Saint Laurent products with localised payment options.

The Farfetch China Platform will allow Saint Laurent to reach luxury consumers digitally at scale, with a focus on the Chinese Millennial customer, by leveraging Farfetch’s Shanghai-based team and its "highly sophisticated capabilities", further to the partnership with JD.com and WeChat.

Saint Laurent president and CEO Francesca Bellettini said she was "proud"of the partnership with a business which "exactly like Saint Laurent, puts client service at the centre of their values".

"This collaboration marks an important step in our global omnichannel strategy aiming at securing a top-level luxury journey to our clients world-wide, and it gives to us the opportunity to further consolidate our leadership on the Chinese market," she said.

José Neves, founder, co-chairman and CEO of Farfetch Group, added: “Farfetch has always understood that China is part of any luxury brand’s strategy, and e-commerce in China is the only route to fully penetrating this market. However, until now, doing online business in China at scale was incredibly complex for luxury brands, and this is why we have built an unrivalled platform for China. We are delighted to partner with Saint Laurent as the first brand to fully utilise our capabilities and provide Chinese customers with unparalleled levels of service.”

Farfetch's partnership deal with JD.com, which is China's largest ecommerce business and retailer, was announced in June. The partnership promises to create the premier platform for luxury across China and open up access to an $80bn market for luxury brands. As part of the deal JD.com has invested $397m in Farfetch, making it the luxury platform’s largest shareholder.