{"id":194488,"date":"2022-01-27T17:40:46","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T17:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/?p=194488"},"modified":"2022-01-27T17:52:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T17:52:44","slug":"consolidating-luxury-whats-next-for-the-multi-brand-online-retail-sector-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/consolidating-luxury-whats-next-for-the-multi-brand-online-retail-sector-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Consolidating luxury? What\u2019s next for the multi-brand online retail sector in 2022?"},"content":{"rendered":"
From the beginning of this century the fruit was hanging very low for the online luxury multi-brand pure play retailers. From a zero start, the race to prove that people would buy \u00a31,000 handbags online almost seems like ancient history. The appetite was there.<\/p>\n
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For the last two decades, online retail giants have emerged to fulfil and propel the growth of not only online luxury retail, but the luxury fashion business as a whole. But, with growth slowing and many luxury brands going direct to consumers, it leaves some investors asking, is the market saturated, are they simply fighting over the same customer and how can they differentiate themselves?<\/strong> Will 2022 be the year many of these multi-brand online retailers merge and consolidate stripping out some of the costs of selling online?<\/p>\n \u201cIn a multi-brand marketplace, there is currently not the same opportunity to tell a brand's story and build a loyal and engaged community,\u201d says Luther Spicer, Creative Director at e-commerce agency\u00a0Cake<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cIn such a crowded space, it\u2019s hard for brands to be heard. Luxury online multi-brand retailers are relying on the product to sell itself. They have no way to stand out from the sameness so risk becoming forgettable,<\/strong>\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe power of brand storytelling has never been more important,\u201d adds Spicer. \u201cWith the rise of Gen Z and its collective buying power, the importance of creating unique and authentic content can't be overestimated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt's hard because they're all competing for the same customer. It's also really hard to differentiate\u00a0among businesses as most multi-brand retailers stock similar brands,<\/strong>\u201d says Petah Marian, founder of\u00a0Future Narrative<\/a>, a retail, culture and consumer trends expert.<\/p>\n The pandemic was a boon for online retail, but it did depend on what you were selling. Luxury fashion saw a dip in sales, both offline and online, no doubt because people didn\u2019t require as many different items of expensive clothing, and while some multi-brand online retailers have done well and bounced back, some haven\u2019t, and the pandemic just highlighted how most of the growth in this market was behind it.<\/p>\n