If you have been following our daily message for a while you would know that Richemont owns a large online luxury retailer called Yoox Net-a-Porter. Richemont consolidated the two businesses to achieve scale and now own more than 95% of the combined entity.
This Vogue Business article interviews the founder of Yoox and current CEO of the combined group, Federico Marchetti. As with most online retailers they are most excited about the spending habits they are witnessing. With that data they are able to target consumers in very specific ways.
Luxury retail is under threat from innovation. Paying thousands of Dollars for a watch that cannot tell you your heart rate may not appeal to people any more. But there is no replacing hundreds of years of brand development and quality. That is why we are happy as shareholders that Richemont has embraced the online shift with full force. And we have seen great results so far.