Luxury sees the light as upmarket goes online

WITH Yoox and Net a Porter on the verge of completing their merger to create a £1.8bn online luxury fashion behemoth, it has been revealed that British luxury brands are shelling out to improve their own websites.

Both Italian-listed Yoox and Neta-Porter have built businesses selling luxury products online despite upmarket companies previously dismissing the web as purely mass market.

But a study from trend monitor WGSN and British industry body Walpole reveals that luxury brands are beginning to take online sales more seriously by hiring their own experts to build and develop websites.

The WGSN survey of 33 luxury brands found nine out of ten senior executives from UK brands expect a dramatic growth in digital sales over the next five years, and 60pc saw a sales boost after upping investment in online.

Carla Buzasi, global chief content officer for WGSN, said: ‘After a somewhat slow start, there are many brands now succeeding in creating a compelling luxury experience online to complement the shopping experience in store.’

Scott Thomson, chief executive at online jeweller AstleyClarke – founded by Bec Astley Clarke ( pictured) and one of those surveyed – said: ‘We started life as an online brand. We moved to selling in stores but still more than 40pc of turnover is from digital’.

At present, more than 90pc of global luxury purchases take place in stores. But research from McKinsey predicted online luxury sales will triple to 18pc of the market by 2025.

WGSN’s report found luxury companies prefer to build their digital ‘in-house capabilities’.

Nick English, co-founder of watch brand Bremont, said: ‘We do everything in house. We live and breath it so no one can do it better.’ Even small and start-up brands realise that investing online is essential. Julia Dobson, cofounder of new British handbag brand Village England, said: ‘Our website is the shop window and the most important outlet.’

But brands investing in their digital expertise could be a threat to the merged Yoox/ Net-A-Porter Group. Luca Solca, luxury expert at Exane BNP Paribas, said: ‘Net-aPorter has a first mover advantage that will erode over time, as incumbents – most importantly department stores – move online.’