LVMH boosts digital profile with multi-brand website

The new website, named “24 Sevres” after the Rue de Sevres location of
Le Bon Marche in the chic 7th arrondissement, will offer fashion,
cosmetics and luggage products from LVMH’s own portfolio as well as
brands from outside the group.Overall more than 150 labels, including 20 of LVMH’s own stable such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, or Fendi, will be featured.The
size of the investment amounted to several million euros and marks the
biggest digital initiative taken by LVMH since it hired former Apple
music executive Ian Rogers in 2015 to craft its digital strategy and
capitalise on the luxury sector’s online sales expansion.LVMH, controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, said the new site would go live on June 6 in more than 70 countries.Competing
with established rivals such as Yoox Net-a-Porter , MyTheresa,
Matchesfashion.com or LuisaViaRoma, it echoes the high-end positioning
of the Le Bon Marche store.It will give international clients “very Parisian choices” in the selection of exclusive products, Rogers told Reuters.”The idea is to be attractive with unique products, not necessarily have a huge offering,” said Rogers.E-commerce
is still a relatively small part of the global luxury goods market,
representing 7 percent of industry sales, but this is expected to rise
to 12 percent of industry sales by 2020, according to the Boston
Consulting Group.Luxury goods companies face a dilemma over trying
to reach young Internet-savvy shoppers while preserving the sense of
exclusivity that drives up the value of their products.LVMH has
already tapped into the increasing importance of online social media by
setting up LVMH Luxury Ventures to invest in start-up luxury goods
projects.Until now each LVMH brand has had its own separate
digital strategy, with some brands such Fendi and Kenzo putting
significant resources into this area while other brands such as Celine
had no E-commerce website of their own.The new website will complement the offering available on the respective websites of the LVMH brands, Rogers said.Big
fashion brands such as Prada, Gucci or Valentino will be sold on the
site as well as Maison Margiela, seen as a more cutting-edge label, or
others such as Kitsune or APC.LVMH’s online sales of 2 billion euros (£1.68 billion) last year equated to 5.3 percent of overall group revenues.