Despite Amazon‘s annual growth, its massive customer base and the forecast that it will become the largest clothing seller in the United States next year, luxury brands are still wary of the platform.
Wrong image
Several days ago, LVMH’s CFO, Jean-Jacques Guiony, revealed his company definitely would not join forces with Amazon, because its image does not fit their luxury brands. “If they change the business model, I don’t know, but with the existing business model, there is no way we can do business with them for the time being.”
The major difference between Amazon and the luxury brands is in the way they offer products. Amazon wants to reach as many customers as possible, while the luxury brands want to come across as a more exclusive thing. Amazon’s familiarity with discounts is also something luxury brands tend to avoid.
Exclusive and yet online
The split between an exclusive nature and a huge online customer base has resulted in the fact that many luxury brands only recently decided to engage in eCommerce: Prada has only started selling its ready-to-wear collection online in July, while Chanel intends to go online later this year.
Other brands, like Coach and Michael Kors, are willing to sell on Amazon, but go about it very consciously. Only a limited product range is available on Amazon and only the cheaper part of its portfolio is actually for sale on the platform. Essentially, the items that are already available to a wider audience is also for sale on Amazon, while the richer customer still has to visit the luxury brand itself. It remains to be seen whether Amazon can entice luxury brands in the future, to make sure they sell a wider product range on its platform.
