Farfetch Partners With JD.com To Uplift Business In China

Following news of Natalie Massenet joining the company as non-executive co-chairman and rumours of an IPO, Farfetch has announced that it is partnering with China’s second largest online retailer, JD.com, to bolster sales in the region.

According to BoF, the announcement is in line with Farfetch’s aspirations to grow internationally, particularly in China, the second-largest luxury market in the world, which currently accounts for only 10% of the company’s revenue, according to Cowen & Co, a financial services firm.

Beijing-based JD.com operates a sophisticated local logistics network with more than 70,000 employees operating from 250 warehouses, and started experimenting with drone delivery last year. This high level of logistics in China will give Farfetch unparalleled access to the region.

“We have all learned that it is excruciatingly painful and difficult to penetrate [China] without a local partner,” Farfetch founder and CEO Jose Neves told BoF. “The toolbox that we use in the West just doesn’t work there. The size of the market and the difficulty of the market make it just the right case for this kind of strategic partnership.”

*Natalie Massenet and Jose Neves / Photo: Financial Review*

Both Farfetch and JD.com share the investor Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, which contributed to Farfetch’s $110 million Series F round and according to BoF, also has a stake in many of Asia’s largest e-commerce companies.

Read the full story on the Business of Fashion.

Find out more about Farfetch.