To stop its portfolio brands—Saint Laurent, Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and Balenciaga—from being listed on the marketplace for purchases that are dispatched straight from the brands’ separate warehouses, Kering has ended its business relationship with Farfetch.
According to rumors, Farfetch plans to provide premium goods on its website as a workaround and won’t be working directly with the brands. The department store chain Neiman Marcus is also ending the partnership that would have permitted its goods from the Bergdorf Goodman shop to be sold on the Farfetch marketplace.
During a recent earnings call, Kering CEO Jean-Marc Duplaix noted that the sale of Farfetch to the South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang was contentious and that several luxury brands no longer viewed the platform as a crucial partner.
Independent merchants are the primary source of Farfetch’s available brand portfolio, according to sources. To preserve its already damaged reputation, the platform is eager to hang onto as many upscale companies as possible.
