Farfetch announced it has closed $397 million in financing from JD.com, China’s ecommerce behemoth, going head-to-head with Alibaba.
Farfetch is a global community of more than 400 boutiques that offer an inspirational shopping experience to fashion-forward consumers. The independent boutiques are carefully selected for their up-to-the-minute attitudes, unique approaches to merchandising, and diversity of brands.
Founded in 2008, with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, São Paulo, and Porto, Farfetch showcases more than 1,000 labels and is dedicated to supporting independent fashion and the cultural diversity that comes from bringing together the perspectives of hundreds of buyers, each with a unique style and vision.
The company revealed that Farfetch, which currently partners with 200 brands and 500 multi-brand retailers, will use its new alliance with JD.com to get access to JD’s wide logistics network. Those capabilities include JD luxury express, its premium courier service; online payment and consumer micro-credit tools; social media resources, including its partnership with WeChat; and big data. The partnership also helps Farfetch defend its territory in China and fight against counterfeit products, a threat that the company’s founder and CEO, Jose Neves, highlighted in his press statement.