Farfetch and Mytheresa on a strong growth path

Luxury e-commerce is a sales channel that has greatly emerged in the last two years. Before the pandemic, many luxury brands refused to sell online, relying on physical networks. As reported by Deloitte, this was mainly due to the desire to retain control over the defining elements of the luxury identity of their brands and the lack of capability to deliver these elements online. However, 2020 disrupted these habits and drove luxury e-commerce past the tipping point, which quickly developed into a vital part of the omnichannel distribution strategy for global luxury players.

Farfetch Limited, founded in 2007 and the leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry, recorded grate results for the financial year 2021, demonstrating its strong momentum. The platform achieved a revenue up by +35% in 2021 and a record 2021 gross merchandise value of $4.2 billion, up +33% year-over-year and up +98% compared to 2019. For founder, chairman and CEO José Neves, this positions Farfetch Limited to emerge stronger than ever in 2022 and remain industry leader, accelerated by the digitization of the luxury industry. He further added in a statement: “As we enter a post-pandemic environment, I am proud of the support Farfetch has provided to our partners across the global luxury community during this unprecedented time as we advanced our mission to be the connector between the curators, creators and consumers of the luxury fashion industry.”

At the same time, its competitor Mytheresa, founded in 2006 and owned by MYT Netherlands Parent reported net sales at €612.1 million for 2021, a growth of+ 36.2% over last year and +61.5% compared to the financial year 2019, "despite a year of continued uncertainty and unprecedented changes” as stated by its CEO Michael Kliger, who also believes that the shift of consumer demand to online in luxury which has been significantly accelerated by the pandemic will clearly continue in the post-pandemic world.