E-commerce firm JD.com is investing $397m in UK-based luxury online fashion seller Farfetch as part of a strategic partnership announced today.
Farfetch operates an e-commerce platform that sells goods supplied by more than 700 luxury brands, and it has also developed an e-commerce technology product as well as in-store retail technology for brick-and-mortar fashion sellers.
JD.com will supply Farfetch with marketing, logistics and technology assistance to help it carve out a stable position in China, where it already partners about 200 luxury brands and more than 500 retailers.
Farfetch will also make use of JD Luxury Express, JD.com’s recently launched luxury customer service initiative, and BlackDragon, a digital marketing platform that will allow it to put together automated marketing campaigns using JD.com’s data.
Richard Liu, founder and CEO of JD.com, will join Farfetch’s board. He said: “As part of our major luxury push, we could not have found a stronger online partner than Farfetch.
“We have always believed that the long-term trend of Chinese e-commerce is toward quality over price and this partnership with Farfetch further extends our lead in the battle for the future of China’s upwardly mobile consumers.”
The investment took Farfetch’s total funding to $702m, and comes after a $110m series F round in May 2016 that valued it at $1.5bn. IDG Capital and Eurazeo led that round, investing alongside Vitruvian Partners and Singaporean-state owned investment firm Temasek.
DST Global led an $86m series E round in early 2015 that included Vitruvian and media company Condé Nast, and which valued Farfetch at $1bn. Condé Nast had also taken part in the company’s $20m series C round in 2013 and a $66m series D round the year after.