The Amazon Marketplace is a one-stop shop for virtually anything. Luxury brands, however, are slow to embrace the online retail powerhouse. Oscar de la Renta was the first to take the plunge, with a $2,000 black lace cocktail dress, but so far other major luxury brands are saying “No thank you.”
Amazon has had a hard time convincing luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci mainly because the brands have felt that Amazon.com has not had a good history of policing unauthorized sellers or even counterfeit goods. Luxury brands also typically want more control over what is sold and setting and maintaining price points.
Amazon’s newest attempt at wooing the high-end brands is an invitation-only service called Luxury Stores. Designers choose what they sell and control the pricing, and there are no reviews or links to other sellers. Customers can look at the items with 360-degree views and through motion graphics.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE — or, as it’s more commonly referred to, LVMH — is still not convinced. The French luxury conglomerate behind Louis Vuitton, Dior, Bulgari and Givenchy has said it has its own e-commerce operations and does not want its brands associated with Amazon. LVMH is also in the process of purchasing iconic U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co. So don’t expect to be receiving any Tiffany Blue-colored boxes anytime soon from your Amazon driver.
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