UK E-tailer Net-A-Porter Ready to Buy Its Way Into Chinese Luxury E-Commerce Market

The couture e-tailer Net-A-Porter is rumored to be entering the Chinese e-commerce market with the purchase of a local fashion site named Shouke. If this transpires to be true, it’ll be the UK-based site’s first venture in China.

According to MyRetailMedia, the Net-A-Porter acquisition means that it’ll be ready to launch in China next month, bringing with it high-fashion brands such as Jimmy Choo, Chloé, and Miu Miu. The site also posits that the e-tailer will then open up “a distribution centre in Hong Kong.” But that doesn’t make much sense if trying to operate in mainland China, which is technically across an international border, so the news might be best taken with a pinch of salt for now. We’ve reached out to both sides, and will update if we hear back.

Shouke.com, the apparent subject of all this interest, is an invitation-only luxury e-commerce site that focuses on women’s couture items. According to Jing Daily, it was started up just over a year ago by Adrienne Ma, the daughter of Joyce Ma who’s the founder of the Hong Kong retailer Joyce.

Net-A-Porter’s clout in the industry would bring it some attention in the country, such as its close ties to young designers and major labels alike, and its popular series of exclusive capsule collections.

The luxury e-commerce scene in China is already well-established and highly valuable. So much so that even major names such as 360Buy have gotten in on the act, aiming to muscle out independent sites like ihaveU and The Luxury Club.

[Source: Jing Daily]