Farfetch wants to reach farther.
Sales this year for its retailer network are expected to hit $325 million, double that of last year, when they clocked in at just over $160 million. While the firm wouldn’t discuss its revenues, Farfetch is said to take a 25 percent commission from retail partners, meaning it could have revenues of about $80 million in 2014.
To further fuel its growth, Farfetch is expanding into more regions. The online marketplace, which now boasts 300 boutiques spanning 23 countries, has just opened its first Asian office in Tokyo. The majority of boutiques are situated in Europe and the United States, with the biggest growth markets including China, Japan, the Middle East and Australia. Farfetch raised $66 million in Series D funding in May, bringing the total amount raised to over $100 million.
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Three localized versions of the site launched this year: Russian in July, Japanese in August and Mandarin last month. This isn’t limited to a translation of the English Web site, according to Farfetch chief marketing officer Stephanie Horton. There is corresponding currency, logistics and shipping, local payment systems, marketing and customer service tailored for each local destination.
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Japan is the only one of the three where Farfetch opened an office, as adding more boutiques in the country is a key focus for 2015. There are no plans to put offices in China or Russia, but the company is looking at Australia as a possible supply market.
“We actually have a team there now investigating the landscape and seeing what type of stores we want to sign. I would estimate [signing] five to 10 in the first year but that number is loose based on recon the team finds when they do their due diligence,” Horton said.
In October, Tokyo’s Restir boutique won Farfetch’s Superstore 2014 competition, beating out five other shops in Dubai, Mexico City, Seoul, Shanghai and Cape Town to become the first Asian boutique on the site.
But going to the site and buying is only part of the experience. Chief executive officer José Neves acknowledged that the physical part is still integral to shopping, and the team made a concerted effort to roll out omnichannel experiences to drive foot traffic into partner boutiques.
In September, Farfetch introduced its first app, Farfetch Discover, which, in addition to allowing consumers to purchase, serves as a tour guide of sorts for many of the cities where partners are located. The app has had about 50,000 downloads to date and has detailed city guides for places like Paris, London, Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon and Rotterdam with Miami and Dubrovnik coming soon.
Neves said that getting users to transact is a goal, but so is having them use the app to get them into the actual stores that they’ve been buying from online. Content includes recommendations from boutique owners worldwide as well as detailed travel itineraries by city penned by everyone from Fivestory owner Claire Distenfeld to Sharmadean Reid, founder of WAH Nails.
Farfetch is also joining the click and collect club. Neves contends that the company has been omnichannel since its inception in 2007, saying, “Our inventory sits in a physical store and we have a unified view of inventory [online]. That’s the most difficult trick that retailers try to pull.” The ability to pick up in-store is the next step.
The site’s new in-store feature that rolled out on Nov. 17 allows consumers to buy online and then collect from any of the 100 retailers participating. To cater to a consumer who travels during the holiday season, it’s now seamless to purchase items from a boutique in a city they are going to visit and pick it up when they arrive. For local customers, it might get them visiting a store they might not have otherwise.
Farfetch has tapped Mindy Kaling to participate in its holiday campaign that launched earlier this month and will run through mid-December. The program, “A Farfetch Fairytale,” will unfold over six weeks. A different chapter will publish each week — from “Once Upon a Time” to “Farfetch Workshop” — as well as corresponding gift guides. Kaling penned the words for half a dozen fairytale-themed e-cards with animated gifs. A card featuring Rapunzel reads, “Shhh they’re extensions but he doesn’t need to know that,” and one with Red Riding Hood says, “It’s a red capelet, not a cape, get it right, Mr. Wolf.”