International Strategy
LuxeYard, Inc., the fast-growing boutique luxury flash sale site, today announced plans to expand to India under an exclusive licensing deal with veteran technology and retail entrepreneur Sashi Chimala. Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Chimala will establish LuxeYard India - india.luxeyard.com - with a dedicated team to build out product acquisition, marketing and merchandising operations to manage the site.
Blue Nile, Inc. , the leading online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, today announced the launch of a Japanese language version of its website. The new site allows customers in Japan to shop on Blue Nile in their native language for the first time. Second to only the United States, Japan is the largest luxury goods market in the world and accounts for 10 percent of diamond jewelry sales. "Blue Nile began serving Japan in 2008, and has developed a loyal customer following over the last four years," said Vijay Talwar, Blue Nile President.
1-800-FLOWERS.COM announced today that it's made an equity investment in Flores Online, one of Brazil's leading floral and gift retailers. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has teamed with San Paolo, Brazil-based BR Opportunities, which has also taken an equity stake in Flores Online.
Ann Taylor, a division of New York-based Ann Inc., plans to open its first-ever international stores in Toronto. The two stores are slated to open in fall 2012. The new boutiques will be designed to feel like a stylish, modern home for an intimate shopping experience. Currently the company operates 274 stores across the United States.
Macy's will start selling some of its private brand merchandise directly to shoppers in China through a deal with an online retailer there. Macy's products will be available via a branded section on Omei.com, a newly established China-based online retailer of in-season luxury and fashion brands operated by VIPStore Co., a Chinese e-commerce firm and parent company of Omei.com. In addition, Macyโs has made an equity investment of $15 million in VIPStore. Macyโs joins other venture capital providers, including Intel Capital, in acquiring a minority stake in the company.
Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company, is leading a $100 million investment in Pinterest, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners and FirstMark Capital, as well as a number of angel investors. Many people may still be unfamiliar with the Rakuten brand, but it's an international e-commerce powerhouse that sees itself competing with Amazon.com. Rakuten owns Buy.com, Rakuten Ichiba in Japan, PriceMinister in France, Play.com in the U.K., Tradoria in Germany, Rakuten Brazil, Rakuten Taiwan, TARAD in Thailand and Rakuten Belanja Online in Indonesia, as well as e-book publisher Kobo.
Silver Jeans Co., the Canadian-based retailer that's gained a reputation for high quality and well-fitting jeans in the midluxury denim market, announced the expansion of Silver Jeans Co. branded stores in the United States. The announcement marks the start of a global retail strategy for the brand and the creation of a new retail division within the Silver Jeans Co. corporate structure. Silver Jeans Co. will focus on a multidoor plan in the U.S., with the first new store project to open in early 2013.
Retailers are using multiple channels to establish more direct connections with consumers, according to the findings of a recent survey from global cloud commerce solutions provider Digital River. Consistent with the shift to multichannel strategies, the survey indicated respondents are increasingly connecting with customers via multiple touchpoints. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they were currently using transactional websites, followed by social commerce (55 percent), app stores (50 percent), in-product commerce (50 percent), subscription sales (48 percent) and mobile commerce (48 percent).
Canada is a land of dissatisfied online shoppers. From high-end fashion to hardware, Canadians are the poor e-commerce cousins to Americans in just about every way: higher prices for poorer selection; shipping costs are often more expensive; and for items ordered from abroad, duty and customs-related charges can drive up total costs.
Destination Maternity has opened its first freestanding store in India, located in the largest mall in the country. Ed Krell, CEO of Destination Maternity, commented, "We are very excited to announce the opening of the first Destination Maternity store in India. Mahindra Retail has done a great job opening Motherhood shop-in-shops within their own Mom & Me stores, and the launch of a Destination Maternity freestanding store is the natural next step for expanding our presence in India."