Fendi launches e-commerce in the U.S.

On Friday, July 29, Fendi officially launched e-commerce in the U.S following their launch of European U.S. commerce earlier this year. In March, Fendi's online store became available in 24 countries. While they have declined to post official financial figures for their new e-commerce channels, the company has said that the results are more than double what they expected.

After their U.S. launch, Fendi has plans for launching e-commerce in Japan. The trend of luxury brands entering e-commerce has been a long time coming. In 2014 when Tom Ford launched e-commerce the speculation began as to when other high-end luxury apparel brands would follow.

Fendi becomes the next luxury goods brand to enter e-commerce

Earlier this year in April when Chanel announced that they would be launching e-commerce it seemed like the domino affect had begun, with e-commerce clearly being the wave of the future for luxury fashion brands. Fendi's online store was developed in house, with one of the main purposes being for the "circulation of information", as Fendi CEO and Chairman Pietro Beccari explained in an exclusive interview with WWD. E-commerce will also help Fendi reach areas of the U.S. where they don't have a physical retail presence.

All Fendi products and a limited number of key ready-to-wear looks will be available online. There will only be a limited number of items with fur, like their "pom-poms." “With fur, you still want to touch it,” Beccari said in his WWD interview. While it might seem like the luxury goods industry is lagging behind virtually every other market in terms of e-commerce, Beccari finds the slow and steady approach the luxury goods industry has taken to e-commerce completely sensible.

“Time was needed to understand the dynamics and to mature," he said, crediting social media as a driving force in accelerating the luxury goods industry into e-commerce. “Also, there is more transparency, and the luxury industry has less qualms about this tool. We have to be in tune with the times.”