Amazon Has Secretly Sold A Luxury Product Website.

Amazon (Amazon) has launched a rumor that focuses on luxury electronic business platforms, which has aroused heated debate in the fashion industry. But no matter what Amazon's final plan is, it is not the first company to enter the vertical market of luxury goods. BoF understands that Amazon's footwear retailer Zappos is quietly running a shop featuring Bottega Veneta, Rick Owens and other brands in the past few months.

The website, which was launched in September last year, was named VRSNL (Versional), and an online application was launched to sell luxury brand fashions, shoes and accessories sold by Amazon and its high-end fashion Shopbop. The website and application are operated by Zappos (its Las Vegas headquarters is responsible for the main operation, according to another person familiar with the matter). Nevertheless, VRSNL is still not unnoticeable and has not launched marketing campaigns. As of last Tuesday, VRSNL had only one five-star comment at the apple store. The Instagram account of the same name was not posted, with only 16 people.
VRSNL sells Bottega Veneta popular cloud pack bag photo source: VRSNL
Amazon's Shopbop currently sells mainly Jason Wu and other high-end clothing brands, as well as Gucci and other luxury brands of sunglasses and accessories. The establishment of VRSNL helped Amazon directly enter the war of multi brand luxury retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Farfetch, MatchesFashion and Ssense. In recent years, with more and more consumers buying high-end clothing online, these retailers are growing rapidly. VRSNL's website does not show any noticeable "Zappos" brand tag, but users will be prompted to enter the relevant information of Zappos account when checking out. Therefore, VRSNL does not emphasize its "Zappos origin" to a large extent. When interviewed by industry vertical media Footwear News in May 2019, Zappos coo Arun Rajan regarded it as one of the ways to boost sales of luxury goods. "VRSNL enables Zappos to keep pace with the trend. These trends can finally converge to our Zappos style exhibition hall (Style). Room), which has a broader foundation, though they are not the earliest customers who are leading the trend, "he said." many of our brand partners are doing this market segmentation. Therefore, we also hope that we can have a channel to map this market segmentation.
VRSNL's inventory contains many of the hottest luxury brands today, such as Bottega Veneta's Pouch cloud pack, which has three colors and sells for 1250 dollars.
A person familiar with Amazon's plan said that as the website began to promote in the future, more brands including Martine Rose's Napa Napa, United Standard and ROA will be stationed in the website in the coming weeks.
Amazon's platform will soon become a new force for luxury business. Amazon is largely the largest online retailer in the United States. Its global network consists of warehousing, special aircraft, trucks and trucks, and performs online orders faster and cheaper than competitors. Amazon also has an unparalleled customer database. Prime membership now exceeds 150 million, providing free delivery and other benefits for the next day.
However, VRSNL may not be the main force for Amazon to enter luxury fashion. The website seems to be somewhat divorced from the more comprehensive initiatives WWD first reported in January. According to WWD, Amazon will fully plan its investment in a new distribution center in Arizona and $100 million in marketing capital.
A person familiar with the matter said, "VRSNL is basically still in the testing stage."
In the United States, Amazon's clothing sales are second only to WAL-MART (Walmart), but it is also difficult to attract fashion consumers. Amazon has made some success in attracting popular brands (such as Andemar Under Armour), but many people still shun it because of counterfeit problems, and Amazon's increasing number of internal brands will also compete.
Last November, Nike (Nike) terminated its two-year sale agreement with Amazon. Luxury players such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and other brand parent Lu Wei Ming Xuan group (LVMH) have no plans to cooperate with Amazon.
For Zappos and Amazon, VRSNL seems to be a new starting point. VRSNL has an independent website, called "The Remix", which publishes the original editorial content of the brand history, as well as the editorial content of the multi brand retailers such as Ssense.
Amazon has already launched a wholesale mode to sell high-end products: luxury cosmetics platform "Luxury Beauty" to sell high-end cosmetics and skin care products, such as Sunday Riley face oil and Burberry perfume.