Valentino links with Tmall for 3D virtual store, adds multichannel experience

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 23, 2018

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has linked up with luxury label Valentino to enhance the online shopping experience with a 3D virtual store on Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion.

The new Tmall venture also focuses on multichannel as the online store will be joined by (and also mirrors) a physical pop-up store that will open in the Sanlitun district of Beijing this Friday. It's all in support of the brand’s Garavani Candystud collection and the label will launch a number of exclusive products for the events, including bags and sneakers.

Valentino is proving itself to be one of the most forward-looking luxury labels when it comes to online sales. Last year under its Yoox Net A Porter storefront deal, it dived deep into YNAP’s Next Era project. Under this, it can completely integrate its online and off-line sales as a single experience, something that has previously been almost impossible for labels with third-party e-tail deals to achieve.

With the new initiative, as well as Valentino working to boost the multichannel experience for its customers, Alibaba is doing the same, while also upping its luxury credentials.

Its Tmall Luxury Pavilion launched last year as the key part of its plan to target both luxury and premium labels with a differentiated platform that would appeal to higher spending consumers.

It has added to it this month with the debut of the Luxury Pavilion Club, which is a loyalty program for such customers and comes as it ramps up competition with rival JD.com which has its own luxury link up with Farfetch.