Let the luxury wars begin - online

Paris

AS department stores and publishers join the ranks of those offering luxury goods online, they're running into a new breed of competitor: makers of the designer clothing, handbags and accessories they sell. The shift is making the Internet look more like the real world. Department stores, after all, compete with shops owned by the likes of Gucci and Fendi and have seen their share of luxury sales erode in recent years as brands opened outlets from Beijing to Bogota.

The same dynamic is starting to play out online. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and German fashion label Hugo Boss AG are shifting more resources t…