LVMH deepens partnership with Alibaba to boost tech presence in China

FRENCH luxury group LVMH will deepen its partnership with Alibaba to leverage the firm’s cloud and artificial intelligence capacities and boost its presence in China, the companies said on Wednesday (May 22).

The world’s biggest luxury group, and the Chinese e-commerce giant first forged a partnership in 2019. The reinforced ties come as luxury companies redouble efforts to cater to shoppers in China, where demand has been dampened by a property crisis and high youth unemployment.

The partnership also illustrates the growing focus of the high-end luxury industry on improving online shopping, even as they invest in ever-more sophisticated physical retail stores.

“The reinforcement of our partnership will help us to further accelerate our omnichannel business growth,” said Stephane Bianchi, group managing director of LVMH, referring to various shopping avenues both in-store and online.

LVMH has around 30 brands on Luxury Pavilion, the high-end site on Alibaba’s Tmall shopping platform, including jewellery houses Chaumet and Tiffany. Digital services there include 3D product displays, virtual try-ons, and livestreaming.

As part of the agreement announced on Wednesday, LVMH will also gain access to technology from Alibaba Cloud, to help improve supply chain processes and customer insights, both companies said.