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UK fashion retailer buys Shouke.com

BRITISH Internet fashion retailer Net-A-Porter has bought designer fashion website Shouke.com, giving it its first foothold in China's lucrative luxury e-commerce sector.

Net-A-Porter, a highly successful fashion emporium, which sells designer brands including Burberry, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen online, said it had purchased the site for an undisclosed sum.

Hong Kong-based Shouke will be renamed TheOutnet for its Chinese launch, in line with the European company's existing discount couture website.

Net-A-Porter said the site would launch on March 19 as TheOutnet.cn. The company will also open a new distribution center in Hong Kong by the end of next year, which it said would enable it to provide Chinese shoppers with the same level of service as its US and European customers, including 24-hour delivery.

The sale is a huge coup for start-up Shouke that was founded only one year ago by Hong Kong entrepreneur Adrienne Ma. Ma, who is well known in Hong Kong business circles as the daughter of the founder of Joyce department stores, Joyce Ma, will become the vice president of Net-A-Porter's entire Asia Pacific business following the deal.

"We're most honored and excited to have joined hands with the NET-A-PORTER GROUP, as they are truly the leader in global luxury online fashion retail, so successfully and seamlessly blending content and commerce," Ma told Shanghai Daily.

Tian Baolong, her co-founder, will become Net-A-Porter's Asia Pacific region president, while Richard Chen, Shouke's chief executive, will be the president of its Chinese operations.

Approximately three-quarters of Chinese luxury shoppers turn to the Internet to research and purchase brands, according to the consultancy Bain.



 

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