Swiss luxury group Richemont has made a $3.3 billion bid to acquire Yoox Net-a-Porter, in an effort to jump into the ecommerce ring. Richemont currently owns luxury brands IWC, Mont Blanc and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Bloomberg reported that this move has surprised skeptics who didn’t think consumers would purchase luxury items like Cartier necklaces and Vacheron Contantin watches online.
However, consultancy Bain & Co. estimated online luxury sales rose 24% in 2017, further projecting they would account for 25% of the market by 2025, compared to just 9% currently.