Image Courtesy of Amazon
In a major thrust to entice more luxury brands to sell on its platform, Amazon has introduced “Saks on Amazon,” a storefront on its Luxury Stores platform.
The partnership is reportedly linked to Amazon’s move last July to take a minority stake in Saks Global to support the purchase of Neiman Marcus.
Saks on Amazon features a “refined luxury assortment curated by Saks Fifth Avenue,” with orders fulfilled by Saks and customer service, including returns, handled by Amazon.
Brands reaching the platform as part of the Saks’ partnership launch include Dolce & Gabbana, Balmain, Etro, Stella McCartney, Erdem, and Fear of God, with additional brands launching in the coming months. Designer brands opt in to be included on the Amazon-Saks storefront.
Emily Essner, president and chief commercial officer at Saks Global, said in a statement, “We are delighted to collaborate with an incredible group of forward-thinking brand partners for launch, and we look forward to expanding selection with additional brands as we evolve the experience.”
Amazon has gained traction in recent years in setting up storefronts for more aspirational fashion labels, including Coach, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Michael Kors, as well as in securing premium beauty brands, including Clinique and Lancôme. However, it still faces challenges gaining access to high-end brands.
The 2020 launch of Luxury Stores was designed to overcome perceptions that Amazon is too transactional for high-end selling. Compared to the typical Amazon shopping experience, Luxury Stores includes more lifestyle imagery and storytelling and doesn’t include star ratings and reviews on its product pages, dynamic pricing, or “customers also bought” pushes.
The site launched with Oscar de la Renta as its brand partner but has only slowly added other niche luxury labels, including Sergio Hudson, Rodarte, and Altuzarra.
The Saks’ partnership appears to at least double the number of luxury labels across the Luxury Stores platform. Being able to use “Saks” branding is also expected to better establish credibility with luxury shoppers.
Saks' branding is prominently displayed on the Luxury Stores platform and listed as a drop-down menu on Amazon’s homepage. To promote the partnership, Saks is launching an editorial campaign that includes using its storefront windows at its Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan to showcase items available to shop on Saks on Amazon.
Jessica Ramírez, co-founder of retail consultancy The Consumer Collective, told Vogue Business that she sees Saks on Amazon as a “white-space opportunity in terms of non-traditional retail partners” for independent brands following the closure of MatchesFashion and the collapse and sale of Farfetch.
Jenny Freshwater, Amazon's VP of fashion and fitness, told WWD, “As you talk to brands, I think it’s one of the things that is most exciting — it’s bringing that Amazon customer, the vast customer base, to luxury but also what we can do in terms of innovating in the luxury space to make experiences that are more shoppable and more delightful.”