Galeries Lafayette buys ecommerce site to reinforce omnichannel goals

Image courtesy of Galeries Lafayette

French department store chain Galeries Lafayette is strengthening its ecommerce business with the purchase of InstantLuxe.com

Established by Yann Le Folc’h in 2009, InstantLuxe.com is an ecommerce site based in France specializing in the trading of pre-owned luxury goods. Galeries Lafayette purchased InstantLuxe.com outright for an undisclosed sum on June 29 but will keep Mr. Le Folc’h as the company’s head.

Secondhand news
Along with the purchase of resale site InstantLuxe.com comes its community of 700,000 members. Through the acquisition, it is likely that Galeries Lafayette will take advantage of these discerning consumers, many of whom may be untapped by the French department store.

InstantLuxe.com’s marketplace is used for the secondhand sale of certified luxury goods such as leather goods, jewelry, watches and accessories.

All products vetted by InstantLuxe.com undergo authentication processes by experts before being shared on its Web site.

Moving from online to in person, InstantLuxe.com staged its first physical point of sale last winter at the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville Marais flagship, a department store within the Galeries Lafayette stable.

The acquisition of InstantLuxe.com will accelerate Galeries Lafayette’s omnichannel strategy by offering its consumers a new shopping experience. Additionally, there has been a rising interest in luxury consignment among affluent consumers, the purchase of InstantLuxe.com gives Galeries Lafayette an in with this secondhand retail sector.

Bricks-and-mortar retailers have turned to online sellers to strengthen what they are offering online.

For instance, Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson’s Bay Company grew its off-price business with the addition of Gilt to its stable of banners.

With this acquisition, the retail group is planning to integrate Gilt within Saks Off 5th locations, giving the flash seller a bricks-and-mortar presence. As an innovative retailer with strong capabilities in mobile and personalization technology, Gilt may help HBC further the digital efforts of its more traditional stores.

HBC purchased Gilt for $250 million (see story).

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