Following the landmark deal between JD.com and the leading British luxury site Farfetch last week, China's e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group has reportedly been in touch with the Italian luxury e-tailer Yoox Net-A-Porter,
According to a June 26 report by Chinese fashion website Ladymax, Alibaba Group was looking for the capital cooperation with Yoox Net-A-Porter, and the e-commerce giant did not rule out the possibility of acquisition.
The news has already had a huge impact on the financial markets, which bolstered the stock price of the Milan-listed Yoox Net-A-Porter Group up nearly 9 percent during the trading time in Europe. Reuters reported that traders have cited the Ladymax's report as the reason for the share jump.
"Totally possible after JD invested in Farfetch," said a trader at a Manhattan-based hedge fund. "The market believes it is happening. "
Alibaba has long shown its interest in beefing up its luxury portfolio and attracting brands to set up stores on Tmall over the past several years. Even though Tmall is currently the largest e-commerce platform in China, its rampant counterfeiting problem has scared luxury players away.
In 2015, the company invested in Mei.com and turned it into a luxury-focused e-commerce site that prides itself on the authenticity of its goods. That same year, to tap into the American market, Alibaba picked up a stake in over 9 percent of the U.S. online retailer Zulily.
As the luxury sector in the Asia Pacific region has the brightest outlook around the world, Yoox Net-A-Porter has prioritized the Chinese market in recent years. In the first quarter of this year, its revenue coming from the Asia Pacific region went up 33 percent over the previous year and was largely led by demand in China.