Richemont Executive Chairman Johann Rupert has invited rivals LVMH and Kering to invest in new online luxury store Yoox/Net-a-Porter to compete with Amazon.
In March this year Richemont agreed to sell Net-a-Porter to Italy’s Yoox in an all-share deal to create an industry leader in the online luxury retail market. The combined annual sales of the two platforms amount to about €1.3 billion in 2014.
The merger between Yoox and Net-a-Porter is expected to be completed after Richemont's annual general meeting in September. Richemont will own 50 percent of Yoox/Net-a-Porter Group but its voting rights will be capped at 25 percent to preserve the company's independence.
"I was speaking to (LVMH CEO) Arnault, I was speaking to Kering ... We need a platform that is big enough for the luxury goods industry," Rupert said.
"I want to create a platform that is open to everyone, it is up to them (LVMH and Kering) now. ... I think it is a too big a game for any company to dominate."
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